Sometimes I make Major Baking Mishaps. A few months ago I was making a triple batch of Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps. I combined the butter and sugar, and while the mixer was running I started measuring out the other ingredients — flour, coffee grounds, cocoa powder, and all of that good stuff. And then I realized something horrible:
I had actually sextupled the butter. A triple batch required one and a half sticks of butter. I had used THREE. Whoopsie.
I didn’t want to make six batches of Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps, despite how much I love them. I didn’t want to toss out half of the dough in the mixer. So I just added six times the original amount of sugar and flour and such. Then I divided the dough in half, and made half of it into snowcaps, as planned. The other half I just experimentally added a bag of toffee chips and a cup of oats to before ziplocking it and tossing it in the freezer.
The “mishap” dough made me kind of nervous, because it was so buttery and egg-y. The original snowcap recipe is fairly light in the flour department and heavy on butter, and I was pretty sure its texture was going to be really weird.
But, in fact, the cookies were DELICIOUS. They were thin and chewy and lacy and so very good. One of Brad’s sisters said they reminded her of a candy bar. They were the best toffee cookies I’ve made, by far. And all because I messed up my math, bigtime.
Dainty Oatmeal Toffee Cookies
- 1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
- 3 t baking powder
- 1/2 t salt
- 1 1/2 sticks butter (12 T)
- 2 C brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 C oats
- 1 bag toffee chips (I used Heath)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and oats.
- In a large bowl (or KitchenAid), beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients. Add toffee chips. Mix just until combined. Chill dough in freezer until firm, about 45 minutes. (Or, just put the whole bowl in the freezer.)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Pour confectioners’ sugar into a large bowl. With slightly damp hands, shape dough into 1-inch balls (about 1 tablespoon of dough each).
- Confession: I don’t remember how long the cookies took to bake. Check them after 8 minutes, then every two minutes after that. They’re done when the edges are a very light brown.
