On the 6th day of Baking

Day 6 -
Since a crazy snow storm stopped me from returning home to my kitchen to bake last night, I missed the official day 6 of baking (chronologically anyway). I am, however, back safely and baking with zeal! I was excited to try some new cookies I found on the Food Network (have I ever mentioned how obsessed I am with the Food Network - or perhaps I should say was, as I no longer have cable) that got 4 stars. I was pretty exhausted and a bit skeptical of these since they had coconut, but I dove in anyway.

Toffee Crunch Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 (10-ounce) bag toffee candy bits
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup sweetened flake coconut
1 cup chopped whole, skinned almonds

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla.
• Beat the eggs slightly; then add to the butter mixture and mix well.
• In a medium bowl, sift flour, salt and baking soda; then add slowly to the moist ingredients and mix thoroughly.
• Mix in the toffee bits, oatmeal, coconut and nuts.
• Drop dough by the teaspoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

Notes of Interest:
--- Out of personal preference I substituted pecans for almonds and it worked just fine.
--- This dough may possibly be the best dough I have ever tasted. I should stop and say this is not implying that anyone should ever eat raw dough with eggs in it. I know this is a very bad habit (and completely grosses Brad out), but alas it is my favorite part of making cookies. Anyhow, this dough is like soft granola bars... with toffee... and brown sugar, and, well, it's pretty much heaven. I was so excited that I had found my new favorite cookie. Sadly, when it cooked it just got too hard (or more literally crunchy) for my preference (I'm a soft fluffy cookie person) -- it still worked for me while the cookies were hot, but once cooled the cooked toffee spreads through the cookie and hardens it up. It is still a great tasting cookie though.
--- Ignore the listed direction to bake these cookies for 15 minutes. Whoever wrote that should be kicked out of the kitchen! I personally believe most baked goods (brownies, cookies, pies) taste best slightly undercooked - so these worked for me about 11 minutes, but if you didn't I wouldn't leave them in any longer than 13 minutes max. The toffee will burn quickly and it will make the cookie rock hard.

*** Pics are coming soon of the last few cookies -- I may have lost my card reader and 1 of my SD cards on my work trip. I hope to update at least this one soon but I have to find another card reader first. =(