TOFFEE SHORTBREAD COOKIES

By campbellkid36

Ingredients

• 3 sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup toffee bits, I used Heath's Bits O'Brickle
• additional 3/4 cup toffee bits for topping the cookies, optional
• powdered sugar or flour, for rolling

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350.

Beat butter and sugar for several minutes, until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and almond extracts. In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt. Add flour to butter mixture, beating on low, until the dough comes together (it might be a little crumbly). Add ⅔ cup toffee bits and stir in by hand until evenly distributed.

Dump the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and press the dough into a disk. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to one hour.

Lightly sprinkle a flat surface with powdered sugar or flour and roll out the dough until ½ inch thick. Using the cookie cutter of your choice, cut the dough into desired shapes and place on a baking sheet, leaving a couple inches between the cookies for spreading.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the edges are light brown. If you'd like to sprinkle additional toffee bits on top of the cookies, pull the baking sheets out a couple minutes shy of being done and sprinkle about a teaspoon of toffee bits on top of each cookie. Return to the oven for several more minutes. This will allow the toffee bits on top of the cookies to melt just slightly but still retain a crunchy texture.

Cool the cookies completely on the baking sheets.