The BEST Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
There are defining moments in life, when a sudden thought sticks with you and won’t go away. Epiphany, or lightbulb moments, that strike so intensely that you can’t shake them off. They work their way to your core, and the deep guttural unction they produce forces you to act on the idea in some way. That… is the sort of feeling I had several years ago when I started this blog. I knew nothing about blogging, technology, or photography, but I had this persistent gnawing that I must start a recipe website. The evasive concept wouldn’t leave me alone, no matter how many times I told myself it was a waste of time. Needless to say, I followed the unction and it changed my life. Over the years, I’ve learned to trust epiphany moments as guidance from above. Another lightbulb moment occurred in my life several years earlier, while I was teaching 3rd graders writing techniques. I had given my students an assignment to write clear step-by-step instructions on how to make chocolate chip cookies. Surely all 9-year-olds had made cookies with mom or dad at some point, I thought. Though many of them would not know all the necessary ingredients or proportions, I still expected to receive papers that read:
Mix flour, sugar, butter, and chocolate chips in a bowl. Scoop the dough onto cookie sheets. Bake the cookies in the oven.
Instead, what I received was:
Open the cookie dough log with scissors. Cut the dough into circles. Place the circles on the cookie sheets and bake.
Or even worse…
Open the package of cookies. Pour the milk and dip.
I taught a generation of children who never baked homemade cookies with their parents. Everything they ate was pre-packaged. Epiphany: I must develop the absolute best chocolate chip cookie recipe and share it with people. That way, they experience the kind of cookies that can spark a desire to learn to cook. Ok… maybe my idea wouldn’t change the world, but it would provide a lifelong memory to a handful of people and would help them discover the many glorious attributes of cooking/baking from scratch.
Convection Oven Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toffee
I set off on a lengthy journey to test cookies for the very best chocolate chip cookie recipe. Of course, defining the term “best” is personal and objective. What I consider the perfect cookie, might not appeal to someone else. So let me tell you what I consider a really exquisite “chunk” style drop cookie. The cookies must be large and somewhat thin, with a crispy exterior and chewy interior. The dough should taste rustic grains, vanilla, and brown sugar, and have a fine texture. There should be plenty of chocolate chips (or various chunks) in each bite that can be seen from the top and bottom of every cookie. Sound reasonable? This is my idea of the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, and I’ve made it many times, with many variations.
Baking Cookies in Convection Oven
Today’s Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies are one of my very favorite varieties. The addition of the english toffee bits brings out the earthy essence of my secret ingredient, ground oats. Powderized dried oats provide a hearty grain flavor and a substantial texture, that doesn’t come across as course or gritty. It is a fantastic cookie enhancer. As with most drop cookies, you should chill the dough, so the cookies don’t become too thin. This is also a great dough recipe for freezing. I’ll often bake several cookies from the chilled dough, then roll the rest of the dough into a log and freeze it for quick convenient “log” cookies that are homemade! Since our kitchen remodel, I’ve been experimenting with convection baked cookies. I baked half of these cookies in my new KitchenAid oven on standard conventional bake, and the other half on convection bake. I was very pleased with the extra crispy texture of the “convection” cookies, while still retaining the soft chewy center. I also noticed the “convection” cookies held their shape and didn’t shrink as much when they came out of the oven. See? If you have a convection setting on your oven, give convection baked cookies a try. Otherwise, bake in your conventional oven and enjoy.
Ingredients Needed
All-purpose flour Ground oats Baking soda Salt Unsalted butter Light brown sugar Granulated sugar Vanilla extract Eggs Semi-sweet chocolate chips English toffee bits
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