Oatmeal Toffee Cookies with Maple Brown Butter Frosting

So here's how it happened. Monday night, Wyatt dumped an entire canister of oats out onto the floor! (I have a bad habit of letting him roam free in the pantry when I am making dinner.) And I had already set out some sweet butter to soften thinking I'd try another Christmas cookie recipe in the morning. So Oatmeal it was.

My Dad loves Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Me...not so much. I'm not a fan of the raisins, and oatmeal cookies always seem so dry to me. So I wanted to add something to the mix that I liked, and was readily on hand in my pantry. Cranberries? No - too much like raisins and I only had about 1/4 cup. Chocolate chips? Well - Matt would love it, but I wouldn't. Toffee bits? YES! I still had a half bag left from when I made these. And toffee is basically like hard caramel, (my fav) so in they went. Oatmeal Toffee Cookies. Sounded Yummers to me!

In hopes of counterbalancing the dryness I despise, and since I can't leave a good thing well enough alone, I went searching my favorite recipe blogs for a frosting I thought sounded good atop these cookies. Bakerella delivered (which she always does) in the form of Maple Brown Butter Frosting. I found the Maple flavoring at my grocery store, next to the extracts in the baking aisle.

UNBELIEVABLE. That's about all I have to say about these cookies! That and a quote from my husband last night after he had eaten about 6 in a row: "These are seriously the most addicting cookies EVER!"

OK - now go make yourself some!

INGREDIENTS
Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup toffee bits

Frosting
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp maple flavoring

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, cream together white sugar, butter, and brown sugar.
• Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla.
• Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
• Stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats.
• Mix toffee bits into dough, combining well.

• Grease cookie sheets.
• Using two spoons, form the dough into balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven.
• Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

At this point, your cookies will look like this:

While your cookies are cooling completely, make the frosting.

• Sift sugar and set aside.
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat until golden brown. Watch closely so it does not burn.
• Add butter to sugar, scraping all the butter into the bowl.
• Add milk and maple flavoring. Stir until smooth.
• Spread on top of cookies with a knife or offset spatula.

ENJOY! Be sure and have a glass of cold milk handy. Or if you are like me, an ice cold Diet Coke in the can.