Sweet and complex like caramel, crunchy, and deeply buttery, toffee is both an irresistible candy and a great addition to a cookie recipe. Conveniently sold in bits, toffee can be mixed into cookie dough just like chocolate chips; once baked, it melts slightly yet still keeps its firm but yielding texture and contributes an appealing chewy crunch to the finished cookie. The addition of light brown sugar to a simple butter cookie base contributed caramel notes that enhanced the toffee’s flavor. Toffee plays nicely with chocolate, so we decided to give these cookies some decorative flair by adorning them with melted chocolate and complementary buttery pecans. The options for decorating these cookies are endless; we particularly like dipping the cookies in the melted chocolate, but you could also simply drizzle the chocolate on top for sophistication and ease. Or, fill a zipper-lock bag with the melted chocolate, snip off a small corner, and pipe a chocolaty design on top. Use your imagination!
Ingredients
- 20.33 cups (11⅔ ounces) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup packed (7 ounces) light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (5 ounces) plain toffee bits
- 1½ cups (9 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 0.66 cup pecans, toasted and chopped fine
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in bowl. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low and slowly add flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Mix in toffee bits until just incorporated. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until dough is no longer sticky, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Transfer dough to counter and shape into rectangular log about 15 inches long and 3 inches wide. Wrap log tightly in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
- Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Slice chilled dough into ¼-inch-thick rectangles and space them 1 inch apart on prepared sheets. Bake until edges are browned, 12 to 16 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough. Let cookies cool completely.
- Microwave chocolate in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in oil until smooth. Dip part of each cookie into melted chocolate or drizzle chocolate over cookies with spoon. Sprinkle pecans over cookies and let chocolate set, about 1 hour, before serving.
