baby toffee shortbread cookies

You can tell it's edging toward autumn when you have to dodge heaps of fallen apples from the ancient now-wild apple trees. Or when you go completely overboard when reading your friend Farmgirl's recipe for her Baby Shortbread Bites with toffee and chocolate chips. Yes indeed, like the bears, I guess I'm storing up fat for winter. Maybe I can blame it on the recent 5 hours I spent at the hospital, finding out about a back problem I didn't know I had. Whichever we choose, my response to her description of buttery, toffee-flecked mini cookies sent me straight into the kitchen. Her recipe called for both toffee bits AND mini chocolate chips, but I stayed with just the toffee , though I did drizzle some chocolate on some of the cookies.

Yummy, yum, yum!

Here's how to make your own:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Line two baking sheets with foil, shiny side up.

Makes 44 or more mini cookies.

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1 t. vanilla

1/4 t. salt

2 cups King Arthur flour

1 1/2 cups toffee bits OR 3/4 c . mini-chocolate chips and 3/4 toffee bits

Cream the butter and confectioner's sugar well.

Add the vanilla and salt and mix.

Add the flour and mix until incorporated well.

Mix in the toffee bits ( or the toffee and chocolate chips).

Using a small, 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop, scoop balls of dough onto the cookie sheets.

(Note: I always bake cookies one sheet at a time, upper third of the oven)

Bake for 17 minutes, remove to cool.

If you want to drizzle a little chocolate on them, melt some chocolate chips with a little vegetable shortening, microwave about 2 minutes or more, til chocolate is smooth and melted when stirred with a spoon. Dip a fork into the chocolate and drizzle on top of cookies.

Thanks, Farmgirl Susan!