Chocolate Chip and Skor Bit Cookies

There are so many variations on the standard chocolate chip cookie recipe that it can be tempting to stick with your own "safe bet" recipe. The possibilities are endless, which can either be daunting or exciting, depending on your personality.

Me, I'm a creature of habit. For years, I made the quintessential Nestle Tollhouse cookies. Last year, I was making Anna Olson's version. Now, I've moved onto the Neiman Marcus version, or rather, my own variation of Neiman Marcus' version. It's something of a fusion between the Top Secret Recipes version, the original Neiman Marcus version, and my own little tricks that give the cookie a deep caramel flavour: dark brown sugar and Skor bits.


If you love cakey cookies that stay moist days after they're out of the oven, this will hit the spot. The Skor bits make the cookies extra moist, and as you can see in the photo above, they occasionally ooze out of the cookie like caramel sauce. Yum.




Neiman Marcus-Style Chocolate Chip or Skor Bit Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoons instant coffee powder

1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or Skor toffee bits

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment on medium speed until fluffy.

2. Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract until well combined.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients (including instant coffee) and beat into the wet mixture at low speed until just combined. Using a spatula, stir in the chocolate chips or Skor bits.

4. Drop cookie dough in heaping tablespoons onto the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes for a chewy cookie, or a bit longer for a crisp cookie.

Yield: ~30 cookies