CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

This recipe is a mix-up/mash-up of various recipes I have collected over the years. It started out as a simple toll house recipe. Then my old friend, Lori Welbon (big shout-out to her for sharing), gave me her recipe for ranger cookies. Well, not really her recipe, the recipe originally belonged to an elderly neighbor of hers in Arizona. Doesn't really matter, where they started out, these ranger cookies were the bomb. (Trust me, I'll post the recipe for them some other time and you'll have to agree!)  I changed up the flour based on a recipe of Alton Brown's. He used bread flour in a cookie and though I don't use it exclusively, I did end up mixing it up. And, that how I came to this chocolate chip cookie recipe. Guys, this one works!

It has a nice crispy bottom, but the middle stays nice and soft. They are best when you have them soon after they are made. About 15 minutes after you take them out of the oven, they will be perfect. They won't crumble in your hands but the chips inside will still be gooey. Tall, cold glass of milk and you are good to go.

This is a simple recipe. As easy to make as they are to eat. Just remember what I said in The Rules about baking - don't mess with the amounts. Leavening agents are at work here and you need the exact amounts.

One last thing, I am going to ask you to do me, you and the world a huge favor and only buy chocolate chips that are clearly labeled "fair trade." According to numerous human rights organizations, the chocolate industry is the worst in the world for child slave labor. As many as 2 million children work in unsafe conditions in the cacao fields of West Africa and as many as 200,000 of those are slaves, with some as young as 7 years of age. Children shouldn't be slaves. I'm not against teenagers working. I had to when I was a teenager. Times are tough and all family members should contribute. But little children should not be stolen from their parents and imprisoned as slaves to work these plantations. Spend the extra dollar for the fair trade chips. And that way you will know that some small child isn't imprisoned in a box at night and whipped during the day for your chocolate chip cookie. Google for more information if you want it, but remember that "no blood for cookies" should be your motto. Good as they are, they aren't worth that.

The Ingredients...

1 stick plus 3 tablespoons of butter. Most recipes use unsalted butter but I have always used salted butter with no problems.

1/2 a cup of Crisco in the can. Yes, you heard me that white stuff that comes in a can. For those that don't know where to find it, it is usually by the cooking oil in the grocery store. Trust me on this, the old recipes call for it because butter has a tendency to melt and flatten out your cookie. You are already using butter in this cookie for flavor, now you will use this for texture. I have heard some rumblings recently that Crisco isn't what it used to be, that the mouth-feel is all wrong. If you feel that way you can use something called Hi Ratio Shortening. I use this for buttercream icing. Problem is that it isn't easy to find and you will probably have to get it online like I do, so you can't just decide to make cookies and run to the store to get all the supplies. See, the problem? Stick to the Crisco.

1 1/3 cup of dark brown sugar. Check the package. Don't use the light brown sugar, get the dark brown. I like to use organic when possible and fair trade if I can. Important note. When you measure this out. pressed the sugar into your measuring cup. This is called "packing." Don't be afraid...press it down, but try not to press it down with hydraulic pressure - that's not necessary.

1 cup of white sugar. You have to use some of the white stuff because all dark brown will leave you with a very molasses tasting cookie.

2 large eggs. Try for grain-fed, free-roaming chicken,s if you can. I know it is more money, but do you really want to eat cannibal chicken eggs? There is just something not right about eating a chicken that has been eating chicken. Eeeewwwww.

3 tsp of vanilla. I know it sounds like a lot, but, trust me, you need it to stand up to the dark brown sugar. Less of this just disappears as if it was never even there.

2 cups of White Lily Flour. White Lily is a soft winter wheat flour. It is the best for tender biscuits, tender pie crusts and tender cookies. You can find it everywhere in the South, but it is harder to find in the North. In Chicago, I get my White Lily shipped to me and if I can't I substitute 1/2 cake flour with 1/2 all purpose flour. It seems to work. Not as well, mind you, but beggars can't be picky. Now as to measuring the flour, pay attention to this trick, I learned it in baking school. Many bakers like to measure their flour by weight. I know that you won't do that because you probably don't have a scale and aren't going to spend the money or try and find kitchen space for it. So just stick a spoon in the flour and stir it around to fluff it up some before you dig your measuring cup in. It works. Don't know why, and not going to question, just going to keep doing it that way.

1 cup of bread flour. I like King Arthur but what ever you can find should work.

1 teaspoon of salt.

1 teaspoon of baking soda.

1 teaspoon of baking powder.

1 1/2 bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips. This one is tricky. I like Guittard, but you have to be careful, not all their chips are fair trade. The fair trade ones are clearly marked.

The Equipment...

A hand mixer (A stand mixer is better but I know you may not have one. Back to that wedding registry thing...ahhh, the difficulties of getting married later in life. Reminds me of Carrie's Sex and the City lament. Seriously, though, a hand mixer can be bought for $15 dollars or less depending on the store so no reason you can't have one.)

Measuring cups.

Measuring spoons.

Two bowls. One big enough to hold all the flour and a large bowl to do your mixing in. If you don't have two bowls then use the large bowl to mix in and use a piece of parchment paper to measure the flour out on. This might even make it easier for you to add the flour to the mixing bowl later. If you don't have a large bowl, you should. Try Goodwill for a cheap one.

A baking sheet. Two is better but you can get away with just one.

Parchment paper. You can buy this at the grocery store where the wax paper and foil paper is. I prefer a silpat baking mat, but I know they are expensive and you probably don't have one. So I am going to make these on parchment to show you how it is done.

A large stirring spoon. I like using wooden ones, but I have a nice silicon one that works well, too. Your choice here, no judgement.

A small ice cream scoop or two spoons. It is easier to scoop the cookie dough onto the baking sheet with a small ice cream scooper. If you don't have one, you can use two spoons to scoop it out and then use one of them to push the dough off the other onto the sheet.


The Preparation...

1. Let the butter soften. You don't have to get it to room temperature exactly. Just leave it on your countertop for 20 minutes or so. Just so it isn't hard as a rock. Don't leave it sitting out there too long because you don't want microbes setting up house in your butter.

2. Measure put the 2 cups of flour and cup of  bread flour in a bowl. Add the teaspoon of baking soda, the teaspoon of baking powder and the teaspoon of salt to the same bowl. Stir this all together and then put it aside for now.

3. In your large mixing bowl and using your hand mixer, mix 1 stick plus three tablespoon of butter with the 1/2 cup of lard. This is technically called "creaming." So if you ever see this term in a cookbook, just know that it is a fancy word for mix together.

4. Add the cup of white sugar and the 1 1/3 cups of dark brown sugar to the bowl with the butter and "cream' together with the butter.

5. Then add the eggs and the 3 teaspoons of vanilla to the bowl and keep creaming with your hand mixer. Now a word about the eggs. Let me suggest to you that you crack and open each egg separately into a cereal bowl. In other words, crack the first egg into the cereal bowl and pour it into your big bowl, then do the same with the second egg. I suggest this so that you can avoid getting shells into your batter, but also because sometimes you get a bad egg. You can get an egg with some blood in it and if you cracked it into your butter mix then you have ruined the whole thing. Same if you crack both eggs into the cereal bowl together. The first egg may have been fine, but the second egg is bloody so now both eggs are covered in blood. If you keep them separate, you can save wasting money on ruined ingredients.

6. Now slowly add the flour that you mixed together and set aside before. Put mixer on very slow speed or flour will go everywhere!

7. Finally, you will add the chocolate chips. Don't use the mixer for this, use your big mixing spoon! If you use the mixer, it will break some of the chips. Let's keep those chips whole and pretty. Yay!

8. Now you can choose to bake your cookies now or bake them at a later time. If you want to make them later just cover your bowl with some cling wrap and put it in your refrigerator.  .



Let's Get Ready to Bake...

1. Turn your oven on to 350 degrees.

2. While the oven is heating start prepping to bake by covering your sheet pan's bottom with parchment paper. See my picture here for what it looks like? Trust me, it's very simple.

3. Take your batter out of the refrigerator and use the ice cream scooper or two regular spoons to put the cookies on the baking sheet. I usually put 12 cookies on at a time.

4. Pop them in the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes. It may be a little less or a little more depending on your oven but they don't come out super dark on top and they will still look kind of soft. As soon as you take them out, they will start to harden on the outside and be perfect on the inside.

5. Repeat the cooking with the rest of the batter. Easy.