Chocolate Chip Cookies

I suppose chocolate chip cookies aren't necessarily a "holiday" recipe, keeping with my holiday recipe theme, but I think it's a recipe everyone should have.  I do a lot of cookie baking and giving at Christmas time and having good recipes for all the different cookies I pull together is very important to me.  Chocolate chip cookies are one of those things that I always assumed everyone just inherently knew how to make (including myself).  But is this really true?  I mean it's a basic cookie, but it's not really fail-proof (at least not with me) and although I assumed I knew how to make them, I can assure you this was not actually the case!

One of the things I've noticed about chocolate chip cookie recipes, like so many others, is that if you look through your cookbooks, google, ask your friends and family, look on the package of chocolate chips, etc, every recipe you come across will be a little bit different.  Figuring out the best one is a daunting task!  When I first got married I embraced the "baking wife" persona and decided I knew how to and would bake everything.  I decided on chocolate chip cookies for a church potluck and it was a HUGE failure.  I can vividly remember having a full out melt down in our apartment, throwing things, sobbing on the bed, etc etc etc.  As I was baking chocolate chip cookies last night I asked my husband if he remembered those moments as well as I did... thankfully he told me he must have blocked them out of his mind forever.  It was very very bad!  I don't remember what recipe I used that first day but I remember telling my aunt, who I have always believed is a baking expert, about this awful experience and she gave me some pointers that have made all the difference (like using half butter, half crisco instead of all butter).  I have also learned that you don't have to follow everything as it's written... you try different things and then write your own recipes (hence the handwriting in my fancy cookbooks).

So here is the recipe I use; a combination of suggestions from my aunt, my own experience, the package the chocolate chips come in, and good old Betty Crocker.  Good luck!  I hope it works as well for you as it does for me, but if you have pointers of your own, please share!

You can fancy up this recipe with different chocolate chips if you prefer.  We made some with mint chocolate chips last night.  You could also use peanut butter, peppermint, or whatever you find that appeals to you.  There are lots of yummy looking holiday ones out right now!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup crisco
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 bag (12 oz) chocolate chips (2 cups)

Directions:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter, crisco, vanilla, and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed or mix with spoon.
• Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt.
• Stir in chocolate chips.
• Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet (about 2 inches apart).
• Bake 8 minutes (they will not look done but you'll see a little tiny bit of golden color on top).
• Let sit for 2 minutes on cookie sheet.
• Remove from cookie sheet to cool on wire rack.

Here are my favorite pointers from my Betty Crocker Cookbook...