Chocolate Brickle Cookies

These are the real reason I made that toffee. ;)
They disappeared before I had a chance to take a photo... guess that's just an excuse to make more!

About 5 1/2 Dozen Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp. shortening
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
3/4 cup toffee bits

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 F.

1. Pulse the oats in the food processor until finely ground. Whisk the oats with the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

2. Beat the butter, brown sugar, sugar, and shortening in the bowl of a stand mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes (or until blended). Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Reduce the mixer to low speed and beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the nuts, chocolate, and toffee bits.

3. Scoop tablespoons of the batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten to ~1/2-inch thick. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Reference:
Chocolate Brickle Cookies from Cooking Pleasures magazine (unfortunately I forgot to write down the date before ripping it out of the magazine so I'm not sure which issue this was from...)

English Toffee

Not really sure why this is called English toffee... It's nothing like what I call toffee! lol ;) Toffee to the English is soft and chewy, not crunchy. Oh well, this stuff is still fanbloodytastic. :)
It's like a Heath bar without the chocolate. Of course, if you wanted a home-made Heath bar, you could just pour melted chocolate over the top or throw a cut-up chocolate bar on it while the toffee is still warm.

You'll want a decent candy/deep-fry thermometer for this. They're not expensive and are worth having since they come in very handy during the holiday baking season! :)

Makes 1 1/4 pounds

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter (use the real stuff)
1 cup sugar

Optional:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks/chips
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Method:
1. Combine the butter and sugar in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Cook until the candy thermometer reaches 300 F.

2. Quickly spread the mixture into a 15x10x1-inch pan.
If you're using chocolate, sprinkle it over the top now. Let it sit 5 minutes and then spread the chocolate over the toffee. Sprinkle with nuts if desired.

3. Cool the candy completely and then break it into pieces.

**To prevent your toffee from separating, fight the urge to stir! I know, it's tough! :)
In the beginning, stir occasionally until it reach 260-265 F. Then pretty much quit stirring (only a few times) while it continues cooking up to 300 F.
You will need to stir from time to time to prevent it from burning, but try to do it as little as possible.

Reference:
English Toffee from Land O'Lakes Baking: Trusted Recipes.