In Windows, any normal "delete" places the deleted items in a folder called "Recycle Bin." You can override the save to Recycle by holding down the shift key while you hit the delete, but otherwise if they were in fact deleted they should be there and should be recoverable.

I believe Macs do the same, although I can't suggest keystrokes ...

Since you had both hands full it's unlikely you hit an override key while the disappearance was happening, so you should find recent deletions.

In Windows Explorer, click on the System Drive (usually C:\) and look for a "Recycle Bin" folder.

Windows uses a generic "shortcuts" folder called "Favorites" that should be a direct subfolder under each Username. This is a Windows function that shouldn't depend on what browser you use, but I can't assure that Chrome won't put them somewhere else. You might have just lost the "connection" to where the Favorites are kept, or the folder might have been moved.

Most "Drag n Drop" operations Move the dragged object to the new location, but it's difficult to "delete" something - unless the target you drag it to is the Recycle Bin. The missing shortcuts should be somewhere else on your computer.

I've found the Search function in Windows since Vista completely useless, but if you can get the filename of any one of your shortcuts (maybe by re-adding it in you browser) from C:\> in a command prompt:

DIR filename /s

should find the one, and will tell you where the rest of the of them are likely to be.

On most Windows toolbars, you can drag things onto the toolbar to have an icon there, and dragging them off the toolbar merely removes the icon from the toolbar. IT DOESN"T DELETE the shortcut, which should still be replicated in what you get if you use the menu to go to them. If you can use the menu (off the toolbar) to find the favorites, it may be just a matter of dragging the ones you want back onto the toolbar.

John