Toffee Almond Sandies
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Buttery, sweet toffee almond sandies — humble in appearance but wonderfully good.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
These toffee almond sandies were sent to me by Kelly Pittman, along with hundreds of others, for a holiday cookie contest I ran on my blog many years ago. The cookies not only won my contest, they also became a much-loved Segal family favorite. While the cookies may look plain, when you bite into them, you discover a buttery, sweet shortbread studded with melted toffee bits and crunchy almonds. They’re wonderfully good, easy to make, and long lasting. In other words, the perfect holiday cookie.
Heads up: This recipe makes a ton! It is ideal for a bake sale or gift giving, but if you’d like to make less, the recipe can easily be halved.
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Toffee Almond Sandies
Buttery, sweet toffee almond sandies — humble in appearance but wonderfully good.
Ingredients
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling the cookies
- 1 cup Confectioners' sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups sliced almonds, coarsely chopped
- 6 ounces (or 1 heaping cup) English toffee bits
Instructions
- Set racks in middle of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt in a medium bowl; mix well.
- In the bowl of a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter, granulated sugar and Confectioners’ sugar until well combined, about 1-2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with spatula, then add oil, eggs and almond extract; mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix slowly to combine. Stir in almonds and toffee bits.
- Shape dough into 1-inch balls, roll in sugar, then place about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets and flatten with a fork. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through cooking, for 14-17 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cookies cool on baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. These keep nicely for 4 to 5 ays stored in airtight container at room temperature.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The Cookie Dough can be Frozen for up to 3 Months: Roll the dough into balls, let set on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) To Freeze After Baking: Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (45 servings)
- Serving size: 2 cookies
- Calories: 201
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Sugar: 10 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 89 mg
- Cholesterol: 23 g
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Thank you for such an amazing cookie! I get complements and asked for the recipe every time I take them somewhere. It does make a very large batch of cookies, but they freeze well. I did modify the recipe by using the whole bag of toffee bits after I tried it with the first batch. It doesn’t really change the flavor of the cookie, but I find I don’t end up eating the rest of the bag of toffee bits by the handful. 🙂 I also love your cookbook and blog. Thanks again!
Are these cookies made with butter and vegetable oil or butter and shortening?
Hi Erinanne, The recipe calls for butter and vegetable oil. Hope that helps!
Is it vegetable oil or shortening?
Hi Erinanne, The recipe calls for butter and vegetable oil. Hope that helps!
Could I substitute pecans for the almonds?
Sure!
If freezing the dough, should I flatten it with fork before freezing it or just freeze it in balls?
I’d go ahead and flatten so they’re ready to bake. 🙂
Could I switch out the veg oil for real butter? For health reasons, I’d like to try… THX! 🙂
Hi Kathryn, Unfortunately, vegetable oil won’t work here as you need something solid to cream with the butter. If you’d like to use oil, you could try (solidified) coconut oil. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Great cookies! Quick and easy to whip up. I added both the almond and vanilla extracts and used a mix of chopped Toblerone bars, almonds and Skor bits for the add-ins. While the cookies aren’t as buttery rich as a shortbread, they have a lovely flavour that lingers. They’re crisp on the outside and a bit soft and tender (not chewy) on the inside. The dough was soft and easy to shape into balls. I used a #40 scoop for larger cookies and made a half recipe which yielded 19 cookies. Halfway through the bake time I sprinkled the cookies with a few Skor bits that melted slightly and added a bit of interest. A delicious treat!
Hi. How long are this good on the counter in an airtight container? I’m baking on Wednesday to take on Saturday. Do I need to freeze them or will they be okay without? Thanks!
Hi Jane, they last nicely for 4 to 5 days, so you should be okay storing them at room temperature.
These are a delightful sweet treat! For Christmas, I lightly sprinkled red and green sugar on the cookies before baking. Great as a gift for teachers at school. They looked festive wrapped in cellophane bags, tied with a bow!
Hi Jenn, is it possible to convert the measurements to weight? Would you consider listing it along side the other measurements in your baking recipies? It’s better for me if I weigh my ingredients and I really want to make these cookies!! Thank you.
Hi Marianne, The great majority of my recipes (including this one) include conversions to metric/weight measurements. To view them, scroll down to the recipe, and immediately under the recipe title on the right side, you’ll see a little toggle. If you move it from “cup measures” to metric, you’ll see measurements that will work for you. Hope that helps!
Could I substitute almond flour for the wheat flour? Or would it be too much? I hate to buy a whole bag of wheat flour for one recipe. lol
Hi Shannon, I would just use all-purpose flour instead of the whole wheat flour — the cookies will still be delicious. 🙂