Chocolate Toffee Cookies

I'm very fortunate to have two sons who love cook, and two daughters-in-law who love to bake, all of whom are only too happy to share the results of their labors. Today's blog post is courtesy of daughter-in-law, Emma Brunner, who shares her version of Smitten Kitchen's adaptation of Bon Appetit's recipe for Chocolate Toffee Cookies.

These cookies are positively addictive. Emma first gave me a small bag of them, three I think, dropped off by my son during one of his weekly visits. He was hardly out the door before I was taking my first bite, and I think I downed all three before his car had backed out of the driveway.  Naturally I sent out a request for more, and the second time was given a much larger bag.  Not trusting myself, I ate a few and put the rest in the freezer. As it turns out, they are just as delicious eaten straight from the freezer at two o'clock in the morning as they are at room temperature during reasonable hours of the day.

Emma Brunner, Baker Extraordinaire

 Emma's cookies, I think, look better than those on the Smitten Kitchen blog. The reason being that Emma scooped and dropped the dough rather than rolling it into a log and slicing them off in rounds before baking.

The recipe below is the one Emma used with a few revisions. According to Emma, "I followed the recipe to the letter except I reduced the brown sugar from 1-3/4 cups to 1-1/2 cups, and chose the option of semisweet over bittersweet chocolate. Just like in the recipe I beat the eggs and sugar for 4-5 minutes until smooth and glossy. I put my dough in the freezer for 45 minutes to an hour, used a 1-ounce cookie scoop, and lined my cookie sheets with a silicon mat. I noticed that mine turned out best when baked for 12-13 minutes and left on the cookie sheet for a minute or two before removing with a spatula."   

Delicious!  Thanks, Emma!

Chocolate Toffee Cookies

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Bon Appetit

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pound bittersweet (not unsweetened) 

or semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1 3/4 cups (packed) brown sugar

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

5 1.4-ounce chocolate-covered 

English toffee bars (such as Heath), coarsely chopped*

1 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped

Flaky sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl; whisk to blend. Stir chocolate and butter in top of double boiler set over simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Cool mixture to lukewarm.

Using electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs in bowl until thick, about 5 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture and vanilla.

Stir in flour mixture, then toffee and nuts. Chill batter until firm, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper. Drop batter by spoonfuls onto sheets, spacing two inches apart. Sprinkle with a pinch of flaky sea salt, if you’re using it. Bake just until tops are dry and cracked but cookies are still soft to touch, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on sheets. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)  Makes about 2 dozen.

This post is linked to: 

 Foodie Friday

Sweets for a Saturday

Sugar and Spice