Chocolate Chip Cookies! (10/9/2009)

Prepping for my trip to Newbury Park semi-started today. Bleh. First thing that needed doing: my fridge was screaming for some Lysol. I had defrosted some pork that I didn’t end up cooking and it juiced all over the bottom shelf of my fridge. I may never ever eat pork again. No, I probably will. Lets be honest, it’s gonna take something way more disgusting than a little pink pork juice to scare me away from eating anything. I’m no wuss. I also had to give myself my customary pre-car trip mani-pedi. So, fridge – check, mani-pedi – check check. Last thing on my prep list was to bake off some of my favorite chocolate chip cookies for the drive. That, of course, will be the recipe I post for you today. Yay cookies!!
Tomorrow I will spend my entire morning planning out a weeks worth of outfits. I loath this part of travel. How in the heck am I supposed to know what I’m going to feel like wearing three days from now?! My sister-in-law Ashley I. knows what I’m talking about, we’ve had this discussion before. Were I a wealthy archaeologist’s wife (haha, this doesn’t exist) I would only pack my bathroom necessities. I would then buy all new outfits once I got to where I was going. Instead I will spend a couple hours looking through J. Crew and Anthropology catalogues just to get outfit ideas. And eating many many cookies.


For this recipe you will need:
- ½ cup shortening
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (I always add about a half teaspoon extra because I like the flavor)
- 2 and ½ cups all purpose flour
- 12 oz of your fav. chocolate chips (I ALWAYS use milk chocolate, semi-sweet gives me the gags!!! But to each his own…)

Now I have found that the secret to this particular recipe is to keep the butter pretty cold. You don’t want it rock hard, but not too far from…
Cream the butter and shortening together and add sugars and baking soda. Add eggs and vanilla until just combined, you don’t want to over mix, and you don’t want to let the butter get too soft. Add in flour until combined, then the chocolate chips. Cook in a 375 degree oven for 8 to 12 min.

Mine only usually take 8 min, and I make good sized cookies. I find that they taste better longer if you bake them only until the edges and crust are just firm but you can tell the center is still gooey. If you bake for too long then they get too hard, and while they may taste good on day one, day to you will feel like you are sucking on a rock. These cookies make the best ice cream sandwiches, with a little vanilla or mint chip ice cream, ummmmm!
I know most people have their own never fail go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe, fine tuned and specific to them. This is mine, so if you haven’t found yours yet give this one a try. It took me three years to find and perfect it, but no two people -even using the same recipe- make cookies the same. Go forth and bake, and remember, COLD BUTTER!