Brown butter chocolate chip (hazelnut) cookies

I took a break from making ice cream and brownies, and decided to make...cookies! What can I say...I'm a creature of habit.

When it comes to comfort-baking and eating, you can't beat chocolate chip cookies. Even with temps in the 90's like it was here last week, I can't stop myself from turning on the oven to bake and cook (luckily, these cookies are done in 11 minutes). And I still crave a gooey chocolate chip cookie in the summer as much as I do in the winter.

I have a few recipes I make often but it's always fun to find something new to try. This time, I made brown butter chocolate chip cookies - a recipe I adapted slightly from Displaced Housewife.  Since I associate brown butter with hazelnuts, and because I personally like nuts in most baked goods, I added toasted chopped hazelnuts to about half my batch of cookies (my fellas usually prefer their cookies without nuts). 

If you remember, I made Displaced Housewife's olive oil chocolate chip cookie recipe not long ago and they were sensational.  I had high hopes for these cookies - which is made with a combination of brown butter and a flavorless oil (I used canola), and a mix of bread and all-purpose flour.  They didn't turn out as chewy as the olive oil cookies but these were solid cookies - sturdy and moist, happily devoured by all.  I think it's hard to make a "bad" batch of chocolate chip cookies if you make sure to stuff it with enough good chocolate.  You pretty much can't go wrong!

Easy chocolate hazelnut cookies - small batch, in a flash

It's the day after Valentine's Day and I found myself in the kitchen making chocolate cookies.  We seriously don't need more chocolates or treats after indulging (more than usual) the day before but I couldn't help myself.  I got my hands on Christina Lane's latest book, Sweet & Simple, and these chocolate hazelnut cookies were just too easy and promising to resist.  In my defense, it takes hardly any work and results in a very reasonable 6 cookies, which are sure to vanish quickly.

I hope you had a sweet Valentine's Day!  I loved seeing all the expressions of love and chocolate everywhere leading up to it.  And speaking of things I love - I'm a big fan of small-batch baking and while I often just scale down recipes/divide them in half, I adore so many of Christina's recipes from her books and her blog, Dessert for Two! I've made many of her recipes - both sweet and savory, often on repeat. So I was eager to dig into her latest book, and it didn't disappoint.  It's got all the straight-forward, simple recipes for small-batch baking that I've come to love.  

So despite our tummies being sufficiently filled with chocolates and biscuits (and with more standing by in our cupboards), I made room for these cookies, which are seriously easy and fast to make.  Follow the recipe exactly and you only need 6 ingredients (Nutella/chocolate-hazelnut spread, sugar, egg, flour, chocolate chips, and salt for sprinkling), a few minutes to mix everything up, and 10 minutes in the oven. I had time to "complicate" matters slightly...

I decided to add some chopped toasted hazelnuts into the dough along with the chocolate chips (I used miniature ones).  I always keep a jar of mixed nuts in the kitchen to snack on everyday so I just went and pilfered some of the hazelnuts for these cookies (I was in the mood for some extra texture and I think nuts help balance the sweetness).  Instead of all-purpose flour, I used white whole wheat flour (these cookies are so moist, they can take it) and rather than sprinkling the baked cookies with sea salt on top, I added a pinch into the dough. 

In a flash - I had 6 fudgy, moist, chocolate-hazelnut cookies on my counter. They are chewy and sticky (my husband likened it to marzipan), and on the sweet side so the hazelnuts were a welcome addition of texture and flavor as a bit of a contrast. Because these cookies are so fudgy in the center (thanks to the chocolate-hazelnut spread), you might want to be a little patient and allow the cookies to cool and firm up fully before removing them from the baking sheet.  

My husband brought home some sweet strawberries for me on Valentine's night (incidentally, I took a few and dipped them in dark chocolate; they were so good and easy to do, making me wonder why I'd never done it before!).  And so I thought a few strawberries with one or two of these cookies would make a well-balanced snack/dessert.  I hope you agree.

Gingerbread biscotti with hazelnuts

Come November, I start craving those holiday spices we're all familiar with.  Since we're comfortably into December already, those cravings are at a peak!  It's so wonderful to bake something and have the aromas of warm spices like cinnamon, cloves, and ginger swirling in the air.  Sugar and spice really does make everything nice!

To get some of those holiday spices in the air - and for a taste of those yummy flavors - I made a batch of gingerbread biscotti.  To me, biscotti is just a great snacking cookie to have around all year round.  I really love making and eating them; they're not too rich but so satisfying, and go ever so very nicely with a warm drink.

I added toasted hazelnuts to these gingerbread biscotti, which are flavored with ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and a few grinds of black pepper.  The mix of these spices with dark brown sugar as it bakes makes an intoxicating aroma. The holiday flavors definitely come through!  

You can omit the hazelnuts but I think biscotti and nuts just go together.  The hazelnuts add a layer of richness to the cookies in a healthful way. Since this batch of biscotti has a little bit of butter in it, they are crisp and crunchy, as you'd expect, but maybe not quite as intensely hard as the biscotti that do not have butter.  I used to be firmly in the "no-butter in biscotti" camp but I've come around and now really enjoy both. 

I couldn't resist dipping some of my gingerbread-hazelnut biscotti in dark chocolate.  I think that white chocolate might have been more visually appealing but I'm all about the dark chocolate so I went with what we like to eat.  And I must say...I really, really loved the chocolate dipped ends of the biscotti!  That's probably not surprising given the well-established delicious pairing of chocolate and hazelnuts.  

If you're looking for a cookie option that's fit for the holidays but not quite so rich, gingerbread biscotti is a great one.  It's also just a great cookie to have on hand right now for snacking or everyday dessert...the gingerbread flavors put me in the holiday spirit while the nice crunch of these cookies always perk me up (so I'm ready for more holiday shopping)!

Hazelnut balls (mini hazelnut cakes with mocha buttercream)

Does anyone in the New York area remember Black Hound Bakery?  For years, there was a small shop in the mall near my house in New Jersey.  Even before we moved to the suburbs from Brooklyn, we would go to this mall and stop by this bakery.  I'd look at all the beautiful little cakes and chocolates on display.  It was a gem of a shop and after looking around, I'd inevitably go for one of their hazelnut balls and a fizzy lemonade.  I was pretty hooked on both those things.

My version of Black Hound Bakery's hazelnut balls: a hazelnut cake, filled and covered with mocha buttercream and coated with toasted hazelnuts

After a while, Black Hound moved from their little shop at the mall to a bigger store in the same mall.  It was nice for a while...but then it closed down!  I was too busy with a young child to think too much about it but I have to tell you, I could never forget those hazelnut balls, or the fizzy lemonades either for that matter.

When that shop at the mall closed, there was still a Black Hound in New York City; my sister and brother-in-law were likewise fans of the bakery and their hazelnut balls, and I knew my brother-in-law visited the shop sometimes to bring treats home.  But sadly, it looks like Black Hound is gone now, closing its NYC bakery about a year ago. 

The actual hazelnut balls these are modeled after were probably slightly taller and a little less wide

Now, the good news is we can have hazelnut balls again because I'm thrilled to say the ones I made at home tasted so very similar!  [If interested, there are some photos of Black Hound's cakes, including the hazelnut balls, on google image.]

It all started when I made that pistachio-orange-chocolate cake recently.  It turned out so delicious and I kept saying to myself (as well as to my husband, and anybody else willing to listen...) that its texture - a sponge cake packed with nuts - reminded me of Black Hound's hazelnut balls. I thought I could substitute the pistachios with hazelnuts and play around with it a bit. 

Black Hound used to display their hazelnut balls (as well as snow balls, mud balls, and checker ball) on a glass cake stand on their counter

So that's just what I did!  I used that pistachio cake recipe and turned it into a hazelnut cake.  To mimic the snowball size of the cakes, I baked them in small paper muffin molds (I ordered these via amazon).  I was so sure that the cakes were filled and coated with coffee buttercream but looking at images online, I read that it was actually a mocha buttercream!  So I added a little cocoa powder to a coffee buttercream.  A small amount of Dutch-processed cocoa turned my buttercream a darker color than the original, which was more beige/light-coffee colored.  Slathered with plenty of toasted ground hazelnuts, it is all about the hazelnut flavor but you can taste the note of coffee in the background from the frosting.

My taste-testers - hazelnut ball "experts" including my husband, my sister, my brother-in-law - and I were so happy to relive our Black Hound days.  I got thumbs-up by all (even the little guy, who is coming around again to nuts) and was even told by my very biased crew that they preferred my version because the buttercream was "less buttery".  That may be a questionable compliment, I know, but what they meant was the home version had a balanced amount of buttercream, not too much.  If I had to guess, I'd think Black Hound used a swiss meringue buttercream, making it creamier than the simple American one I used.  I'm sure many people would prefer more buttercream and a more buttery one at that so it's all subjective.  All I can say is this totally worked for us and it was so nice to relive an old favorite and a lovely taste memory.

We had coffee with our hazelnut balls...all I was missing was the fizzy lemonade!

Hazelnut marble coffee cake

When I go to the big bookstore (you know the one since there are so few nowadays), I'm always drawn to the magazine racks and to the cooking magazines.  These days, aside from the usual monthly issues, there are all these special edition magazines featuring everything from seasonal cooking/baking to one-pot meals.  I'll find myself flipping through these mini cookbooks and with all the great photography, everything looks delicious.  Every once in a while though, for whatever reasons, something especially calls out to me.  This hazelnut marble coffee cake did that the other day and I just wanted to make it. 

I wasn't really sure what it was that made me want to make this little cake so much.  I supposed we simply like what we like, and this cake has a lot of the characteristics that I like in a cake.  I'm a big fan of basic cakes that don't need frosting; I love hazelnuts and anything with chocolate (the duo/marbled layers really appealed to me).  I've also realized that old-fashioned coffee cakes need to make a serious come back and that crumb toppings are something to swoon over.  

As it turns out, this was also something of a light recipe - another thing that appealed to me because ideally, I'm looking for tasty, balanced, treats I can enjoy everyday.  But I have to admit I started second-guessing my decision to try this out when I looked deeper...I started thinking: "Really?  Just 1 tablespoon of butter (never mind that the original recipe uses vegetable oil spread) for the crumb topping?  Light sour cream, 7 tablespoons of water and just 3 tablespoons of canola oil in the cake?" Is that going to taste good?

I decided to go for it and give it a try.  The recipe left some room for interpretation as far as using other types of flours and even sugar substitutes.  I stuck with the framework of the recipe but used a tablespoon of butter (as opposed to oil spread) for the topping, an actual egg (instead of egg product, which I've never bought) in the cake, and I choose to substitute half the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour.  A little extra vanilla extract worked out well, too.

I really wasn't sure this coffee cake would taste as appealing as it looked in the magazine but the good news is it was very good!  The cake is moist and tender, and you can taste the cocoa of the top layer. That really makes a difference, adding some dimension and giving you the feeling that you're eating some hybrid between coffee cake and a marble loaf or light pound cake.  Though the cake itself isn't very flavorful, it goes nicely with the strong flavor of the crumb topping.

The hazelnuts in the topping packs a punch of flavor.  If you're not a fan of hazelnut, I see no reason not to substitute with something else like walnuts or almonds.  For me, the hazelnuts work really well with the cocoa layer and gives you a ton of flavor in the topping.  And speaking of the crumb topping, I found that just one tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar does get the job done here! If you are feeling generous (or a little greedy), I wouldn't discourage anyone from making a bit more topping to go on top of this coffee cake.  Thanks to those flavorful, toasted hazelnuts though, I think it works just as it is.

All you need is a cup of coffee...

Chocolate oatmeal...breakfast or dessert?

I've mentioned I love oatmeal.  I eat it regularly and I can have it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner - or as part of those meals.  I don't remember when or where I first saw this idea of chocolate oatmeal but I did see it once and then it started popping up everywhere I turned...that's rather typical, isn't it?  

Chocolate oatmeal: Steel-cut oatmeal cooked with a bit of cocoa powder

To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure I liked the idea.  I figured chocolate oatmeal was similar to something like chocolate rice pudding but the problem was, I haven't ever had that either!  I don't know...I couldn't really picture the flavor and I wasn't sure I wanted to mingle my oatmeal and chocolate together.  Both things are awesome on their own but maybe they should remain separate, savored individually?  I was curious though, and since I love oatmeal and I most certainly love chocolate, I wanted to give the combination a try.  And seeing this post from The Kitchn recently inspired me to make it sooner rather than later.  

So, have you had chocolate oatmeal?  If so, do you like it?  And would you say this is something to eat for breakfast or dessert?  I suppose it can be either or neither.  I had it for lunch, actually.  

Topped with a little bit of dark chocolate, hazelnuts, and almonds

I can tell you that at first bite, I thought: "mmm...well, this is pretty good!"  Despite appearances, I have to say that there really isn't anything too dramatic or even overly decadent going on here. As much as it looks like a very rich, almost sinful, chocolate pudding-like concoction, the base oatmeal is nothing more than my usual bowl of steel-cut oatmeal cooked in water.  A mere tablespoon or so of unsweetened cocoa powder transforms it into this dark, chocolate concoction, and I didn't have to use much more sweetener than I normally do...just about a tablespoon of honey for a cup of oats.

Then, you move on to toppings, however.  Real chocolate enters the picture but use restraint and it's nothing to feel guilty about.  I sprinkled no more than a third of an ounce of chocolate over my bowl of oatmeal and added some nuts - hazelnuts and almonds in this case.  I have to say the best part was spooning up and tasting this oatmeal with some bits of melting chocolate mixed in.  It once again shows that everything is better with chocolate - at least for us chocoholics!  Somehow, I managed to resist the urge to add more chocolate as I went along.

This was a fun trial.  I enjoyed it though I don't see myself eating this regularly.  I really enjoy my regular bowl of plain oatmeal, sweetened lightly with honey, and I eat chocolate every day (it makes me a better, calmer person).  I think I prefer to savor each separately but now that I know what the combination tastes like firsthand, I will say it's nice and I'd enjoy it once in while as a way to mix things up a little if I get tired of my usual routine (I'm pretty much a stickler for routine though).  

Chocolate-hazelnut cups (for my Valentine)

Maybe for special occasions like Valentine's Day, I feel the urge (or I can justify) the effort to try and make my own confections.  I took on this little project because I wanted to make some homemade Valentine treats for my husband.  I mean, why simply buy delicious chocolates from the store when you can really show your love by toiling away on a snow day, brushing miniature candy cups with chocolate and filling it with your own chocolate-hazelnut concoction?

Well...these little chocolate-hazelnut cups didn't exactly turn out the way I envisioned - visually, anyway.  The goal was a cross between a Ferrero Rocher and Baci Perugina - those heavenly bites of chocolate-hazelnut goodness that my husband and I are partial to.  I think these really hit the mark on taste.  They're delicious!  Visually, however...my chocolate-hazelnut cups are certainly wanting but I hope the taste makes up for it.

If you love the combination of chocolate and hazelnut - what the Italians beautifully call, gianduja - and those particular chocolates I mentioned, these are for you and your sweetheart.

The cups are just bittersweet chocolate.  The filling I made is a mixture of semisweet chocolate and Nutella, mixed with chopped toasted hazelnuts.  When I think of chocolate-hazelnut desserts, I think of feuilletine - those super crispy yet light-as-air, thin pastry flakes that I could eat all day.  So for that extra special texture (and taste), I added bits of crushed crepe dentelle, or crepe cookies, into the filling.  It's a shortcut way of getting feuilletine without actually buying it or making it yourself.

Bittersweet chocolate cups are filled with a mixture of chocolate-nutella spread, coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts and crispy crepe dentelles (crispy, light pastry flakes)

These chocolate-hazelnut cups were mainly inspired by a recipe in a Cupcake book that I picked up a long time ago.  I also leaned on a recipe I found from epicurious.  I've had these little cups in the back of my mind for a special occasion for a long time; I think Valentine's Day certainly qualifies.  And like some ideas that land in your head and sticks there, and just won't go away, I'm glad I finally made this idea into reality so I can stop thinking about it.

I made several changes to the recipes, scaling it down but mainly making the process easier so that the filling is one you can easily mix together and fill into the dark chocolate cups.  After spending the time to "paint" chocolate into little baking cups, patience and concentration levels start to run low and I think the rest of the steps need to be quick and easy.  I did have visions of a neatly piped filling in the center of each one of these.  That didn't happen but I promise these taste wonderful.

I'm glad Valentine's Day is on a Friday this year.  I'm ready for a simple, relaxing at-home dinner with my hubby after bedtime for the little guy.  And I've stashed away a couple of these chocolate-hazelnut cups for us.  I just may have a few other, store-bought - "real" - chocolates for my Valentine as well.  

Have a sweet Valentine's Day!

Nutella-hazelnut crinkle cookies...'Tis the season!

It's the holiday season!  It's cookie season!  It's the season for treats and indulgence, and quality time with family!  Can you tell I'm excited?  I have a feeling there's a good chance you're just as excited as I am.   

Chewy nutella-hazelnut crinkle (crackle) cookies perfect for the season

I just love December and Christmastime.  I try to get as much done as possible - as far as Christmas shopping and other to-do's - so I'll have time to savor the season.  

Aside from the twinkling lights and general goodwill floating in the air, one of the best part of the holiday season has to be all the good eats - the cookies and treats, all being washed down with cups of hot cocoa!  I made a list of family-favorites I'll be baking up this month both to savor at home and to pack up as gifts.  I have a ton of things I'd love to make but like all of you, I had to be realistic and narrow it down.  I hope to get to as much as possible while keeping things manageable so it's enjoyable instead of stressful (because if it's stressful, why bother).  It is indeed that time of year when I happily turn into a little kitchen elf, baking up old favorites and trying a few new recipes, too!

On the "new" side of things (for me, anyway), I'd love to share these nutella-hazelnut crinkle cookies with you.  Crinkles/crackles, I can't decide which to call them!  Because of how wintry they look, I like to make them at Christmastime.  Plus, my little one is partial to them and if you have a child, you know it's all about what your child likes - particularly, at Christmastime!  Last year, I really enjoyed adding a little almond extract to our batch of chocolate crackles and this year, I've been saving up this hazelnut version to try for the holidays.

I added chopped hazelnuts to half my batch of cookies and left the other half plain

I'm glad I kicked off our holiday cookie season with these because they were awesome! While chocolate crackles are generally like a light brownie, moist and soft, these nutella-hazelnut crinkles are nice and chewy.  I am a big fan of chewy cookies so they were right up my alley.  With these, I also finally got a chance to make cookies with nutella and I'm happy they didn't disappoint one bit.

I divided my batch of cookies into two: half without chopped hazelnuts inside (for my son) and the other with.  My son loved these cookies and was very grateful for his hazelnut-free half batch - though he wanted a lot more.  For my part, I think the toasted hazelnuts balance out some of the sweetness of these cookies and heighten the hazelnut flavor.  The original recipe called for rolling the outside of the cookies with additional hazelnuts but I opted to keep things simple.  Instead, I upped the amount of hazelnuts I used inside my cookies and skipped the additional roll in nuts.  This way, they also keep the classic, snowy, crackled look I love for this time of year.

Incredible chocolate-hazelnut meringue torte - in miniature

It was love at first sight.  I saw this cake on Smitten Kitchen and knew I wanted (needed) to make it as soon as possible.  I made a small 6-inch version, scaled down for a weekend family dinner for three.

Inspiration is everywhere.  I see so many wonderful sweet and savory dishes on blogs, cooking shows, in magazines, and from restaurants and bakeries that I want to emulate and try at home.  I'm making more progress lately but with so many possibilities and aspirations, things usually get added to my "to-make" list where I hope to get to it...eventually.  Well, this cake just moved me - straight into the kitchen - and would not be relegated into the annals of my to-do list.

I'm being a little overly dramatic but in all seriousness, I wanted to make and taste this torte, or layer cake, not only because a very reliable source says it's amazing but also because it has many of the components I love in a dessert - chocolate, nuts (hazelnuts are one of my favorites), and a contrast in texture... 

Layers of hazelnut meringue, bittersweet chocolate, and whipped cream (it's good just like this!)

And I'm glad I followed my instincts because what I discovered is one of the best things I've ever baked.   I think this torte is a show-stopper, a restaurant-quality dessert that I never would've thought I could make myself a couple of years ago.   And it was actually easy, at least not much more work than making a traditional layer cake.

Not only does it look amazing, the taste is a knock-out combination of flavors in your mouth.  I love the layers of soft nutty meringue, separated by thin, ever-so -slightly hardened sheets of bittersweet chocolate, that's all coated with creamy hazelnut-kissed whipped cream.  It is a hazelnut and chocolate lover's dream!

For a long time now, I've been thinking about attempting a multi-layer almond and hazelnut torte very similar to this one.  I believe it's called a "marjolaine cake", the rectangular kind made with layers of nut meringue, alternating with layers of chocolate ganache and coffee or some similar buttercream.  I've had my eye on a recipe from the Flour Bakery cookbook as well as one from America's Test Kitchen (both are that list of mine).  When I saw this cake, I thought it was a far simplified, lighter, version of the marjolaine cake that I keep thinking about.  Turns out, this is the recipe I've been waiting for! 

Now, about the name of this torte.  Deb calls it a "macaroon" torte but I just can't help but think coconut as in those flourless cookies when I hear the word.  It's also a dacquoise but whether you call it that, or macaroon, or meringue (like I'm tagging it), we're talking about a stacked cake made up of these layers created by combining nuts (in this case, plenty of hazelnuts) with firmly whipped egg whites.  The alternating layers of chocolate and creamy coatings of whipped cream complete the package.

The torte is surprisingly easy to slice, as the meringue is soft (and chock full of hazelnuts)

I will certainly be making this again and most likely, in the full, 8-inch, size.  I reduced the recipe down by half (though I made a little extra whipped cream) to make this 6-inch torte because I baked it for a Saturday night dinner and we  were not planning to be home beyond the next day to take advantage of leftovers.  Cakes with whipped cream are usually best eaten the day they're made but I've had success storing another Smitten Kitchen cake featuring whipped cream in the fridge for 24 hours or so and that's the case with this cake too.  I can personally attest to its quality within the 24 hour timeframe.

A special cake is very appropriate today because it's the 2nd anniversary of this little blog!  You know I clearly have a thing for chocolate and hazelnuts. Without purposely intending to, I just naturally gravitate towards this type of cake for special occasions.   For the blog's first birthday a year ago, I made a somewhat similar chocolate-hazelnut meringue cake and there are other hazelnut cakes in the archives.

I am still really enjoying this little blog endeavor, which has proven to be a fun hobby, a scrapbook of sorts, and the catalyst for so much learning.  I've tried many new things I never would have if not for this blog.  This torte is the perfect example of that!  Beyond baking, it's also encouraged me to be more adventurous in the kitchen in general.  I've been experimenting more on the savory front, learning to mix things up and make tasty and healthier dishes to share with my family.  Dinner time has been a lot more interesting!  I love being in the kitchen and feeling the satisfaction of feeding my family well and making discoveries along the way.  I also love seeing these little posts come to life!

Holiday snack mix - spiced, glazed nuts & pretzels

With New Year's celebrations approaching, I bring you another little nibble to consider having alongside your glass of champagne or other drink of choice.

I actually made this "holiday snack mix" - another recipe from the awesome David Lebovitz - last weekend for my Christmas party.  I served it up alongside the drinks as a little something to nosh on.  This holiday snack mix is pretty irresistible...there's the crunch, the warm-smokiness of the nuts, and the combination of sweet and salty that's so appealing.

I used a combination of nuts I like most: walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, and almonds, alongside pretzels.  Add cinnamon and chili powder for the spice while some brown sugar and maple syrup provide the sweetness.  Somewhere in between, there's just a bit of melted butter and a scattering of flaky sea salt.  I was a little nervous about the cinnamon, particularly with chili powder, but I trusted my unofficial baking guru and I liked the combination.  There's actually a "holiday" flavor to them...

This snack mix (holiday or not) is easy and fun to make, great for a crowd.  Plus, it makes a great hostess gift too.  I'm glad I followed my instinct and made a little extra!

Hazelnut-toffee chocolate chip cookies

I was on an almond kick for a while and now, it seems to be hazelnuts.  I'm a big fan of most nuts in general and love incorporating them in baking.  And ever since I made toffee during Christmas, I've been wanting to make some cookies with toffee.  So here we are.  These are chocolate chip cookies with hazelnuts, English toffee (chopped Heath bars), and some ground oats thrown in for good measure.  They're crisp around the edges and chewy in the center, just the way my family and I prefer a chocolate chip cookie.

I took the easy route by using chocolate chips instead of chopping up some chocolate, which would be much better.  These were very satisfying just as they were.  I love recipes using ground oats in the cookie batter (even if it means a little more work) - it adds some chewy texture and a little something good for you.

If I close my eyes, I can't say that I'd be able to tell you right away that there's toffee in these cookies.  If you really eat and look at it carefully, you'll find little bits of slightly hard, chewy toffee, but in general, the toffee contributes an extra sweet, caramel note to these cookies.  I liked these a lot (particularly after resting the dough a few days in the fridge) but if I'm comparing, I'd have to say that those milk chocolate hazelnut cookies from Flour bakery edges out just a bit because the hazelnut flavor just really pops. 

But one can never have too many good chocolate chip cookie recipes and their many variations.  This is another one and quite a good one at that.  Make the cookies on the small side or scoop them a little larger if you like.  Either way, it makes a very tasty afternoon snack.