Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

Have I been neglecting my son lately so much so that he is turning violent just get to my attention?  Of late, he is always teasing his little sister, sometimes to the extend of kicking and pulling her hair.  It didn't occur to me as attention-seeking as I thought that is how a 4 year old boy behaves (fearless 5 year old) until DH highlighted his observations.  I need to review my priorities and really think through how to proceed from here.

A minor accident happened this afternoon while I was walking the dog with the 2 younger ones, waiting for DD1's school bus to arrive.  DS2 loves to carry DD3 but I've reminded him upteem times not to carry her and walk around.  The green light is only on the bed but then again, still no walking around as I know he couldn't support her weight.  Not that DD3 is heavy but with DS2 weighing only 15kg, I cannot imagine him carrying a 9kg toddler.  Using myself as a benchmark, DS2 is about 1/3 of my weight but I already feel the strain when I carry him for merely a few seconds.  Anyway, as I was walking the dog, the 2 children waited at the void deck.  When the school bus arrived, DS2 got really excited and carried DD3, then he started to run.  He managed a couple of steps and fell flat onto his sister.  DD3 is not a crybaby but it must have hurt alot as she was crying non-stop, even till we got home.  She bled a little on her upper lip but kept putting her fingers into her mouth.  After some coaxing, she finally stopped crying and allowed me to look into her mouth.  Her two front teeth chipped!  Sigh..  Things just didn't turn out right for the rest of the day and I suddenly felt very lousy.  I just need to get this off my chest to feel better, and after a good night sleep, it will be a better day for us tomorrow.

Back to baking.  I saw this chewy cookie here and requested for the recipe.  I remember having a chewy cookie recipe some time back and after searching for it, I found out it was shared by mycoffee in Kitchen Capers.  Coincidentally, they happened to be the same recipe!

I have made this once when I was still using my microwave 3-in-1 oven then.  The cookies were crispy but it didn't occur to me that I might have overbaked them.  Upon seeing the recipe again, I decided to give it another try.

Instead of using all chocolate chips, I added some almond flakes and dried currants too.  I baked them for 15 mins and these cookies turned out chewy and soft with a slight crispy edge.  Cannot quite pose them off as Subway's but they are good substitutes.

I do not know if omitting the egg white makes any difference but as I've halved the recipe, I was lazy to separate the eggs and measure out 1/2 egg and 1/2 egg yolk so I used an egg to compensate.  Despite reducing the sugar, I still find it sweet.  I may just omit white sugar the next time I make this and add some cocoa powder for that extra "omph" ;-)

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie
Recipe adapted from allrecipes
Makes 11 cookies (10cm diameter)

Ingredients
100 g all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
85 g unsalted butter, melted
80 g packed brown sugar
20 g white sugar
1 egg
200 g semisweet chocolate chips/currants/almond flakes

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 165 degrees C. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended.
3. Beat in the egg until light and creamy.
4. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.
6. Drop cookie dough 3/4 tablespoon at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets.
7. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
8. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted.
9. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.