Custard, good. Jam, good. Meat, good!...and Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

When we left Montgomery, we not only left our family, job, home, and church, but we left a wonderful group of friends.  They were the ones that we laughed and cried with, the ones we looked forward to seeing every Monday night, the ones we thought of when we wanted to have a movie night or Christmas party.  I knew when we left that we would make new friends and would love them dearly, too; and we have.  But there will always be experiences and memories that will be specific to each friend or group of friends. 

Those memories have the ability to make me smile even now, and I'm sure even years from now.  I would always laugh when the husbands in our group would start quoting T.V. lines!  Some of their favorites were The Office, Saved by the Bell, and Friends.  There are episodes that I am sure that I have never seen, but even I can quote the lines because of these guys.  One of their favorites (and mine) is a line from Friends.  I'll spare the details of the episode (you can watch the scene here), but it concerns Joey enjoying a trifle which contains custard, jam, and meat.  I often think of my friends when I cook something with an unexpected ingredient (I also check to see if the pages of my cookbook are stuck together, too!). 

These Oatmeal cookies don't contain meat, but they do have the surprising crunch of pecans, crisp of Rice Krispies, and salty sweetness of toffee.  The cookies are quite small, and the recipe makes enough to share with all of your friends (about 7 dozen!).  They're bite sized, perfectly chewy, and have a great contrast of sweet and a touch of salt.  What's not to like?

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

from my Mom

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup rice krispies
1 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups toffee bits (heath or skor)
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 325. 

In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.  In a large bowl, cream the sugars and butter with a mixer.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time.  Add the vanilla and mix well.  Gradually add the sifted flour mixture.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in the oats, rice krispies, coconut, toffee, and pecans.  The batter will be crumbly. 

Using a small cookie scoop, measure out about two teaspoons of batter and place about 1 1/2 inches apart on a nonstick baking sheet.  Flatten each portion slightly with your fingers.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, and then remove to a cooling rack. 

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