YOU SHOULD ONLY BE HAPPY ....

recipe: Oatmeal chocolate toffee cookies - an updated take on classic treat

By Mary Bilyeu AnnArbor.com Community Contributor

Posted on Tue, Mar 19, 2013 : 8 a.m.

Mary Bilyeu | Contributor

So here's a quick, easy recipe to celebrate with. The cookies are chewy and offer a hint of chocolate, a bit of crunch.

And oats are good for you, so technically these treats are "health food," right ...?

Oatmeal Chocolate Toffee Cookies

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup shortening, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup flour
1-1/2 cups quick-cook oats
2/3 cup Heath milk chocolate toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, shortening, and sugar. Stir in egg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir in flour and oats, then stir in toffee bits.

Roll portions of dough the size of a golf ball and place them onto the baking sheet; flatten slightly. Bake for 12-13 minutes, until cookies are golden and set. Remove to a rack to cool completely, and continue with rest of batter.

Mary Bilyeu writes for AnnArbor.com on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, telling about her adventures in the kitchen - making dinner, celebrating holidays, entering cooking contests, meeting new friends ... whatever strikes her fancy. She is also on a mission to find great deals for her Frugal Floozie Friday posts, seeking fabulous food at restaurants on the limited budget of only $5 per person. Feel free to email her with questions, comments, or suggestions: yentamary@gmail.com.

Go visit Mary's blog — Food Floozie — where she enthuses and effuses over all things food-related; and look for her monthly articles in the Washtenaw Jewish News. "Like" her on Facebook, or send a tweet on Twitter, too.

The phrase "You Should Only Be Happy" (written in Hebrew on the stone pictured in this post) comes from Deuteronomy 16:15 and is a wish for all her readers - when you come to visit here, may you always be happy.