Daryl’s Delicious Cookies

Some people, when you meet them, you just assume they can’t cook.
Daryl is beautiful, smart, funny, kind, fashionable and the list goes on.  I just didn’t think cooking would be on that list of attributes.  So when Daryl invited my family over for dinner in an amazingly  kind gesture to welcome us to a new school (yep, she really is kind) I wasn’t expecting Daryl to be at the helm of the stove.

Boy, was I wrong.  More than ten years and many, many dinners with Daryl later, I realize that girl can cook!  She has her “famous” Dare-Buns (I’m talking about bread not her figure!) and seared tenderloin and turkey chili and….I haven’t actually eaten anything Daryl made that wasn’t delicious.  And that goes double for her cookies.

I didn’t know about the cookies until Daryl and I had been friends for about a year and we invited her to dinner at our house.  It was near the holidays and Daryl showed up with gifts for all the guests, Christmas stockings filled with cookies.  As if the cookies weren’t wonderful enough, she also presented them as adorable gifts!  I know…sometimes I wonder why I don’t hate this girl!

The gift was adorable but the cookies were extraordinary.  I am a huge fan of chocolate chip cookies and I am very discerning about which I like and don’t.  I like the perfect amount of crisp vs crunch, and the perfect mix of sweet and savory.  I am pretty picky about my cookies and Daryl’s are simple perfection.

One of our guests that night, and a recipient of Daryl’s Delicious Cookies, also loved them.  Julia Child took her gift home that night and a few day’s later Daryl received a lovely note from Julia. The message read, “Thanks so much for the beautiful stocking and those delicious cookies.  That was kind indeed and I appreciate your thinking of me.”

Delicious Indeed!

When I asked Daryl for a photo of the card, she sent it to me with a message, “Note the little pin holes from my bulletin board.  We’ve moved around a lot the last few years and this is one of the things that came with me and was on the bulletin board or wall of any kitchen we were in, however brief.”

 I already knew that Daryl was kind and her cookies were delicious, but maybe I never told her that.  I’m glad Julia told her so Daryl can be reminded every day, by the note on her kitchen wall, what a wonderful and kind person she is…and she makes a darn good cookie too!

Daryl’s cookies are perfect to share the love of lasting or fleeting friendships, current or past friendships, or just to show some kindness.  Thank you Daryl.

“Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o”clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap.” – Barbara Jordan

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Daryl’s Delicious Cookies

1/2 pound butter, softened
1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 c flour
2 C Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream the butter and both sugars together.  
Add the eggs and mix well.
Add all remaining ingredients except chocolate chips and mix until combined.  
Be careful not to over-mix.
Add the chocolate chips.
Lightly grease cookie sheets and bake cookies for 13-15 minutes.

Note:  I like to add 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts but don’t tell Daryl 🙂

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Tags: Chocolate chip cookie, Cookie, Julia Child