Small Batch Baking: Cheesecake Toffee Drops

As a Christmas gift this year I received the Small Batch Baking cookbook (thanks, Margot!) and was instantly intrigued. It seemed like the perfect cookbook for me - I love to bake but I hate having tons of the finished product sitting around the house. Okay, let me rephrase that - I LOVE having tons of the finished product sitting around the house, but my hips and thighs do NOT. All the recipes in this cookbook are scaled down to make 2-3 servings of baked goods- two large muffins, 3 brownies, 2 mini cakes, etc. - perfect for making Joe and I evening treats. I was excited to try out a recipe and see how it went.

Cookies are my favorite treat of all, so I decided to make the Cheesecake Toffee Drops from the book. It was strange working with such small amounts while baking - 1/3 cup flour, 1 tablespoon butter, and my tiny bowl of resulting dough was funny, but it produced six good-sized cookies. The texture of these cookies was a little strange - they were moist and springy, as Joe observed, almost like the tops of muffins. It wasn't until re-typing the recipe for this post that I realized WHY the texture was off - I added 1 whole beaten egg as opposed to the 1 TEASPOON of beaten egg the recipe called for. Whoops. Guess I really do need to get used to working with smaller amounts! Regardless of the texture, these cookies were tasty! Not overly sweet and satisfying. I used Heath bar baking bits, since I had them on hand, and also added a few handfuls of milk chocolate chips. I will definitely be trying out more recipes from this book - I mean, who wouldn't want to make mini layer cakes in 15 oz soup cans?!?!

Cheesecake Toffee Drops

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon well-beaten egg or egg substitute

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup chopped chocolate-covered toffee bar (such as Heath or Skor) (I used Heath baking bits)

I also added some milk chocolate chips

Place rack in center of oven and preheat to 300 degrees. Set aside an ungreased baking sheet. Place the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and whisk to blend. Place the butter, brown sugar and cream cheese in a medium-size bowl and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add the beaten egg and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until dough is light in texture, about 20 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the flour mixture. Beat on low speed until the dry ingredients are blended in. Stir in the toffee with a wooden spoon. Drop the cookie batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet, spacing them 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart (thanks to my extra egg, I think mine spread out more than they should have!). Bake until the cookies appear dry and golden, 20-25 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack, cool completely.

Makes 6 cookies, serves 2 or 3