Sunday, October 26, 2008

A Real Mouthful! Chocolate Orange Almond Toffee Cookies

A few weeks ago I bought a bag of these:

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I knew I wanted to do something yummy with them.  Well, that meant it had to be cookies, of course!  I made a really crisp, chewy, buttery cookie that I think turned out perfect for the flavors that went in to it.  I felt that these cookies were dangerous to have around because I thought they were really good, so I've given most of them away! 

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Chocolate Orange Almond Toffee Cookies (adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Chewy, Chunky Blondies from Baking From My Home To Yours)

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups brown sugar (I used dark as that's all I had, dark or light would be fine)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose unbleached flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt------and now for the mix-ins--and there's a lot of them, but that's what makes the cookies

1 cup Andes toffee chocolates, chopped

1/2 cup Andes orange chocolates, chopped   (these amounts are because of what quantities were in the bag)

1/3 cup Andes cocoa chocolates, chopped

1 cup Hershey's milk chocolate with almonds, chopped

1/2 cup toffee bits

1/2 cup almonds, toasted and chopped

1 teaspoon orange zest

2 teaspoons orange juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside. 

In bowl of mixer, cream together well (about 2 minutes) the butter and sugars.  Scrape sides of bowl.  Add vanilla and eggs and beat well.  In medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Whisk to combine.  Add to creamed mixture just until incorporated.  (I often even mix half the dry ingredients in by hand with a wooden spoon or spatula.)  Stir in all the mix-ins at once. 

Drop by tablespoonfuls or using a cookie/ice cream scoop onto parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for five minutes, then remove cookies to cooling rack.  (I made 18-2 oz. cookies and 21-3/4 oz. cookies.  You could also just bake these in a 9x13 greased pan for 30-40 minutes and have yummy blondies.)

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Besides the sweet chocolate/orange "candy" flavor, the zest and orange juice are great additions, but definitely not overwhelming to the toffee and almonds.  All in all, I thought these all made a great complimentary combination.  The cookies are crisp on the outside, chewy and buttery and chocolatey and nutty and I'm sure good for you since there is fruit in them! ;)  Get yourself a bag of these Andes Fall Harvest Limited Edition Chocolates and made some great cookies!  (And you thought Andes just did mints, didn't you?!)  I did.

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Go get a tall glass of milk for these babies!

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7 comments:

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

I am goint to RUN to the store and get some of those candies tomorrow. I think these might be my dream cookies. It has all the things that I love.

Darius T. Williams said...

One night - I just need to be your houseguest for one night!

-DTW
www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com

Clumbsy Cookie said...

I think I might show up with Darius, lol! Love them Katrina, I think we just have to find them a new shorter name, cause I would eat 3 before I could say it all ahahah!

Lisa magicsprinkles said...

The only ingredient missing in the title which would have made me completely eat the screen is cheesecake. Chocolate Orange Almond Toffee Cookies??? Man oh man.

Pamela said...

Whoa! I have not seen those yet, but then I'm trying to avoid the candy aisle! :o) Nice job on the cookies. I just made Dorie's blondies tonight! How funny. Goodness, those things are good.

Satisfying my Sweet Tooth said...

I HAVE to get some of those candies! I'm usually pretty good at finding good seasonal candy, but I haven't seen those yet! They look SO good!

Unknown said...

Toffee and chocolate sound good...not so sure about orange. The cookies look great, though!