OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Longan & Ginger Tea with an Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie. 

Sometimes you just need to bake a batch of cookies. 

Today was such an occasion.  Bebe is 7 years old (almost 8!) and still has all her baby teeth in her mouth.   Her little baby teeth are hanging on like the dickens and two new teeth have come in on the bottom behind the baby ones but the little buggers are hanging on for dear life.  When she opens her mouth she looks like a fish…the two front bottom baby teeth are all wonky looking as they jut forward and the permanent teeth are peeking out behind them.  The effect is not unlike looking into a  shark’s mouth.

Though the thought of the tooth fairy coming is enticing, Bebe is not inclined to yank her loose teeth out.  One of them is so loose the tooth can flex forward almost horizontally.  The dentist had said this is quite common and to encourage her to wiggle it for 10 minutes every day.  We did that, but I have a feeling she isn’t putting too much energy into the wiggling.  When she eats, she manoeuvres food to the sides to bite and when I brush her teeth with the Oral B, she moves her mouth around so that I don’t end up brushing the bottom ones too long.  I make it a point to brush those loose teeth as well as I can as well as those new permanent ones erupting, but for some reason, they’re still stuck really good! 

Two weeks ago, Stomach decided that we had waited long enough.  In the background, my mother was vocally reminiscing about the good ol’ days when parents would tie a string to the child’s loose tooth and the other end to a doorknob…you can guess what happened next! or giving a candy apple or corn on the cob to the child to eat.   There were anecdotes about pliers that I won't divulge at this minute...

These are the same stories she threatened me with when I was young and they didn’t make my teeth come out any sooner nor did they reassure me.  I think she was merely entertaining herself by scaring the heck out of me.  I do recall vivid dreams about losing my teeth and having them all fall out in my mouth.  I also remember nightmares of swallowing my teeth.   I wonder if her stories had anything to do with the dreams.  Well, though I myself was reluctant to “help” pull out Bebe’s loose tooth, my husband sure was game for it.  He fetched a small towel and thought that he could grab it and pull it out.

Boy was he wrong.

After 2 unsuccessful attempts and lots of struggling and whining from Bebe, he gave up and said it was stuck in there really good.   That is until today, when Bebe showed us just how loose the tooth had gotten.  She could flex it all the way down!  Surely that’s loose enough to pull out he thought.

Again, with the small towel, he tried to grab the little tooth.  “It’s hard to grasp!” he muttered.  Meanwhile, Bebe was contorting and trying to cover her mouth.  She was so not into this scenario.  A little drop of blood oozed out and she started to cry.  The little tooth held fast.   He gave up.

I felt bad for her.  I told him to stop trying and just let it fall out.  I mean geez, there really isn’t any need to traumatize her!    She knows she’s the last kid in her Grade 2 class to lose a tooth.  Everyone else, including kids way younger than her, have lost at least one tooth and some have lost way more…8!   So, how does mommy make the owie and tears go away? A freshly baked batch of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!  It took me about 25 minutes from mixing bowl to her plate.  The episode was soon forgotten and even Stomach had a small piece of one of the cookies.  As you know Stomach doesn’t eat any sweets and ironically all my baking is left untouched by him because he doesn’t like desserts at all.  He’s a weird one but he maintains that in a household with all this baking, it’s the only way he can keep his boyish figure.  Yeah right.  I think he’s a freak of nature.  I mean, who doesn’t like dessert?

Bebe had 2 hot-out-of-the-oven cookies before getting ready for bed.  I brushed her teeth and lingered with the brush over that little loose tooth and she shot me a look.    I let it go.  It is quite like a huge zit begging to be popped.   I guess you just have to leave it alone but it’s so hard not to poke and prod it!

I made myself a piping hot cup of my new favourite tea:  Longan and Ginger.  You get dehydrated seedless longans (they’re like lychees), fresh slices of ginger and water and bring it to a boil; simmering it in a saucepan for 20 minutes.  You can add sweeteners like cane sugar, a simple syrup, Stevia, honey or agave nectar to taste.  It’s more authentic with the unprocessed cane sugar bricks that I like to make into a simple syrup.  It’s so gingery hot and goes down really well if you have a dry throat.  After the kiddies were in bed, I had this tea with a cookie and thought it was a divine combination:  chocolate, ginger, nutty oatmeal and that feel-good warmth you get from making someone feel better with a cookie.

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
(adapted from Cooks Illustrated Thin and Crispy Oatmeal Cookies)

• 1 cup (5 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 14 tblsp (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup (7 oz) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed (1 3/4 oz) light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups Callebaut Chocolate chips

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 3 large (18- by 13-inch) baking sheets with parchment.  Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars at medium-low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds.  Increase the speed to medium and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute longer.  Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium-low until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds.  Scrape down the bowl again.  With the mixer running at low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated and smooth, 10 seconds.  With the mixer still running on low, gradually add the oats and mix until well incorporated, 20 seconds.  Give the dough a final stir with the rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain and the ingredients are evenly distributed.  Add the Chocolate Chips and mix to distribute.
3. Divide the dough into 24 equal portions, each about 2 tablespoon (or use a #30 cookie scoop), then roll between the palms of your hands into balls.  Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 1/2 inches apart, 8 dough balls per sheet.  Using your fingertips, gently press each dough ball to 3/4 inch thickness.
4. Bake 1 sheet at a time until the cookies are deep golden brown, the edges are crisp, and the centers yield to slight pressure when pressed, 13 to 16 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking.  Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack; let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet before serving.

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