Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love a good chocolate chip cookie. Who doesn’t? For years, I’ve tried finagling Paul into letting me post this recipe, and he finally relented and let me! I guess it’s a closely guarded secret, even though he told me that his family originally found it in Good Housekeeping.

So, I don’t know where this original recipe came from, so I can’t post a link, but I got it from Paul, and he says he got it from Good Housekeeping. That’s the best I can tell you.

But friends… this is the inimitable, unparallelled, and incomparable chocolate chip cookie. Now, I’m not saying it’s the best cookie in the world, but for a classic chocolate chip cookie (none of those add-in’s or fancifying ingredients like chocolate chunks, browned butter or flaky sea salt for garnish) this cookie, in my humble opinion, is about as good as it gets.

It’s a classic. It’s easy to whip together, it’s loaded with chocolate chips, they bake up in less than 15 minutes, and they are soft and chewy, with just the right amount of crisp texture on the bottom. What can’t this chocolate chip cookie do?

So, grab a big glass of milk, turn on your favourite movie, and bake these puppies up. They are one of my ultimate comfort foods, because I can never feel anything but happiness when I eat one of these. Trust me, you’ll like them too!

P.S. If you are anything like me, bake a double batch.

Ingredients

Yield: About 1½ dozen (18) cookies

½ c. shortening
½ c. sugar
¼ c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. flour, sifted
¾ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
2 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets, and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the shortening, sugars, egg, and vanilla until well-combined and smooth.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, and blend well again. Add the chocolate chips, and fold in.

**This is an optional step, but it works well to make sure your cookies don’t spread too much.** Refrigerate the cookie dough for 15-20 minutes.

Drop by the tablespoon, about 4 inches apart, onto your prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating pans halfway through, until the edges are slightly golden brown.

**Important!!! Keep an eye on your cookies as they are in the oven. I mean SLIGHTLY golden brown. If they get too brown, the cookies will end up tougher and not as chewy. The slight golden colour means that the bottom has set up. The cookies may not look “done” on top, but I promise, the residual heat from the oven sets up the cookies and turns them into delicious, chewy, soft masses. Trust me!!!***

Remove from cookie sheet immediately and cool on a wire rack. Eat warm or cooled to room temperature.

If you are feeling daring, or you like a bit of crunch in your cookies, feel free to add ½ c. chopped nuts to your cookies when you fold in the chocolate.