Hi friends! Happy first weekend of summer. I baked chewy chocolate chip cookies full of gooey milk chocolate and chewy toffee bits—think Skor bar in cookie form. Tomorrow I’ve booked a babysitter for the whole day so Adarsh and I can have some time to ourselves: maybe a bike ride and a movie date to see The Incredibles.
But first, a glimpse of our last weekend.
(5:46 a.m.) Everett, age two: MORNING TIME! “Mama look, mama LOOK!” He’s already climbed out of his diaper and clothes and is cackling on top of me. I rub my eyes, grunt, and reluctantly head downstairs to make Father’s Day brunch: sambhar and dosa.
Everett: “Me want wallawellon.” He runs to the fridge, opens it, and helps himself to watermelon before I reach the kitchen.
Everett: “Me want ganana.” He grabs a banana, eats one bite, and abandons it.
Everett eyes the batter: “Me want to stir that.” He grabs the bowl and—ACHOO!—sneezes twice into the batter. “Me need Tylenol.”
He wanders off, then suddenly: blood-curdling screams from the living room. I drop the bowl and dash around the corner.
Me: “What’s wrong?” (Panicked, looking for blood or injury.)
Everett (yawning): “Me cold.” He’s still naked and content in the oversized bean bag. “Put my clothes on.”
Pause.
E: “Uh oh.”
Me: “What?!” (Still bracing for some calamity.)
E: “Me peed.”
He wanders off again, walking with legs wide apart. I sit, drink coffee, and try to come down from the fight-or-flight surge—caffeine helps, right? The sambhar bubbles on the stove and my kitchen looks like a graveyard of watermelon rinds and banana peels. Everett climbs onto my lap; I kiss his curls and forgive him, then receive a headbutt to the face. My nose might now point slightly east.
Dada joins us downstairs.
Me: “Happy Father’s Day, babe.” (Completely haggard.)
Everett: “Happy Halloween.” (Completely cheerful.)
That, friends, is a totally average morning before 8 a.m. for me—one reason I’m thrilled to have a day out tomorrow.
Before I head out for neighbour drinks this evening, I’m making another batch of these toffee-milk chocolate cookies. I’ve been amazed by the warmth of my new neighbourhood. One neighbor I met for three minutes while walking home invited me to a girls’ night because our kids are the same age—we exchanged numbers and now I’m going over for drinks. That kind of openness means a lot.
This week on Instagram I wrote about the art of doing. Too often I waste work hours on “research”—endless scrolling for inspiration that never turns into real work. Inspiration matters, but creating matters more.
So let’s consume less and create more. Step away from Pinterest and make that recipe you saved. Put down the photography tutorials and pick up your camera to chase the gooey drips. Book that AirBnB you’ve been thinking about. Close the Goodreads app and read a book. Book a sitter and go for a bike ride. Text a neighbour and invite them over for a glass of wine.
Make this a summer of doing. There’s rarely a perfect time for anything—motivation usually follows action. Are you in?
Toffee & Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD
10 minutes
10 minutes
20 minutes
36
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, gently spooned into the cup and leveled off + 2 tbsp
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup butter softened
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups good-quality milk chocolate, chopped
- ¾ cup toffee bits divided use
Instructions
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugars. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, then fold in most of the toffee bits and the chopped milk chocolate.
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Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes (or up to 48 hours). Preheat the oven to 375°F. Drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto parchment-lined rimless baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle each cookie with the remaining toffee bits. Bake about 10 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through. Cookies are done when golden at the edges and still soft in the center.
Tried this recipe? Leave a comment!