Malted Milk Cookies

I tested the birthday cake on Saturday. A smash cake for the babies and a real layer cake for the adults, which is the traditional structure, and I wanted to know before the actual party what both were going to look and taste like. The smash cake is a simple vanilla with cream cheese frosting. The layer cake is chocolate with raspberry jam between the layers and buttercream frosting that I have made successfully twice and failed twice and which I have now made successfully again, so three out of five, which is a passing grade.

The smash cake is for the babies to put their hands in and eat with their entire faces, which is both a tradition and something that will produce the photographs that will exist in this family for decades. I have seen other children's smash cake photos and I am fully prepared for Owen to approach his with methodical study and Nora to go directly at it with complete commitment. This is who they are. I am ready.

I called the NICU and two of the nurses confirmed. The one who was on when Owen and Nora were born — her name is Priya and she has been there for twelve years and she called my babies "her favorites" in the way nurses say "my favorites" meaning the ones who worried them the most — she said she would be there. I cried on the phone. She said "I do this every time, someone invites us to a first birthday and I cry." She is going to see Owen walk across a room. She is going to see Nora's smile. I think about this and I have to stop thinking about it because I will cry at my desk.

Two weeks. They are going to be one year old. The sentence does not feel real yet. It will feel real on the day.

With the test cakes done and two weeks still stretching out between now and the actual party, I needed something to do with my hands — and, honestly, with all of that feeling that has nowhere to go yet. I’ve been reaching for simple, familiar baking: the kind that smells like something good is coming. These malted milk cookies are exactly that. Malt has always tasted like childhood to me, and right now, with Priya’s voice still in my head and Owen and Nora’s birthday getting realer by the hour, that feels exactly right.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 11 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup malted milk powder (plain, not chocolate)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Cream butter and sugars. In a large bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add eggs and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract until fully combined.
Combine dry ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, malted milk powder, baking soda, and salt.
Mix the dough. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix on low speed just until no dry streaks remain — do not overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula or wooden spoon.
Scoop and space. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough (or use a #40 cookie scoop) onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
Bake. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are just set and lightly golden but the centers still look slightly underdone. They will continue to set as they cool.
Cool. Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Malted Milk Cookies — Baking My Way Through the Two-Week Wait