Recipe: the blissfully chewy toffee bit cookies from Moo Milk Bar

PREP TIME: 20 minutes
REFRIGERATION TIME: 9 hour
BAKE TIME: 1 hour
Makes 32 large or 64 small cookies

TOFFEE BIT COOKIE

2 cups plus 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp fine salt
¾ tsp baking soda
¾ cup unsalted butter
1 ½ cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 ¼ tsp vanilla extract, preferably Madagascar
1 cup Skor toffee bits

1. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a medium bowl. Whisk to mix.

2. Place butter and sugar in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat at medium-high speed for 5 minutes until fluffy and light in colour. Scrape mixture down the sides and into the bowl. Add egg and vanilla. Continue beating for 3 minutes until light and fluffy again. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl. Continue to mix for 2 more minutes. Add sifted flour mixture and beat on low speed until incorporated. Scrape sides again. Add toffee bits and mix on low until incorporated.

3. Scoop out 2 tbsp of dough for large cookies or 1 tbsp for small cookies. Roll each into a ball and place on a baking sheet.

4. Refrigerate until cookies firm up, about 1 hour. Place in a resealable plastic bag and move to the freezer. Freeze for at least 8 hours. For best results, freeze for 24 hours. Frozen dough will keep well for up to 3 weeks.

5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange cookies
on the sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart.

6. Bake in centre of oven for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown around edges. The cookie centres should still be soft. Let cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes.

TIP
Nielsen-Massey produces a superior Madagascar pure vanilla—ideal for baking—plus vanilla sugar, vanilla bean paste and whole vanilla beans. You can order an organic version of the extract online at vanillafoodcompany.ca.

DANIELLE ORON
MOO MILK BAR
Danielle Oron trained at the French Culinary Institute in New York and apprenticed in a handful of Manhattan restaurants. When love brought her to Toronto—her husband, a sports broadcaster, is based here—she baked cookies while pondering her next step. Then cookies became her next step. Oron’s grandfather had run a milk bar in Tel Aviv, where he also sold cookies and ice cream; her mom suggested she try a similar concept in Toronto. Moo Milk Bar’s menu includes indulgent flavour combinations (like salted caramel–dark chocolate), plus a variety of infused milks, including cinnamon cappuccino and banana-chocolate. These chewy toffee cookies sell out hours after Oron pulls them from the oven.

Recipes developed by Victoria Walsh. Recipe photography by Ryan Szulc. Illustrations by Aleksandar Janicijevic. Interviews by Meaghan Binstock, Chantal Braganza, Matthew Hague, Peter Saltsman, Courtney Shea and Caroline Youdan.