Cookies and Central Florida Food Blogger Bake Sale

On a shopping trip to World Market not too long ago, I added a bag of kettle corn to the other goodies in my basket. Since it was a little past lunch time and I’d not eaten yet, I opened the bag as soon as I got in the car (you’ve done that before, right?). While enjoying this substitute snack for my lunch, I started wondering what it would taste like to put kettle corn in cookies. Then I thought…hmmm, I could add toffee bits and some butter toffee almonds I’d used in another cookie recipe in the past. When it was time to make a sweet treat for a family potluck a few weeks later, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to try this new recipe that had been lingering around in my head (and so I could get the cookies out of the house without consuming all those calories…you know how that is). Since I was pressed for time with making other dishes too, I started with a sugar cookie mix as the base to make it easy-on-this-baker.

Let me tell you friends, these cookies turned out just right and are the perfect balance of sweet and salty. They started disappearing before I could pack them up…one here, one there…and so on. Does that ever happen at your house? That just showed my new creation was a total success! Add another recipe to the “keeper” file, thank you.

Since these cookies were such a hit, I’ll be making them again for the Central Florida Food Blogger Bake Sale. Food bloggers all across the country will soon be baking up a storm to participate in the National Food Blogger Bake Sale this Saturday. Every penny raised will be donated to Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale efforts in the fight to end childhood hunger.

The Central Florida Food Blogger Bake Sale will be held from 10:00am to 1:00pm on Saturday, April 28, outside the office of the Winter Park Harvest Festival located at 427 S. New York Avenue in Winter Park. We’re excited to support Share Our Strength with our bake sale again. We raised over $1300 last year and we’re upping our goal this year to $2000! With your help, we can do it!

Please join in this worthy cause by visiting a food blogger bake sale this weekend if there’s one in your area.

Happy Baking! Enjoy all the goodies!

Kettle Corn Toffee Cookies Yield: 36 cookies Ingredients 1 pouch (1 lb. 1.5 oz) sugar cookie mix (Betty Crocker)

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups kettle corn, crushed

1/2 cup toffee bits

1/2 cup butter toffee glazed sliced almonds (Almond Accents) Directions Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, combine cookie mix and brown sugar; mix well with wire whisk. Add butter, egg and vanilla; stir until soft dough forms. Stir in crushed kettle corn, toffee bits and almonds. Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto parchment-lined cookie sheets.* Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 3 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Cool completely. Notes *I use a spring-handled scoop that measures 1 1/2 inches across the top to scoop and drop cookies.