Crispy Toffee Cookies

This recipe is from the annual Washington Post Christmas Cookie Food section, December 12, 2012. This has become part of our Christmas cookie tradition. From the recipe: Here's a cookie for toffee fans. The original recipe was built around a Swedish candy bar called Daim that, fortunately, has two nearly identical relatives in the States. The candy bars typically are small, so you'll need to buy several to equal 7 ounces. Don't buy the miniature bars; they'll have too much chocolate and not enough toffee. If you want to dispense with the chocolate altogether, Heath sells Toffee Bits in 8 ounce bags.

• Ready In: 1 hr 20 mins
• Serves: 20
• Yields: 20 cookies

Ingredients

• 7  tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1⁄4 cup granulated sugar
• 1⁄2 cup  packed light brown sugar
• 1⁄2 cup  raw  almonds, chopped (we use chopped blanched almonds)
• 1  pinch salt
• 1 1⁄4 cups flour, plus more for the work surface
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
• 7  ounces  crushed hard  chocolate-covered english toffee bars, such as Daim, Heath (see headnote) or 7  ounces  Skor English toffee bits (see headnote)
• 1  large egg, lightly beaten

Directions

1. Note: The dough needs to be wrapped and refrigerated for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.
2. Beat the butter and sugars together in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held mixer on medium-high speed until light, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the almonds, salt, flour, baking powder and toffee bits. Finally, incorporate the egg.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a uniform log about 3 inches in diameter and 10 inches long. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day.
4. Preheat the oven to 440 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Use a sharp knife to slice the log of dough into 1/2 inch rounds. Transfer the rounds to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are light brown, rotating the sheet front to back about halfway through baking.
6. If the cookies lose some of their shape during baking, you can remedy that during the few minutes immediately after they come out of the oven. Use a metal spatula to push in any wayward dough and coax the cookie back into roundness.
7. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool thoroughly before storing in an airtight container.