Illustrations by Esti Saposh
Cooking side by side. Sounded intriguing and innocent enough. I invited my sister Dina, whom I don’t see very often, to join me in this challenge. Yes, it’s only an hour’s drive between Teaneck and West Hempstead, but add in ballet, naptimes, and the George Washington, and it’s an onerous journey. Plus, my husband recently took a position as a rav, so no more rendezvous on Yom Tov. The idea of finally seeing my sister and tinkering together in the kitchen was very exciting!
Then the actual challenge arrived — prepare an original drop cookie in under 30 minutes. Whereas I rarely use my mixer — if I can manage to prepare actual food, I consider myself a success — Dina is an accomplished baker who’s done professional stints. No fair. But too late to back down, and I like to play hard, so here goes.
My favorite cookie is the Chocolate Pretzel Cookie by Miriam (Pascal) Cohen. Nothing like sweet and salty all in one spot. So with that in mind, I ventured into dairy and included butter and cream cheese for richness of flavor and texture, and included bits of dairy Swiss chocolate with hazelnut — no explanation needed. I shared my plan with my mother, who thought it sounded fabulous but couldn’t divulge Dina’s plan because she wasn’t telling.
On a quiet Wednesday morning, Dina arrived with some bags. We set the timer and got right to it. I took the dairy side and she took the rest of the kitchen. We worked against the clock. I thought I noticed a can of Pringles and some Skippy, but had no time to snoop.
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