day 4 … Butter Brickle Cookies

Butter and salt. Two flavors I adore in a cookie. And brown sugar. Definitely that as well. For the next cookie on the 12 Days list, we have all those things. A little dark brown sugar is added to the base cookie dough to bring out some caramel notes, a good measure of crushed toffee bits are thrown in too with a good pinch of flaky salt on top. Baked just to the point of crispy edges but a soft, chewy center and it’s just about perfect.

For the toffee bits, you can find those in the baking aisle of most grocery stores. The Heath brand, best known for the candy bar, usually has two options – one plain and another with milk chocolate. I prefer the plain one here but if you’d like to try the chocolate, who I am to stop you? If you can’t find the bits, a few Heath or Skor bars crushed up will work too. Freeze them first and they shatter in a way that’s kind of marvelous. Bashing frozen candy this time of year is good for your mental health. Trust me.

12 Days of Cookies from years past:

Fruity: Jam Thumbprints, Jam Streusel Tarts, Raspberry Linzer Squares, Lemon Poppyseed Buttons, Orange Sesame Crisps, Cranberry Pistachio Coins, Almond Raspberry Strips, Orange Sandwich Cookies, Apricot Rosemary Shortbread, Coconut Lime Sticks, Bourbon Glazed Fruitcake Buttons, Lemon Cornmeal Biscotti, Blueberry Lime Buttons, Date Swirls

Nutty: Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Tassies, Maple Black Walnut Cookies, PB&J Sandwich Cookies, Pecan Triangles, 

Spiced: Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheels, Candied Ginger Spice Buttons, Cardamom Rose Coins, Brown Sugar Wafers with Lemon Lavender Glaze

Chocolate: Basic Chocolate Butter Cookie Dough, Mexican Chocolate Crinkles, Chocolate Cocoa Nib Wafers,Raspberry Chocolate Drops, Chocolate Hazelnut Buttons, Dark Mocha Sandwich Cookies, Espresso Crinkles, Cranberry Cocoa Nib Wafers, Chocolate Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies, Chocolate Lebkuchen, Fudge Tarts, Chocolate Marzipan Drops, Chocolate Coconut Bullseyes, Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies, Chocolate Almond Crescents, Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

Bars: Rum Butter Bars, Peppermint Brownie Bars, Banana Walnut Bars, Chocolate Banana Petit Fours

Holiday Classics: Cream Cheese Wreaths, Classic Molasses Cookies, Peppermint Candy Canes, Andes Mint Chip Cookies, Holiday Mallomars

This year:

Basic Butter Cookie Dough for all recipes

Day 1: Sparkly Sugar Cookies

Day 2: Pecan Praline Bars

Day 3: Earl Grey Sandwich Cookies

BUTTER BRICKLE COOKIES

Base Butter Cookie Dough – recipe here

1. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the room temperature cookie dough, brown sugar, baking soda and toffee bits until well combined.
2. Roll the dough into tablespoon sized balls. (if not ready to bake, freeze on a sheet pan until firm then transfer to a labeled ziploc bag and freeze up to 3 months).
3. When ready to bake preheat the oven to 350°F and line sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone baking liners.
4. Let the dough come to room temperature if cold or frozen, place the balls 1″ apart on the prepared sheet pans. Press to flatten slightly and top with a pinch of flaky salt.
5. Bake 9-10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through until tops are set and the edges are just barely golden brown.
6. Carefully slide the parchment or silicon sheets onto wire racks to cool.
7. Do ahead: it’s best to make and freeze the dough and bake as needed rather than freeze baked cookies. Frozen dough will keep up to 3 months.