Chocolate Chip Cookies - Three Ways

The key is to use an all-butter recipe for a thin and crispy cookie. If you want a "puffier" softer cookie, go with shortening.

Also, a cookie made with brown sugar only will be softer than a cookie make with a combination of white and brown sugar.

THE BASIC COOKIE RECIPE

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

In a bowl beat shortening and butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda and salt; beat until combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. With a wooden spoon, stir in the remaining flour. Stir in the chocolate pieces and the nuts.

Drop by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minuets or until edges are browned. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 60 cookies.

Dunking cookies in milk is the stuff of dreams. I personally think dunking a crispy cookie is the very ultimate cookie & milk experience. Yummm!

Flickr Photo courtesy of SummerTX

THIN & CRISPY RECIPE

1 cup butter (or half shortening & half butter)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate pieces
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl beat butter (or shortening and butter) on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda and salt; beat until combined. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. With a wooden spoon, stir in the remaining flour. Stir in the chocolate pieces and the nuts.

Drop by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are browned. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 60 cookies.

One Amazon reviewer says, "When you're looking at the picture of this charm on the internet it doesn't do it justice. The cookie is really cute! Much, much cuter!"

Solid Sterling Silver Chocolate Chip Cookie Charm

SOFT & CAKELIKE RECIPE

1/2 cup shortening
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 slightly beaten eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 8-0z. carton dairy sour cream
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate pieces
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

In a bowl beat shortening and brown sugar on medium to high speed until combined. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream to shorening mixture, beating after each addition. With a wooden spoon, stir in chocolate pieces and nuts.

Drop by rounded teaspooons 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are browned. Cool on wire rack. Makes 60 cookies.

Flickr Photo Courtesy of desertculinary

Ever get a recipe all finished and in the oven only to discover that you've left out an ingredient? Not a good feeling.

Well, I'll be big about it and admit that it has happened to me. But not anymore. Why?

1. Because NOW I always measure my ingredients before I start combining them. Easy to do and actually faster.

2. Another thing essential to perfectly baked cookies is to preheat the oven. Any food that has a leavening agent in it - baking soda, baking powder or yeast - should never go in a cold oven.

3. On the other hand, always place your cookie dough on cold baking sheets.

Most everyone knows the story of Toll House Cookies but just in case you don't here's the skinny on it:

A lady named Ruth Wakefield and her husband owned the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts in the 1930's. She enjoyed cooking for her guests and one day she decided to make a chocolate butter cookie to serve.

She had a chocolate bar and decided to chop it into little pieces and add it to the dough, thinking that the chocolate would melt and the cookies would be chocolate through and through.

Well, the chocolate didn't melt but the cookies were delicious and the toll house cookie was born.

To read all about it and get the actual original recipe follow this link: The Toll House Story/Recipe

Flickr Photo courtesy of erincooks

These cookies are chocolate chip and they're GIANT-sized cookies. From Applehood & Motherpie, the Junior League Cookbook from Rochester, New York.

Makes 100 4-inch cookies!!! Woo-Hoo!

Ingredients

3 cups granulated sugar
1 pound brown sugar
2 pounds all vegetable shortening
8 eggs
3 Tablesspoons vanilla
8-1/2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
2 12-ounce packages semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup coconut

Method

In a VERY large bowl, beat sugars, shortening, eggs, and vanilla until creamy.

Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.

Gently stir in chocolate chips and coconut.

Using a size 30 ice cream scoop or a rounded soup spoon, drop cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 15 to 18 minutes.

I have actually made this recipe and must say that it's very tasty, indeed. That espresso powder turns an ordinary recipe into something slightly exotic.

Flickr Photo courtesy of ilovemypit

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder
1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (approximately 30 seconds)

2. Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract for another 30 seconds.

3. In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture at low speed for about 15 seconds. Stir in the espresso coffee powder and chocolate chips.

4. Using a 1 ounce scoop or a 2 tablespoon measure, drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Gently press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into a 2 inch circle. Bake for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned around the edges. Bake a little longer for a crispier cookie.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

I just found a great recipe for Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies. Any cookie with zucchini in it has to be healthy, right?

It's from Barbara Kingsolver's new book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life and here's the recipe (check out the book, below, too):

ZUCCHINI CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
(Makes about two dozen)

Combine in a large bowl:
1 egg, beaten
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
Combine in large bowl.

Combine in a separate, small bowl and blend into liquid mixture:
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg

Stir these into other ingredients, mix well.
1 cup finely shredded zucchini
12 oz chocolate chips

Drop by spoonful onto greased baking sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350°, 10 to 15 minutes.

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