Vanilla Nut Toffee Cookies

I chose these cookies that Claire made this last summer for one of our Christmas cookies this year. When I saw them on her blog, I just knew I had to make them sometime. That happens to me a lot! I've learned not to just bookmark a recipe, otherwise I never get back to it. If I know I want to try someone's recipe, I print it out & put it in my "to be baked or cooked" pile. That's a bit like a "to be read" pile for books. LOL So it took me more than 4 months to get around to making them. Oh mercy, they were worth the wait! These cookies are so good! The pecans & the toffee (which was Claire's addition) give them such a good flavor. So I wrote at the top of my recipe that these are called Claire's Vanilla Nut Toffee Cookies. :) Here is a link to her recipe for these cookies.

Vanilla Nut Toffee Cookies adapted from All About Home Baking
1 cup butter or other shortening (I used 1 stick butter, 1/2 cup shortening)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup toffee pieces
4 cups sifted flour
3 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cream butter until smooth. Gradually add sugars and cream until fluffy. Add eggs, nuts, vanilla, and toffee (to prevent overmixing later). Sift flour. Add baking powder and salt to it. Then add gradually to butter mixture. The dough will be stiff but not overly so. It can be crumbly but mine was not, it held together well. Split the dough in half. Roll each half into a 1 1/2 inch roll/log and wrap in waxed paper. Chill in refrigerator overnight or in freezer for a few hours if pressed for time (this is what I did). When ready to bake, preheat oven to 425F. Slice into 1/4 inch slices and place on baking sheet. Bake for five minutes or until done. Do not overbake. I recommend taking the cookies out when they are just barely starting to golden up. Let cool on pan for a couple of minutes. Remove to cooling rack for a few minutes. Makes 6-7 dozen.
I didn't change a thing in the recipe. Like Claire, I too used the butter and crisco. Another thing, I thought that 425 sounded really hot for making cookies. I turned my oven to 400, & the cookies did not get done within the 5-6 minutes I gave them. I kept having to give them 1 more minute, then another. So I followed the instructions & turned my oven up to 425. LOL And even after 5 minutes, I still needed to bake mine even 1-2 minutes more. You know how cookies are, you have to really watch them those last few minutes. They can be underdone & then burn within a minute! My rule of thumb is to take them out 1 minute before they "look" done. It's finding that 1 minute before done that's the key. :)
This is one of those recipes that I call a KEEPER.
Thanks Claire!