Chocolate Chip Walnut Toffee Cookies

I saw this recipe over at Cookie Madness quite a while ago, and have been dying to make it ever since. It actually is supposed to be a copycat recipe for the cookies they sell at the Doubletree Hotel. However, I know nothing about those cookies or that hotel, so I thought it wouldn't be fair to name my post "Doubletree Copycats" when I can't tell you anything about the originals and how they compare to this recipe (as opposed to the Levain copycats, in which I've never tasted the original, but at least I know a bit about them to compare). So why was I so attracted to this recipe then? Well, Anna's photo got me hooked, and as I read further, I saw that they had not only chocolate chips and walnuts in them, but toffee bits too! The toffee bits in particular made me want to try this recipe. I haven't used toffee bits in forever, so a cookie that contained all that wonderfulness sounded amazing.

But here's the reason why it took me so long to make them...I couldn't find toffee bits! Every store I went in that sold grocery items, I checked for toffee bits. Not a one had them. Finally, about a week ago, I went into a grocery store that I hardly ever go in to take advantage of some sales I saw in their circular. I thought I would take a stroll around the store just to see what they had, and when I hit the baking aisle, lo and behold. There were Heath Bits o' Brickle. I didn't think twice before snagging a bag off the shelf, inwardly squealing for joy, and making a mental note that this store carried toffee bits for future reference. So how were the cookies? Delicious! The toffee bits really paired nicely with the chocolate chips and walnuts. An interesting thing about this recipe is that it's very similar to the fake Neiman Marcus recipe, which I'm sure you all have heard of at least once. It contains oatmeal that you grind into a fine powder before adding, and a grated milk chocolate bar (although I omitted). I've actually made the fake NM recipe, and I remember it being delicious as well, but with the addition of walnuts and toffee bits that this recipe has, it's even more special and definitely worth making again and again.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Toffee Cookies (from Cookie Madness)
This is a smaller batch that makes a little more than a dozen. For the full recipe, go here.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons oatmeal (measure, then grind), ground in a coffee grinder or food processor
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 scant teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup toffee bits
• 3/4 cups walnuts, chopped

Directions

1. Mix flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. Cream butter and sugars in large mixer bowl. Add egg and vanilla and stir until mixed.
2. Add flour mixture and oatmeal gradually, stirring until incorporated. Stir in toffee bits, chocolate chips, and nuts. Scoop dough up with a quarter cup measure and shape into big balls. Press them slightly to make discs. Set the discs on a plate and chill for a few hours or until firm. (I didn't bother with this, I just wrapped all of the dough in plastic wrap, chilled completely, and then scooped round balls onto the baking sheet. Not flattening the dough = thicker, chewier cookies.)
3. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets about 3 inches apart. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-13 minutes. Cookies should still be slightly underdone. Move to wax paper lined counter to cool, do not use wire racks. (I'm not sure the reason for this or what it achieves. Again, I just skipped it, and used wire racks.)
   

Banoffee Pie

Hello to anyone who happens to be reading this, and welcome to my new blog!! I greatly enjoy surfing the internet and looking at other baking blogs and have been dying to start one of my own, so here I am! I've been baking from scratch for two years now, and I am completely in love with it. And of course, not to mention that it satisfies my monster sweet tooth! Here I simply intend to blog about my baking adventures and share great recipes. And what better way to start out the new blog then with a Banoffee Pie?

Banoffee Pie is an English dessert, and the name comes from the combination of the words banana and toffee. The funny thing about this pie is that it actually doesn't contain any toffee at all. Instead, it's made by layering caramel sauce (which I guess counts as the toffee, in this case) and bananas in a pie crust and then topping with whipped cream. Believe it or not, I got the idea to make a Banoffee Pie from watching my favorite show: Lost! One of the characters, Charlie (who is indeed English), names Banoffee Pie as one of the things he misses most stranded on the island. I had never heard of this pie, so it intrigued me. After looking it up and realizing I had ripe bananas that needed to be used, I decided to make it. A lot of recipes I looked over used dulce de leche as the caramel sauce (sweetened condensed milk boiled until it becomes a caramel), but this recipe was a little different and had rave reviews so I went with it.

The pie itself was very good. The caramel sauce was particularly good. I really didn't change much from the original recipe except to add my own little bits of flair. And well, I must admit that I did cheat a little and used a pre-made pie crust simply because I didn't want to fool with making one. My notes and changes will be in green.

Banoffee Pie (Adapted from nestle.com, and converted from metric into U.S. cups)

For the crust:

• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  
• 2 1/2 cups digestive biscuits, finely crushed (These are a kind of British cookie. If you cannot find them in your grocery store, graham crackers or any kind of crispy cookie can be substituted.)
  

1. Mix together the melted butter and the crushed digestive biscuits. Press on to the base and up the sides of a 9 in. pie pan (The original recipe called for a 19cm (7 1/2") loose bottomed cake tin. It kind of sounded like a springform pan, but I wasn't sure, so I just used a regular old 9 in pie tin and it worked out fine). Place in the fridge to chill whilst preparing the caramel.

For the caramel:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup caster sugar (Caster sugar is very fine sugar, and may also go by the name superfine. If you can't find it, you can measure out regular granulated sugar and put it in the food processor for a minute or two.)
  
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 can (397g) NESTLÉ CARNATION Sweetened condensed milk
• Couple pinches salt, maybe about 1/2 teaspoon
  

1. Place the butter and sugars and salt in a heavy saucepan (definitely add salt to your caramel to keep it from tasting flat). Heat gently, stirring until the butter is melted and the sugars are dissolved. Add the contents of the NESTLÉ Sweetened condensed milk. Bring gently to the boil, stirring continuously, and cook until a smooth golden brown caramel is formed (The caramel will never become a dark amber color. You're looking for a very light tannish color. You'll know when it's done because it becomes much thicker).
2. Spread the caramel over the chilled biscuit base. Leave to set in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

To assemble:

• 4 bananas (I only ended up using 2 large ones, since that was what I had.)
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons French vanilla pudding mix
• cocoa powder for dusting
  

1. Place the whipping cream, sugar, and pudding mix (I like to add pudding mix to my whipped cream because it not only adds great flavor, but stabilizes the whipped cream and keeps it from weeping) in a chilled bowl and beat with a chilled whisk until peaks form.
2. Slice the bananas and arrange them evenly over the caramel. Top with whipped cream and decorate with a dusting of cocoa powder and any remaining banana slices.