From Our Kitchen: Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies

I thought it was about time I shared a sweet treats recipe with you guys. I learned to bake way before I learned to cook anything. As a child, I would sit in my Nana's kitchen, and "help" her bake cookies, cakes, pies, anything you can think of. Every holiday, starting when I was a pre-teen maybe, I was responsible for all the desserts at our house (my Mom abhors baking - I'm not trying to be pretentious I promise, hate just wasn't a strong enough word. I think she may have an honest to goodness fear of flour or something), so days before Christmas you could find me in the kitchen baking up the likes of chocolate chocolate chip cookies, pecan pies, and more. I have really started to love making things from scratch - when I made Morgan's graduation desserts, everything from the cake mix to the cookie dough to the frosting was from scratch - it was so much fun, and so delicious! However, if you know anything about making it from scratch, it usually takes a good bit more time than a boxed mix to get from "mmm I could really use a cookie" to "wow this cookie is delicious!". This cookie recipe can have you from zero to cookie in no time, plus, it is the perfect base for a variety of mix-ins. Yesterday was the first time I tried chocolate chips and toffee, but we have done butterfinger bits many times, and I would imagine peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, raisins, coconut, whatever your heart's desire would be just as great. These are perfectly chewy, soft and delicious cookies!

What You'll Need:

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 bag chocolate chips + 1/2 bag toffee bits (or substitute your favorite mix-ins)

What You'll Do:

1. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, and set aside.
2. Combine sugar and butter until well mixed. Mix in egg.
3. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture. Mix until well incorporated.
4. Stir in chocolate chips & toffee (or other mix-ins).
5. Drop by slightly rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet.
6. ***At this point, you can either proceed to the next stop, or (and this is my personal recommendation for the absolute perfect cookie), take your balls of cookie dough, place in a ziplock bag. Place the ziplock bag in the freezer for 1 hour. The cookies bake just fine without this step, but I think they turn out even better if you freeze them first. You can also keep them in the freezer for weeks, so if you just want a cookie or two at a time, this is the perfect solution!***
7. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Yields 2 dozen cookies