Tag Archives: Skor Bits

Smoked Almond and Toffee Shortbread

Sometimes when we’re travelling, my husband and I play this game, where we say what we would decree if we were king of the world. His proclamations usually involve cleaning up garbage at the side of the road, fixing derelict homes, zapping slow drivers off the road and shortening the length of red lights in Florida.

My wishes are a bit less lofty. I would create an ordinance that required all dentist offices to provide a pedicure while you are having your teeth cleaned. Multi-tasking at its finest. I would also command that all meals end with a cookie. I always crave a little something sweet at the end of dinner. Just a little bite, nothing too big. Cookies really are the perfect dessert. I think more restaurants should offer a cookie plate for dessert.

It’s December, so I have happily jumped onto the cookie train, and I intend to keep on rolling until you beg me to stop, or, I gain my annual holiday 5 pounds, whichever comes first.

These are a simple slice and bake cookie, studded with Skor bits and smoked almonds. For fun, I shaped them into a square log, but round cookies are good too. A tip for when you are slicing the logs; give the log a 90 degree turn after each slice, so that one side of the log does not get too squished.

I treated my cookies to a little dip in melted milk chocolate. The mellow flavour of milk chocolate is perfect with the caramel notes of the toffee and the salty smoky almonds.

While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle on some extra crushed smoked almonds for extra crunch.

Click here to print recipe for Smoked Almond and Toffee Shortbread Cookies Download

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Chewy Brown Sugar and Toffee Cookies

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I won’t post a recipe with an obscure ingredient just for the sake of novelty. I try not to ask you to special order something unless it truly adds to the recipe and significantly improves the dish.

So it was with some trepidation that I ordered a $15 bag of smoked brown sugar to experiment with. In my defence, I was curious. I had never seen smoked brown sugar before and I was intrigued. I’m not a huge fan of smoked fish, but I adore smoked almonds and smoked turkey. Plus, I love nothing more than kitchen experiments. My inquisitive brain wanted to see what would happen if I snuck some into a batch of cookie dough.

I was envisioning a cookie with a hint of that campfire smoke you associate with making s’mores. Sometimes there is a huge gap between what you wish for and what actually transpires. I ended up with a batch of cigarette flavoured cookies. Too smoky!! I tried them again with just a scant 1/4 cup of smoked brown sugar and while the smoke flavour was mild, they had an odd smell. reminiscent of sweaty gym socks. Not what you are looking for in a cookie.

But it was not a total failure. As my sister Jody is fond of saying, “mistakes are how we learn”. The texture of these cookies was stellar. They were slightly crispy at the edges with a pronounced chewiness in the center. I decided to make them with all regular brown sugar and I added a bag of chopped Skor/Heath bits to really enhance the toffee notes of brown sugar. I finished them off with a light sprinkling of flaked sea salt before baking.

As I munched my way through the new batch, I knew I had a winner on my hands. And I saved you $15. You’re welcome!

Click here to print recipe for Chewy Brown Sugar and Toffee Cookies Download

Crisp Toffee Pecan Bars

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When it comes to social media and tech savviness, I must admit I’m not exactly current. I have a twitter account with about 40 followers, but I’m confused about where I’m supposed to be leading them. I do post on Instagram, but not very frequently. I check the spelling and punctuation of every text I send, which makes me a very slow texter. My kids usually abandon our text chats within the first few messages and just pick up the phone and call me because I am so frustratingly slow, compared to their lightening fast thumbs.

I try to keep up with all the cool kids and know the meaning of many internet acronyms. One meme that has been picking up steam as usage of social media skyrockets is FOMO. For the uninitiated, FOMO stands for fear of missing out. The Oxford Dictionary defines it as “Anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website.” It’s that little pang of envy you feel when you’re looking at vacation photos, amazing restaurant meals or parties of friends and family that you weren’t invited to.

But it looks like FOMO may be taking a back seat to JOMO – joy of missing out. According to The Huffington Post, “the term is a rebellion against saying yes to everything, and is about giving yourself the space to think and experience things without freaking out about what you ‘should’ be doing instead.”

As a proud introvert, I wholeheartedly embrace JOMO! Let’s hear it for staying home, binge watching Netflix and snacking on Crisp Toffee Pecan Bars.I discovered these cookies on The New York Times Cooking website. The dough is baked in a cast iron pan. Baking in cast iron allows for a degree of deep caramelization that just can’t be achieved on a regular baking sheet. If you don’t already have a cast iron pan, maybe this will convince you to invest in one.

Creator Charlotte Druckman gives you the option of adding nuts or chocolate to the dough. Inspired by one of my favourite cookies, Skor Bars, I added pecans, chocolate and Skor bits!Place your empty cast iron pan in the oven while you make the dough.Grease the hot pan very carefully with butter. Press dough into hot pan. Use the bottom of a measuring cup so you don’t burn yourself. Score dough into wedges and let cookies completely cool in pan before removing.The edges will be deeply browned and crispy while the center is still nice and chewy. Pecans and skor bits contribute great crunch and chocolate is always welcome. A glass of milk might just be the best accompaniment to your JOMO experience.

Click here to print recipe for Crisp Toffee Pecan Bars.

On the fifth night of Chanukah: Chocolate Crunch

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On the fifth night of Chanukah, I made Chocolate Crunch for my true love. Truthfully, this one was for me. My true love is not a huge chocolate lover. This recipe comes from The Mast Brother’s cookbook.

My friends, The Grizzlies, gave me this book as a gift when I broke my foot a few years ago. It kept me greatly entertained while my bones were healing. The recipes are delicious but what I really love best about this book are the deep, dark, exquisite chocolate photos. The book reads like an adventure novel, following the bearded brother’s unusual journey from their home state of Iowa to their factory in Brooklyn. Plus, how could you not love a book whose dedication reads, “To our mother, we love you.”

The Mast Brothers were on the forefront of the bean-to-bar artisan chocolate movement. They source cocoa beans with unique flavour profiles from around the world, roast the beans in small batches to create truly handmade chocolate, one of the very few chocolate makers to do so. And their bars have the coolest packaging.

This is a pretty simple recipe, no baking required. I tinkered with their recipe, ever so slightly by adding some Skor bits to the mix. Rice Krispies add a gentle snap, while the toffee flavoured Skor bits add a firmer crackle and pop.

The mixture gets poured into a parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerated until set. Sliced into thick slabs, this is the perfect afternoon pick-me-up!

Click here to print recipe for Chocolate Crunch.

Butterscotch Toffee Salty Oatmeal Cookies

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The fact that I have made these cookies four times in the past two weeks would lead you to the inescapable conclusion that I have a humungous sweet tooth and a total lack of willpower. And you would be correct! However, each time I made them I tweaked the recipe slightly until I came up with what I believe to be an outstanding cookie. So you could say that it was all in the name of research.

I made them exactly as the original recipe was written. I had seen these cookies on seriouseats.com, and was intrigued. They are essentially an oatmeal cookie but with some butterscotch chips mixed in. I baked the first batch but found them to be a bit too sweet and one-dimensional. So I baked a second batch and added some Skor bits to amplify the toffee flavour. They were good but not perfect. Something was missing. My daughter suggested I add dried cherries to the dough. Jackpot!

I love the way the Skor bits melt and ooze out of the cookie as they bake. There is a tiny bit of crunchy toffee on the edge of each cookie as they cool. The textural contrast between the crispy edges and the chewy center is what keeps you going back bite after bite. Tart dried cherries temper the sweetness of the butterscotch and toffee. The occasional ping on your tongue, from the Fleur de sel crystals sprinkled on top keep everything in check. These are a perfectly balanced (albeit, not nutritionally balanced) cookie!Using an ice cream scoop to portion the cookies ensures that they will all be the same size and shape and bake evenly. I like the #24 size scoop (about 1.3 ounces). I was able to get 12 cookies on my baking pans (13 x 18 inches). Pour a cold glass of milk and prepare to be enchanted. These are quite addictive. Click here to print recipe for Butterscotch Toffee Salty Oatmeal Cookies.

Salt and Serenity

Tales from my kitchen