Chocolate Chip Cookies

I haven't posted a recipe in a while...for no particularly good reason! So here's one of my favorites. I've long been on the search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I've found it, twice, actually, but both times I chickened out in asking the baker to share the recipe. It was SO good I figured they'd say no. And I hate rejection. So this is the recipe I make. In my heart I know it's not the best in life, but it is pretty stinkin' good, I have to say.

Every time I make these cookies, Mom begs me to save her back a little bag of them. I love having my great-cook-of-a-mother beg me for my cooking, so sometimes I make them just to boost my culinary-esteem. Okay maybe not.

I'll admit...I'm not a cookie-dough snatcher. I figure that is one less I will have to eat later if I eat it straight from the bowl. I know that half the fun of making chocolate chip cookies is eating a tablespoon or six from the bowl, but I just don't do it. But few treasures in the kitchen are as wonderful as a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie straight from the oven...along side some extra cold milk. That is my reward for making these. I try to sample no less than three per baking.
From there I try to give the rest away, lest I make my way into cookie obesity. I love making these to take to the office when we're stressed (they're usually gone in less than four hours), to send to my friends in college (because what college student doesn't need a chocolate chip cookie fix?), and of course...to pacify my Mom, who adamantly says her batches of this recipe just don't taste like mine.

The Recipe:

2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups shortening
4 eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla
4 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and drop by teaspoon onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

As usual, I prefer to run the generic food route. However, I will say that though I buy generic, I always buy pure vanilla rather than imitation. And for shortening, I use the Crisco butter-flavored shortening sticks. They are pricey, but in my opinion, they're totally worth the skipped hassle of measuring shortening - even if you have the Pampered Chef measure-all cup that makes stuff like this easier. These come in sticks like butter, with measurements marked on the wrapper, and you just cut what you need and go! And the butter-flavored kind does make a difference in the taste of this recipe (or so Mom has concluded).

I use my biggest mixing bowl because this really does make a huge batch! I choose to mix together all the dry ingredients first (sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt).

I cut the shortening sticks up into pieces and melt them in the microwave to make for easier mixing.

Yeah, it looks kind of gross, but it does mix better. Sometimes I melt the shortening completely and sometimes I just soften/semi-melt it.

Once I've added the shortening, I throw in the eggs, and vanilla and stir it all up.

By the time you add all those ingredients, the batter is pretty thick and hard to stir. I just stick a baggie on my hand and mix it up that way. It helps me make sure everything really is well-mixed.

Then I add the chocolate chips - the whole bag. And I opt NOT to add nuts because I don't like them in the baking. And since I give away so many, I never know when someone might be allergic.

Because I'm OCD about my cooking, like I am about everything...I roll mine into little balls rather than just dropping them by the spoonful.

Ta-Da!!!! Yummy cookies. I let them cool only for about 1 minute before I transfer them to a wire cooling rack. Any less and they fall apart from being too warm...any longer and they tend to break from cooling too much on the pan.

This would be the place to get the big glass of milk! I think this recipe makes about 6-7 dozen cookies, so it's a lot!