Chapter 179 (2/2)
”It's a good thing I had sugar cane grown down here . ”
”Otherwise these poor people would never know the joys of white sugar,” she said with a grin .
”Exactly . ” Joseph measured and mixed again, as Stella watched him carefully, to make sure he mixed it enough . He was tempted to use magic again, but decided not to, with her hawk gaze on him .
”That's nice and creamy, you can stop stirring it now . ”
”Are you sure? I can sc.r.a.pe the bowl a couple more times to be sure,” he said, exaggerating the sc.r.a.pes along the edges .
”Oh, you!” she said with a laugh, shaking her head . ”We need to add three eggs to the sugar mix, and some vanilla extract . ”
Taking a jar out of another cabinet, the vanilla beans could barely be seen floating in the alcohol .
Cracking an egg against the edge of the bowl, he froze when some of the sh.e.l.l fell into the mix .
”Use the spoon to get it out,” Stella said, holding out a spoon before he could use his fingers or magic .
Closing his mouth, Joseph took the spoon and chased the tiny piece of sh.e.l.l around the bowl, before finally getting it out with the spoon . The next two eggs he cracked into another bowl, before he added to the sugar mix .
”Alright, how much vanilla extract?”
”I love vanilla, so I put in three teaspoons . ”
”Isn't that a bit strong for this concentrate of vanilla extract?”
She looked at him, blinking a couple of times, and he sighed, measuring out three teaspoons of the extract . The smell of the vodka was pretty strong, but he didn't say anything . He now knew why she loved these cookies so much .
”Now, mix the wet ingredients until they are smooth, and we'll start adding in the flour mix . ”
”This is looking pretty good, could I try it?” he asked, glancing at her as she turned back to look at him in horror .
Laughing he mimed taking a bite, and she glared at him until he went back to stirring . She made him add the flour mixture until it was incorporated, but not over-mixed, then pulled out the best ingredient of them all, the bowl of chocolate chips .
”How many of those, do we add?” he asked, watching as she smelled them with a smile .
”Three- and three-quarter cups,” she said with a wide grin, pouring them carefully into the measuring cup .
”Wait, that's more chocolate chips than flour!” he exclaimed, as she dumped the chocolate into his bowl of cookie dough .
”I know!” she crowed in delight, taking the bowl and stirring the chips in and grabbing the cookie sheet off the shelf behind him .
Joseph stepped back and watched her s.p.a.ce the tablespoon-sized mounds an equal distance from each other onto the cookie sheet, easily getting twelve cookies on it, before grabbing another sheet . By the time she was done, there were thirty-six cookies ready to bake in the oven .
”What's the temperature?” she asked him, glancing inside the oven .
DETECT FIRE .
”About 450 degrees Fahrenheit, or 230 degrees Celsius . Isn't that a bit hot?”
”Nope! That's perfect!” she said, sliding all three cookie sheets into the oven and shutting it securely .
”How long do they cook?” he asked, furrowing his brow in concern . He didn't want them to burn!
”Only about five minutes! I like to take them out about four and a half, because they keep cooking . If they stay too long, they burn quickly . ”
Joseph stepped back and watched her do her magic . She had said there was another ingredient, but he hadn't seen her add anything . Maybe it was the vodka from the vanilla extract? He doubted it .
At just the right time, she pulled the sheets out, and set them on the counter . Then with a thin metal spatula, she transferred them to a wire rack to finish cooling .
”You can have one now,” she said, popping one in her mouth with a soft moan of delight, closing her eyes as she savored the gooey mess .
”It's a good thing I gave you a tattoo that protects against fire, otherwise I'm pretty sure that was too hot to eat . ”
”Oh, it was,” she said after chewing and swallowing . ”Now, we just need a couple of gla.s.ses of cold milk . ”
CREATE FOOD .
”Done,” he said with a smile .
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