Heath Bar Cookies

I'm not sure if I mentioned the amazing housewarming gift I got from Susie and Maggie, but if I didn't, now is the time.  They got us a hamper (which we needed) and filled it with baking supplies!  Flour and sugar and baking powder, the usuals, sure, but also muffin cups and condensed milk and molasses and even kitchen towels.  Plus tons of sprinkles.  It was sweet and exciting and thoughtful, because I was so excited to bake in my new kitchen but also a bit too overwhelmed with life to even think about grocery shopping.  I used a lot of those baking ingredients early on in the summer!

One thing they bought me was a bag of Heath bar pieces.  I was pretty pumped about that, because for some crazy reason, I never buy those.  This is strange, because I have a weird love for Heath Bars.  In fact, maybe I shouldn't admit this, but when I worked at Video Plus (the Plus must have stood for the ice cream stand), I didn't like ice cream at all, but I still loved toppings.  I ate more than my fair share of Gummy Bears and cherries, as well as lots of Heath Bar pieces (I still ate less toppings than Kenzie, who basically drank peanut butter sauce).  And maybe - just maybe - every now and then, I would dip a spoon into the Coffee Heath Bar Crunch frozen yogurt and dig out an extra large piece of Heath Bar.  So as you can see, Heath Bars and I go way back.

Then one day I saw this recipe for Heath Bar cookies, and I knew that's what I needed to do with my bag of Heath pieces.  I made them one night, and I'm so glad that I did.  These cookies were great, and everyone who tried one fell in love.  They were gone, quickly.  They're buttery and chewy, and every now and then, you get a Heath Bar piece, but what's great is that a lot of the smaller pieces (crumbs, if you will) just melted into the cookies.  You get this nutty, toffee-y flavor.  Mmmmmmm!  You just can't go wrong with Heath Bars, though.  Thanks again, Susie and Maggie!

Recipe:

Heath Bar cookies
from Mel's Kitchen Cafe
yields 4 - 5 dozen

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) buttered, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped Heath Bar pieces (1 8-ounce package of bits, or 8 1.4-ounce bars)

Instructions:

1) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda.  Set aside.  In a mixer, beat together the butter and sugars.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla and mix until the mixture is very light in color and creamy.

2) Add the flour mixtures and stir to combine.  Once it is about halfway combined, add the Heath bits and mix until all the ingredients are mixed together.  Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes to an hour.

3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  On cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or a Silpat liner, scoop the cookie dough into about 1-inch balls.  Place the dough about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets (these cookies spread!).  Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, until the edges are just starting to brown.  Remove from oven and let cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet  Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.