By My birthday week. Fifty-five. The number that splits the century in half, that says you are closer to the hundred than the zero, that means — if you are paying attention, and I am always paying attention — that the second half has begun and the second half is shorter than the first because the body does not maintain its warranty indefinitely and the warranty on this body, which has cooked for thirty-two years professionally and forty years personally, is showing signs of fine print.
I woke up on September 23rd and Eduardo had made coffee — this is not unusual, Eduardo makes coffee every morning, but birthday coffee is different because birthday coffee comes with a card on the counter and the card says things that Eduardo cannot say with his voice, things about love and gratitude and the specific miracle of being married to a woman who feeds the world, and the card is Eduardo's aria, the one song he sings all year, and I read it in the kitchen at 4 AM before driving to the hospital and I cried into the coffee which made the coffee salty which is the only way I have ever ruined coffee in my life.
No party. No table of sixteen. But the children called — all four, one after another, a relay of birthday wishes that circled from Hartford to New Haven to Brooklyn and back. Miguel Jr. and Jenny sent a video of Isabella — two months old, lying on a blanket, wearing a onesie that said ABUELA'S FAVORITE, which Jenny bought and which is technically incorrect because all my grandchildren are my favorite but which I will allow because the onesie is adorable and because Isabella is two months old and cannot yet understand the political implications of favoritism.
David made me a tres leches from Brooklyn and shipped it overnight in dry ice. It arrived at 11 AM, the box cold, the cake perfect, the audacity of shipping cake across state lines in dry ice a testament to the Delgado commitment to feeding people regardless of distance. I ate a piece at noon in the hospital break room, alone, masked except for the eating, and the cake tasted like David's hands and Mami's recipe and Bayamón and Brooklyn and love, all of it compressed into three milks and a sponge and the best birthday cake I have ever eaten alone in a break room during a pandemic.
David’s tres leches was the greatest gift I received that birthday — but not everyone has a son in Brooklyn with a dry-ice budget and Mami’s recipe memorized. What I have learned in fifty-five years, though, is that the gesture matters as much as the vehicle: someone made something, with their hands, and sent it to you because you are worth the effort. These Mrs. Fields chocolate chip cookies are my year-round answer to that same impulse — the recipe I make when I need to tell someone I love them and I cannot be in the room, the ones I pack into tins and leave on counters next to cards that say the things I cannot say with my voice. They are not tres leches. But they are very, very good.
Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies {Copycat}
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 27 min | Servings: 36 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Whisk dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugars. In a large bowl using a hand or stand mixer, beat the softened butter with both sugars on medium-high speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until light, pale, and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix until fully incorporated.
- Combine wet and dry. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.
- Fold in chocolate chips. Using a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, fold in the chocolate chips (and nuts if using) until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Portion the cookies. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. For thicker, bakery-style cookies, roll each portion into a ball and press down only very slightly.
- Bake. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until the edges are just set and lightly golden but the centers still look slightly underdone. They will firm up as they cool — do not overbake.
- Cool. Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 148 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 19g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 72mg