I'd reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup, which would take it from 1 cup to 3/4 of a cup. The recipe has a 1:1.5 ratio of sugar to flour. I think you can safely go to 1:2. If you want to experiment more gradually, just cut out 2 tablesooons and see if that's enough. I guess it depends on how much less sweet you want the cookies to be.

I found these recipes in a book I'm giving to my daughter for Christmas...The Ultimate Short Cut Cookie Book. You may also want to check the web site of the brand of toffee bits you have used to see if they have a recipe. -Grainlady CASHEW BRICKLE COOKIES 1 (16.5-oz.) roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough 1 c. chopped lightly salted, roasted cashews 1/2 c. almond toffee baking bits Preheat oven to 375-degrees F. Spray two cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray. Cut cookie dough in half. Roll out half of the dough between two sheets of wax paper to form a 10x6-inch rectangle. Remove top sheet of wax paper. Invert dough onto one of the prepared cookie sheets. Remove remaining sheet of wax paper. Sprinkle dough evenly with half of the nuts and half of the toffee bits. Repeat with remaining dough, nuts, and toffee bits on second cookie sheet. Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Cool on cookie sheets on a wire rack. Remove cookies to cutting board using two spatulas. Use a sharp knife to cut cooled cookies into irregular shapes. Makes about 42 cookies. ALMOND TOFFEE BARS 1 (16.5-oz.) roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough, well chilled 1 c. semisweet (or milk) chocolate chips 1 c. toffee baking bits 1 c. sliced (or chopped) almonds 1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Spray a 13x9-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray or line with foil. Cut cookie dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices in bottom of the prepared pan. With floured fingers, press dough evenly to form crust. Sprinkle the chocolate chips, toffee bits, and almonds evenly over prepared crust. Drizzle evenly with sweetened condensed milk. Bake 25-28 minutes or until edges are bubbly and center is just lightly browned. Remove from oven and immediately run a narrow metal spatula or table knife around edges of pan to loosen. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack; cut into bars. Makes 36 bars.

Seagrass, I sprinkle sugar before baking, it kinds of melts onto the top of the cookie from the heat and sticks that way. I do put the cookies on parchment or a silpat because I haven't found a way not to sprinkle the whole darned sheet, or have sugar come off before baking. I have tried brushing with a bit of milk and a soft brush and that works better than just dry cookies. I use a buttercream icing like Linda posted above, then let the cookies set until the icing is dry, several hours. There is also a very hard royal icing recipe that takes meringue powder instead of egg whites, you can buy the stuff at the hobby shops or Walmart, where they sell Wilton items. It gets very hard, the "cement" that holds gingerbread houses together. I don't care very much for it, but it's great to decorate with. I cover the bowl with a damp towel while I'm using portions of this and it's great for things like "flooding" large areas of cookie. If you make an outline with frosting, you can fill a squeeze bottle (like catsup is served from) and fill in the outline more easily than you can with a knife if you use this stuff. Pretty, but it doesn't taste as good as the buttercream! Royal Icing Using Meringue Powder: 4 cups (440 grams) confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar 3 tablespoons (30 grams) meringue powder 1/2 teaspoon extract (vanilla, lemon, almond) 1/2 - 3/4 cup (120 - 180 ml) warm water In the the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder until combined. Add the water and beat on medium to high speed until very glossy and stiff peaks form (5 to 7 minutes). If necessary, to get the right consistency, add more powdered sugar or water. To cover or 'flood' the entire surface of the cookie with icing, the proper consistency is when you lift the beater, the ribbon of icing that falls back into the bowl remains on the surface of the icing for a few seconds before disappearing. The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use. Makes about 3 cups Annie

Ruthanna, now you mentioned it, I keep slice and bake cookies in the freezer pretty much all the time, although some were not meant to actually be slice and bake. The 5 ingredient gluten free peanut butter cookie lends itself well to freezing in a roll, as does my basic sugar cookie recipe. Some, like Grandma's Molasses cookies, don't roll well, but freeze well in balls, so I just take out a dozen and bake them. My favorite, though, is this maraschino/white chocolate shortbread cookie, also not meant originally as a slice and bake, but it works really well as one. I don't use the food coloring and just drizzle the white chocolate over the top of the baked cookies, then sprinkle with a pinch of red sugar. They're nice for Valentine's Day and you can also use the green maraschino cherries in them for red and green Christmas cookies. The recipe comes from Better Homes and Gardens. I never make the balls and flatten them, I always roll into a roll, chill and cut about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick for baking. 1/4 inch makes them crisper, I like them thicker, they seem to have more of the shortbread texture that way. White-Chocolate Cherry Shortbread 1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and finely chopped 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup cold butter 1/2 tsp almond extract 2 tsp shortening sprinkles, sanding sugar, etc. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spread cherries on paper towels to drain well. In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in drained cherries and 4 ounces (2/3 cup) of the chopped chocolate. Stir in almond extract and, if desired, food coloring. Knead until smooth and form into a ball (dough will be crumbly at first, but will come together as you work the dough with your hands). Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased ungreased cookie sheet Using the bottom of a drinking glass dipped in sugar, flatten balls to 1-1/2-inch rounds. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until centers are set. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. In a small saucepan, combine remaining 8 ounces white chocolate and the shortening. Cook and stir over low heat until melted.Dip half of each cookie into chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. If desired, roll dipped edge in nonpareils and/or edible glitter. Place cookies on parchment or waxed paper until chocolate is set. Layer cookies between waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Now I may have to go drag a roll out of the freezer and bake some..... Annie