Salted Toffee-Almond Cookies

Among the food trends of 2008, salted caramel was my absolute favorite. I unabashedly joined the flock of like-minded obsessives and ate my way through every salted caramel item I could find. David Lebovitz’s Chocolate-Covered Caramelized Matzoh Crunch, and Gray Salt Caramels by Fran’s Chocolate were always close at hand. And though 2009 has rolled in and it’s time to make way for new food trends, my pang for the salty sweet remains insatiable.

So when I found half a bag of toffee pieces moping in the dreary depths of my pantry, I plucked them forth to become the integral ingredient in yet another salted treat. I also tossed in some almond paste left over from the week before, just because. The resulting cookies were chewy, almond-y, and wonderfully salty sweet. Can we move salted caramel from trend to mainstay?

Salted Toffee-Almond Cookies

1 ½ cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp sea salt
1 stick butter, room temperature
4 oz almond paste, broken into pieces
¼ cup brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons milk (I used almond milk)
6 oz toffee pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray or butter a cookie sheet.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a stand mixer, cream together the butter, almond paste and sugars until smooth. Add the egg, vanilla and 3 tablespoons of milk and blend together. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. If the mixture is slightly dry, add the remaining tablespoon of milk. Gently fold the toffee pieces into dough.

Form balls with the dough and place them on a cookie sheet, leaving two inches between each. Bake for 12-15 minutes.