A Trip To The Walk-in Clinic And A Recipe

Hello Friends. I've been very busy and have not had much time for blogging. 

The other day I was feeling icky and then the ickiness turned to feeling yucky, and then the yuckiness turned to feeling like I needed to see a doctor. My doctor's office was booked solid so my husband ended up taking me to an urgent care center {A.K.A. walk-in clinic}. Turns out, I was dehydrated, stressed, not sleeping and lacked vitamin B-12. To top it off, doctor found a mild heart murmur. Nice.

Anyways, I'm all better now. I'm drinking water, sleeping, taking a daily vitamin and overall trying to stay stress free.

For starters, I turned to my kitchen to relax in the comforts of sugar and butter. Just pressing the buttons and hearing the soft beeps signally that the oven was pre-heating instantly made me feel more at ease. Add to that, the soothing low hum of the mixer churning calmed my nerves. My senses went into overload as the smell of brown sugar engulfed my entire home.  And even though mixing bowls and spatulas were strewn about, there remained a sense of order that I found satisfying. Yes, there's something about baking that inspires me to smile.

To further de-stress, I've been focusing my attention on my upcoming vacation. I can't wait to get a move on. I'm ready to take in the long stretches of highway with music blaring and hopefully kids smiling and quiet in the backseat. One can only hope.

So, if you're feeling stressed and want something cheerful to focus your attention, try this recipe. And if you don't have fun making them, at least you'll have fun eating them. Cheers. I'll be back in a few weeks.

Toffee Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies

Recipe from: The All American Cookie Book

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

Scant 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened

2 1/2 tbsp corn oil or other flavorless vegetable oil

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 large egg

2 tsps vanilla

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1/2 cup Heath bar or other milk chocolate toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease several baking sheets or coat with nonstick spray {I use a Silpat}.

In a medium bowl, thoroughly stir together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on low, then medium, speed, beat together the butter, oil, and brown sugars until well blended and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well blended. Beat or stir in the flour mixture until evenly incorporated. Stir in the chocolate morsels and toffee bits until evenly incorporated.

Drop the dough onto the baking sheets using a 1/8-cup measure or coffee scoop, spacing about 2 1/2 inches apart; keep the portions as round as possible. With oiled fingers, pat down the cookies slightly.

Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, in the upper third of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until tinged with brown, slightly darker at the edges, and almost firm when pressed in the centers. Once out of the oven, transfer the sheet to a wire rack and let stand until the cookies firm up slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire rack and let stand until cooled completely.