Chocolate Chip Toffee Oatmeal Cookies

I made these cookies last week and wasn't planning on posting them for a bit. When I saw that Love & Olive Oil posted similar cookies yesterday, I decided to just put it up now. I got the original recipe from my oldest cookbook The Best of Country Cooking 2003 (it was a wedding present). It's a fantastic recipe (Toffee Malted Cookies) and I've only tweaked it a bit. Years ago, a friend gave me a tip to grind the oats in a food processor or blender. It's brilliant! You still get the nutty taste but don't have as lumpy a texture. I do it for all oatmeal cookies.

What you'll need (plus eggs *sigh*):

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or extract)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 - 2 cups regular oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup toffee bits

1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips (the original adds 1 cup chopped Whoppers instead of chocolate chips. Both taste divine.)

Pour oats into a food processor. Pulse until powdery. 

Combine with flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

In a separate large bowl, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add pudding mix and vanilla, beat well. Add flour and oat mixture to creamed mixture, mixing until completely combined. Fold in toffee and chocolate chips (dough will be stiff). Spoon onto parchment covered baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes. Let sit for 2 minutes before cooling on wire racks. Yields 5 or 6 dozen. 

(These are actually a different kind of cookie that I'm working on...but I wanted a "ready to freeze" picture)

Whenever I make cookies, I bake a dozen or so and freeze the rest. I scoop the dough into cookie sized balls and freeze them on a tray before transferring them to a ziplock freezer bag. This way I can have fresh cookies for the husband and kids in ten minutes, and cookie dough instantly for me.

Zucchini Bread: FAIL

Note to self: use more cooking spray and cook a lot longer than recipe says. The husband said it still tasted good and ate most of a loaf. Maybe not a complete failure?

Apple Cinnamon Parfait

Two weeks ago I was down with the flu. It was awful. Food lost all of it's appeal. That's how I know I was really sick. I lived off of diet Coke (does anyone else out there love the feel of carbonation on a sore throat?) and apples. 

Over the summer I got into a parfait rut. I was eating one each morning. Yogurt, berries and granola = super yummy. A friend told me that apples, cinnamon and yogurt were also a delicious combo. She was very right.

Apple Cinnamon Parfait:

Your favorite kind of apple (I used Gala), chopped
Vanilla yogurt
Granola (our favorite is Cascadian Farm but I didn't have any)
Cinnamon, to taste (I use maybe 1/2 - 1 teaspoon?)

Just toss whatever amount of each into a bowl. I put it in the cup so it would actually look like a parfait in the picture. Usually I dump it all in a bowl and have at it. I normally eat this minus the granola. The apple makes it crunchy and filling. One of my favorite breakfasts. Enjoy!