Oatmeal toffee cookies

Today I made a huge batch of these oatmeal toffee cookies. They say "comfort food" to me in a big way. They are a favorite of my daughter Claire who just happens to be in town for a few days with her husband R to visit his mother who is very ill.
Here is the recipe in case you've never made them. I always double the recipe. If you're going to make cookies, then make cookies!

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 eggs
2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/3 cups (8 oz. pkg.) Heath Bit o Brickle Toffee bits
1 cup coconut flakes (optional) I don't often put the coconut in because Claire doesn't like coconut.

Heat oven to 375 degrees, lightly grease cookie sheet. Beat butter, eggs, brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Beat until blended. Stir in oats, toffee bits and coconut if desired with spoon.
Drop dough (by using a small ice cream scoop) about 2 inches apart onto a prepared cookie sheet. Bake 8 minutes. Let cool five minutes on the cookie sheet before removing. Cool on a wire cooling rack.

Unlike my sister Lee who is the COOKIE QUEEN of the universe, I don't have a lot of cookie making secrets, but I do have a few, which are these ~ always use real butter, margarine just doesn't taste the same. Let the butter come to room temperature if possible before making the dough. If you must soften the butter in the microwave, don't let it melt. I've noticed that melting the butter changes the consistency of the cookie and makes them greasy. Use real vanilla, not imitation. Use a small little ice cream scoop as shown in the picture to make the cookies all the same size. Don't over bake cookies. Take them out when they are just barely done and let them sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes to finish cooking. This results in a chewy cookie as opposed to a hard, crunchy cookie. Always make more than you need and freeze the rest or share them.
I'm proud to say I've only eaten TWO. In fact today I could pull my jeans down to my knees without unbuttoning them or unzipping the zipper. Size 12, here I come!!!!