Recently my husband went on a boys golf weekend to celebrate one of his friend's milestone birthdays.
Since I was going to be home alone, I invited my two daughters and their friends for a chick-fest-sleepover.
We had such a great time. Just when I think "this is the best age" to hang with my girls and their friends, a new age comes along and we have even more fun.
We started our evening with some snacks, fine wines, and Prosecco. Then of course, the inevitable Gourmet Pizzas with a side of Garlic Knots and Pesto Dipping Sauce. We then jumped into our jammies, watched Christmas movies and enjoyed some hot cocoa with Peppermint Schnapps. Also for dessert, one of the girls made these Brown Butter and Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Oh my word!!! These cookies!! I just don't know what else to say. She soared at making these and I'm so happy she shared them with us.
At the end of our evening, since our downstairs guest suites are not complete, I had to take one for the team. I gave my room to two of the girls, and the other two girls took the guest bedroom. That left me, Kylo Zen and Princess Brinkley in the office with an air mattress.
The girls were nice enough to blow up the bed and make it up for me and the pups. I turned off the light and rested my tired body on the temporary bed. I opened my eyes back up and felt like I was sleeping on an airport runway!
I never realized how many lights are in our office. Really bright, colorful, little glaring lights. Everything in our office has some type of light...6 monitors, 2 docking stations, a commercial phone system, 2 backlit keyboards, stereo receiver, wi-fi unit, and on and on. To add to the glow, the LED string lights I put on both our side yard fences were also making their way through the window coverings as well.
Luckily, I keep a bevy of cardigans, slippers, and shawls in my office. I had to just start covering what I could to bring that glow down to a manageable enough hue so I could sleep. Those girls owe me big time!
Make sure to take some time for yourself and enjoy a little sweetness also.
Brown Butter and Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
Courtesy of Bon Appetit
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 (1.4) ounce chocolate toffee bars (preferably Skor), chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
1-1/2 cups chocolate wafers (disks, pistoles, preferably 72% cacao)
Flaky sea salt
Cook butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until it foams, then browns, 5-8 minutes. Scrape into a large bowl and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile whisk flour, baking soda, and kosher salt in a medium bowl.
Add brown sugar and granulated sugar to browned butter. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add eggs and vanilla, increase mixer speed to medium-high, and beat until mixture lightens and begins to thicken, about 1 minute. Reduce mixer speed to low; add dry ingredients and beat just to combine.
Mix in toffee pieces and chocolate wafers with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Let dough sit at room temperature at least 30 minutes to allow flour to hydrate. Dough will look very loose at first, but will thicken as it sits.
Place a rack in the middle of oven; preheat to 375 degrees. Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop, portion out balls of dough and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, spacing about 3" apart. Do not flatten; cookies will spread as they bake. Sprinkle with seat salt.
Bake cookies until edges are golden brown and firm but centers are still soft, 9-11 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.
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