Today, I was at the grocery store rushing like a mad woman to get all the necessary ingredients for tonight's dinner - I feel like I'm always rushing - really need to learn to slow down once in a while . I only had 30 minutes in there before rushing back home to meet a dear friend for coffee. While I was going a 100 miles an hour in the store, rushing through the aisles, getting all the necessary ingredients, standing in line to pay, only to realize that I forgot the main ingredient, leaving my spot in the long line, going to the meat department and picking up couple of chicken ... and then I stopped. In front of me stood this young mother, pushing her shopping cart with her 2 year daughter in it. I see mothers and young children on a daily basis - it really doesn't affect me. But for some reason, it felt different today. I had a flashback of when my daughter was 2 and I used to take her grocery shopping with me - actually, I used to take her everywhere with me!. Today, I felt a strange and puzzling emotion I had never felt before .... Was it a feeling of desperately wanting to hold a baby in my arms? a feeling of growing older? a feeling that life is going by too fast? I wonder .... Maybe, it's a combination of all those feelings and the fact that I miss those sweet years when my kids were home with me all the time.
After this strange experience at the grocery store, I rushed back home, baked some chocolate chip cookies, enjoyed coffee with my dear friend before enthusiastically rushing to pick up my 8 and 11 year olds from school.
Recipe from Cook's Illustrated
About 45 small cookies
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used salted butter)
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Adjust oven rack to middle position.
Heat oven to 375 degrees
In a medium bowl, whisk flour and baking soda
In a skillet, over medium high heat, melt 10 tablespoons of the butter (avoid using nonstick skillet)
Continue cooking the butter until butter is dark golden brown and has a nutty aroma - 1 to 3 minutes
Transfer butter to a heatproof bowl
Add remaining 4 tablespoons butter, stir until completely melted
Add brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla to melted butter
whisk until fully incorporated
Add egg and egg yolk.
Whisk until mixture is smooth, with no lumps remaining - 30 seconds
Let mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whisk for another 30 seconds.
Repeat the process of whisking and resting 2 more times.
Using a rubber spatula, stir in flour mixture until combined - 1 minute.
Stir in Chocolate chips
Give the dough a final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.
Using a 1 tablespoon ice cream scoop, place dough 1 inch apart on a baking sheet.
Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are golden brown, still puffy - 9 to 10 minutes
Transfer cookies to a wire rack.
Let cookies cool to room temperature before enjoying!
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