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.

Buzz! My son (photographer/motivator) called out “Hands up!” reminiscent of the professional competitions, and it was time to tell all and dig in.

Turns out, Dina had similar thinking to mine and had considered crushed pretzels but thought it would detract from the cookie’s moisture, so she came up with Pringles instead. Both cookies were perfectly salty-sweet, although they had completely different bases and add-ins, and we hadn’t even discussed a thing in advance (fine, Dina asked if I had molasses).

It was an all-around awesome sisterly experience, and we enjoyed loads of fresh, fun cookies. A win-win!

Hadassa Bensoussan's Recipe

Double Chocolate Pretzel Cookies

YIELDS 32 COOKIES

• ¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, softened
• ¼ cup cream cheese
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1¼ tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1¼ cups flour
• ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup crushed pretzels
• 4 sticks Schmerling’s hazelnut chocolate sticks, cut into small chunks

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

Cream butter together with cream cheese and sugars until smooth.

Add baking soda, salt, vanilla, and eggs, and mix well.

Add cocoa and flour and mix until just incorporated. Do not overmix.

Add crushed pretzels and chocolate and mix until distributed throughout.

Using a heaping tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Dina Silverberg's Recipe

Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chunks

YIELDS ABOUT 50 COOKIES

• 1 cup (2 sticks) margarine, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp molasses
• 1 cup smooth peanut butter (preferably Skippy)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2½ cups flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt or
  ½ tsp Morton’s kosher salt
• 2 oz (55 g) original Pringles, crushed into large pieces
• 1 9-oz (255 g) pkg chocolate chunks (I like Enjoy Life brand)

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

Cream margarine by hand or in mixer for about 1 minute.

Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes, on medium speed if using a mixer.

Beat in the molasses, followed by the peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla, mixing after each addition.

With the mixer turned off, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix at low speed to incorporate. Stir in crushed Pringles and then stir in chocolate chunks.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using a kitchen teaspoon, scoop up a teaspoonful of batter and scrape it off onto the lined baking sheet with another teaspoon.

Use a fork to lightly press down on the cookie. This cookie doesn’t spread much, so pressing it down will help give it a flatter, more even appearance. Repeat until all the batter is used up.

Bake until the middle looks set but the edges aren’t too browned, about 10–12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

(Originally featured in Family Table, Issue 855)