Little Gracie had been feeling under the weather all day Wednesday. She had no interest in running and playing, choosing to curl up and sleep for most of the day. And, she was coughing.
So, yesterday, off to the vet we went. When I take Gracie for a ride in the car, I feel like a new mother packing up to take the new baby out to run errands. I have no diaper bag, though. I put some water in the special bowl I have with a tight-sealing screw-on lid. Chew toys for the crate in the back seat. The leash. Treats to replenish the small supply I keep in my cup-holder in the front seat.
For this trip, I also made room for a small basket of my favorite chocolate chip cookies. I was sure the nice doctors, office staff and techs at the veterinary clinic would enjoy a people treat of their own.
Gracie's sensitive nose caught the aroma of warm-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies in the car. That got her attention in a hurry and she perked up a little. With Gracie in one arm and the basket of cookies in my other, I managed to get into the clinic without a spill. And, as hard as she tried, Gracie wasn't able to grab a cookie. But the huge mastiff inside the clinic wanted to greet us and was quite interested in the cookies. Gracie got very squiggly at the site of the mastiff, the basket started to tip.....and just at that moment one of the techs came to the rescue, whisking the basket of treats to safety. Whew.
These are my favorite chocolate chip cookies. It's a recipe I've adapted over the years using one that I clipped from a Bon Appetit magazine in 1988. I use milk chocolate chips and loads of almond slices and pieces of toasted pecans. And butter. It must be butter for the most luscious tasting cookies in the world.
At 9 weeks and 6 days old, Gracie had her first chest x-ray. We came home with medicine for a bronchial infection. By late in the day she was enjoying a special dog treat a friend gave her.
I'm pretty sure by late in the day, the nice people who took care of Gracie at the veterinary clinic had emptied the cookies from the basket. They had already started eating them before we left the office. And, how can you possibly stop at just one cookie when they have a thin shell of crunch surrounding a soft, chewy middle with chocolate that melts on your tongue and nuts that let you know they are in there, too.
I kept plenty of the cookies for us at home, too. Luckily, this recipe makes 4 dozen good-sized people treats.
Loads of Nuts and Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter, rooom temperature
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup pecan halves, toasted, broken in to pieces
1 (11.5-ounce) bag milk chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or coat lightly with butter.
Cream butter with sugars in mixing bowl. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Sift together flour, salt and baking soda. Add to mixture in bowl and stir until combined. Add almonds, pecans and chocolate chips and mix in.
Using a #40 portion scooper (a scant 2 tablespoons) make balls of dough and place on prepared baking sheets. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer cookies from baking sheets to wire racks to cool. Store in airtight container. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Sue Doeden is a popular cooking instructor, food writer and integrative nutrition health coach. She is the host of Good Food, Good Life 365 on Lakeland Public Television. Her own hives full of hardworking bees and her love of honey led to the creation of her recently published cookbook, Homemade with Honey.