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“Now that’s a good cookie!,” which coming from my husband is a rave review. I asked him to pick a cookie recipe for me to bake out of the new Taste of Home Baking cookbook. He picked a cookie that I never would have picked because I rarely like nuts in cookies.
He chose a recipe that not only had pecans in the batter and on top, but it’s also loaded with toffee and filled with a rich, creamy fudge. It’s rolled in sugar before baking, and the top is sandy and crisp like a Pecan Sandy, while the bottom is softer and chewy like a chocolate chip cookie.
The cookie recipe, Fudge-Filled Toffee Cookies, was submitted to Taste of Home by Karen Barto of Churchville, Virginia. Her recipe, like all of the Taste of Home recipes in Taste of Home Baking are developed by home bakers across the United States and Canada, then tested and evaluated in the Taste of Home Test Kitchen, so you know the results will be fantastic.
Taste of Home sent me a copy of their new Taste of Home Baking cookbook to review. This is a great baking handbook. In addition to the great recipes, I love the food equivalents and ingredient substitutions list on the inside covers, the general index at the back that lists recipes by food category and ingredient, and all the secrets for successful baking in each section.
Whether you are a novice or an experience baker, you’ll find tips and suggestions to help improve your baking. Details on how you can win one of two copies of Taste of Home Baking are listed below the recipe.
I did make a few changes to the recipe. The original recipe includes coconut extract and flaked coconut in the batter. Hubs wanted the toffee to shine, so we decided to eliminate the coconut. If I make the cookie again, I would also eliminate the almond extract and the pecans. Then the toffee flavor would really shine through and make the non-nut lovers in the family happy.
I also made them in my mini muffin pan which makes creating thumbprint cookies so easy. It made 2 dozen cookie cups and eight thumbprint cookies. The thumbprint cookies spread too much, so I would adjust the recipe for high altitude next time I make them.
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Fudge-Filled Toffee Pecan Sandies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup confectioners' sugar powdered sugar
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¾ cup English toffee bits
- ⅔ cup chopped pecans
- Additional sugar for rolling
Fudge Filling:
- 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups pecan halves
Instructions
- Combine the flours, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the oil, egg and extracts. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the toffee bits and pecans.
- Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Shape dough into 1-in. balls; roll in sugar. Place 2-in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. (I used a #40 cookie scoop, or about 1 ½ tablespoons dough and baked them in a mini muffin tin.)
- Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indentation in the center of each.
- In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate, milk and vanilla until smooth. (I heated the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in the microwave for 1 minute, then added the vanilla.) Spoon 1 teaspoon into the center of each cookie. Top with a pecan half. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
Notes
Disclosure: I received a Taste of Home Baking Cookbook for my review, but the opinions expressed are my own.
Update: The winners of the Taste of Home Baking Cookbooks are Janette Griffin and Ambika. Please contact me within 48 hours with your mailing address to claim your prize. Congratulations!! Thanks to everyone that entered, for your sweet comments, and welcome to all the new followers!
This post is week 5 of my 12 Weeks of Christmas posts. Be sure and check out all of the fabulous cookies the other 12 weeks of Christmas Cookies (and sweets) bakers baked up for this week.
Laurie
I would love this cookbook. I am not very good at baking and it would be helpful to have a cookbook that gives tips on baking.
Desi
I want a copy of the cookbook because I collect cookbooks and can never have too many 🙂 I also bookmarked these cookies to make for the holidays. Thanks!
Katrina
I already liked Taste of Home on Facebook and now follow on Twitter.
Katrina
Barbara Bakes is already in my Google Reader.
Katrina
I’m already a fan of Barbara Bakes on Facebook.
Katrina
I already follow Barbara Bakes on Twitter.
Katrina
I tweeted about the cookbook giveaway. @koismith
Katrina
I love everything about this cookie-nuts included. But the toffee does sound great and I kind of like the idea of leaving out the coconut, too, even though I also like coconut. What a great idea to make thumbprints in mini muffin tins!
I would LOVE that book because I just can’t ever have too many cookie/baking recipes!
Angie's Recipes
Those cookies look splendid!
Deeba Rajpal (@vindee)
I love these cookies and am amazed that you made some in mini muffin tins…that is so creative. Love them GF…wow! I would love the book too if a US address works, else will just find recipes off BB!! xoxo
Denise C
I would love this book !
Breand @ Meal Planning Magic
Ooh, these look so delicious! My grandma used to make pecan tassies similar to these (no fudge though) and I’ve not really ever attempted them b/c they seem like a lot of work! But now I have a handy little tool that pushes the dough into the mini-cups so I may have to try these! Glad to have you as part of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies blog hop!
Kitchen Belleicious
Love that cookbook- I actually have it and those pecan sandies are looking like the bomb!
Maria
Love the fudge center!
Cookin' Canuck
Oh my goodness, the flavors in these cookies sound amazing. I can see why your husband gave them a rave review.
cassie
I tweeted giveaway.
cassie
I follow taste of home on FB.
cassie
I follow barbara bakes on FB.
cassie
I follow Barbra bakes on twitter.
cassie
I follow Barnes bakes on twitter.