Salted Brown Sugar Toffee Cookies

Considering how much I truly adore cookies, it is a spectacular feat of will power that I don’t make them all that often. When I do actually make a batch of dough, I usually bake only a few at a time and freeze the rest to be baked as needed, an extra safety measure in that whole will power business.

However, some days just require cookies. For example, days that look like the scene above. Enter salted brown sugar toffee cookies. They are on the low maintenance side of the cookie spectrum (waving hi to macarons and sugar cookies with royal icing far on the other end!) These use basic fridge and pantry items (a necessity in a snow storm), and the dough mixes up in no time. Despite their simplicity, they are certainly not lacking in flavor. A nice balance of sweet and salty, they are the perfect comfort food kind of cookie. This, people, is why you run to the store for milk before a storm.

Yield about 20 cookies

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground ginger
¾ cup (6 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup toffee bits
Coarse sea salt

Directions

01
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Whisk lightly to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and brown sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Blend in the egg and the vanilla.
02
With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Fold in the toffee bits with a spatula. Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes.
03
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Roll 1/3 cup of dough into a ball. Holding dough ball in fingertips of both hands, pull apart into two equal halves.* Place the dough pieces on the baking sheet with the jagged surfaces facing up, leaving ample room between each ball. Repeat with the remaining dough. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
04
Bake, rotating the position of the baking sheets halfway through baking, until the outer edges start to brown yet centers are still barely soft (approximately 8-10 minutes). Do not over bake. Allow to cool on the baking sheets about 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
05
* Note: At this point, the dough balls can be frozen. Freeze first on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag or other storage container. To bake, place frozen dough balls on lined baking sheets and bake as directed above, adding a few minutes to the baking time (exact time will vary, just keep a watchful eye.)

Source

slightly adapted from Wit and Vinegar