Add some new flavors to the classic Monster Cookie recipe for a buttery, nutty, sweet treat that’s naturally gluten free. Pour a glass of milk and get ready to devour Toffee Almond White Chocolate Chip Monster Cookies.

Toffee Almond White Chocolate Chip Monster Cookies

Who in the world decided that Teacher Appreciation Day and Teacher Appreciation should be in May?

If there is anyone who appreciates teachers, it’s me. My mom was (and still is, despite already retiring once) a teacher. And not just any teacher. She taught Special Education at both the middle school and high school level, and, at various points during her career was also cheerleading coach, student council advisor, class advisor, assistant director of the annual musical, teachers union president, and all around counselor, comforter, confidante, and more.

Plus this year my son is in Kindergarten, and he has put his teacher through the ringer. OK, it hasn’t been that bad, but he has had some struggles with fitting in with his classmates. Luckily she has been amazing and supportive and wonderful, and he has come out on the other side much better than when he started the school year. And Little Dude was in full time daycare/preschool full time this year, and he adores his teachers and they really have been wonderful too. I have seen him grow and come out of his shell so much.

But May is tough in general, with things like baseball practice, end of year school activities, and kids that just want to be out and about enjoying the springtime. Plus this year it was just after I broke my foot and I was dealing with the repercussions of that, and the same week as The Bug’s birthday, when he also had two days off of school, his birthday party, and then Sunday was Mother’s Day. When Little Dude’s preschool sent home a note that the kids should bring in a note of appreciation one day, and hand-drawn picture of appreciation another day, a sweet treat the next day, a craft or other trinket the day after that, and finally some flowers, plus The Bug’s school saying that they would celebrate on the one day that Kindergarten was off but the rest of the school was not, I was all like, “What the WHATTTTTT?!?!”

I think it would be much easier to appreciate the teachers in, say, February. No beginning of school craziness, no Halloween costumes and turkeys to be thinking about, the Christmas (or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or…) madness is over, and we are all just biding our time till the sunny days of spring come around. Yes, I’d be thrilled to appreciate the heck out of teachers in February.

May is a bit more challenging.

Luckily the state of overwhelm in which all of the craziness left me drove me to do some therapy baking and I was able to show my appreciation by giving the boys’ teachers some of these…

Toffee Almond White Chocolate Chip Monster Cookies are filled with buttery, nutty deliciousness. The cookies themselves are moist and tender, but the sliced almonds and toffee bits add just a bit of crunch. I cut the sugar just a bit because I knew the white chocolate chips and toffee would add yummy sweetness, plus I prefer to tone down the sweet when I am balancing it with the slight salty butteriness of toffee and the bit of salt I added to enhance that almond butter flavor. You guys, these cookies are knock your socks off good!

And really, they couldn’t be easier to whip up. The Bug and I are not the best kitchen partners, and he even helped me with these. The hardest part is that recipe makes a ton of cookies, so it’s a little work doing all that scooping, but you can take an ice cream scoop and make giant cookies. I did that towards the end and popped about a dozen of those bad boys in my freezer for some ice cream sandwich action this summer!

Any good ideas for appreciating those awesome teachers?

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