Wade Vandervort
Freed’s Bakery’s salted toffee cookies.
Sunday, Dec. 24, 2017 | 2 a.m.
Family-owned Las Vegas favorite Freed’s Bakery is getting the opportunity to show its stuff to the world thanks to the Food Network’s new series, “Vegas Cakes.” November’s season premiere showcased third-generation owner Max Fried and his team making over-the-top cakes for the Las Vegas 51s baseball team and Cirque du Soleil’s “Ka” show. Baking a cake masterpiece for a special event isn’t Freed’s only specialty; longtime locals know the bakery is the place to go for festive holiday treats. If the TV show creates longer lines this year, take matters into your hands with Freed’s sweet and savory salted toffee cookies.
Ingredients (makes 25-30 cookies)
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup toffee (chopped or crushed)
• additional coarse sea salt for topping
Directions
1. Take the butter out to soften at least 30 minutes in advance. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking soda and sea salt together. Whisk well. Whisk eggs and vanilla in a small, separate bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mix softened butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add the egg-vanilla mixture and mix well. Pour these creamed ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir with wooden spoon until incorporated, then add chocolate chips and toffee and stir until distributed evenly.
4. Using a small kitchen spoon, drop small dollops (1 1/2 inches in diameter) of dough onto parchment paper, keeping about 2 inches between cookies. Sprinkle a bit of sea salt on the cookie drops and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are golden.
5. After removing cookies from the oven, allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for 2-5 minutes.
