Forsaking My First Love

I am seriously considering cheating on my childhood sweetheart.

I'd say that, in general, I am a fairly loyal person. My tastes & styles may change a bit, but the usual loyalties-- my family, my husband, my country, my faith-- all those have remained pretty rock solid.

When it comes to cheating, I have quite an overactive conscience. I can remember in High Shcool, accidentally seeing the answer to a test question on a neighbor's paper and agonizing over whether or not I would have known the answer on my own. In the end, I decided that I wasn't sure, so I left the question blank. Jiminy Cricket's got nothing on me.

So when I say that I am considering cheating on a childhood sweetheart, you can imagine the gravity of my statement. Especially when I tell you what exactly I just might be cheating on: my mom's chocolate chip cookies.

I know, I know: I might as well tell you that I'm considering drowning a puppy, but it's true. If you are not familiar with the history of said cookie, you can follow the link to the loving back-story & the delicious recipe. Let's just say these cookies are practically a part of my soul.

But tonight I made a cookie(ish) recipe that made me swoon just smelling it. As I write, the tempters are cooling on the rack, awaiting a verdict.

These rivals are called Coffee Toffee Crunch bars, and they came from my favorite blogger & food writer, who claimed that they were the best cookies she had ever tasted. When I read her tantalizing article, I thought to myself, "Well, clearly little Miss Molly hasn't tasted my mom's cookies... but I'm willing to give them a try."

I did, actually, give them a try, but sadly, the recipe that was published in Bon Appetit had them baking a full 15 minutes too long, resulting in Coffee Toffee Biscotti. But tonight, I gave them another whirl, and after almost melting at the taste of the dough, I began seriously considering an affair with my first love.

Here is the recipe... and I will hold you in suspense over the outcome.

ps. If you try them at home, make sure you bake them for 30 minutes, not 45-50, like the recipe says!