The weather is changing and it's time to...

BAKE! I like to bake cookies as the weather turns cooler because it warms up my kitchen as well as my tummy. A warm cookie with a cup of hot cocoa makes me about as happy as I can be. I've tried many cookie recipes over the past 18 years, but the one we all agree on as a family is the recipe that has been passed down from my Grandma N. It's a good basic chocolate chip oatmeal cookie and has generations of homebaked love in every batch. Of course we make it as written, but have also come up with a few fun variations.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

 by L. Nafziger (variations by J. Cobb, granddaughter)

 

2C Shortening (we sometimes use the butter flavored kind)

1C Brown Sugar

1C White Sugar

4 eggs

2teas Vanilla (I use Mexican Vanilla)

3C Flour

2teas Baking Soda

1teas Salt (scant)

4C Oatmeal

12oz bag of chocolate chips (or larger...more is better, right?)

 

Cream shortening and sugar (really cream the snot out of it, it's makes better cookies if you do) add egga and vanilla (cream it well again). Sift dry ingredients together and add (OK, I've never sifted them together, I just add them little by little. I'm a rebel that way.). You will want to set you mixer on the lowest setting for this, because once you add the dry ingredients you don't want to overwork the dough. Add oatmeal and 12oz chocolate chips. Scoop onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 degress for 14 minutes (I do 13 because we like them soft-remember, you can always add baking time, but you can't take it away). Take them out of the oven and let them rest on the cookie sheet for a minute or two before removing. Makes 70ish cookies with a medium cookie scoop (I use Pampered Chef's). These freeze well, but ours rarely make it to the freezer with 6 cookie lovers in the house.

 

I have jumbo cookies sheets, but have learned not to use the back corner spots as they get too done back there.
These were made with the medium scoop.

A few variations:

Mint chocolate chip cookies: Use 1teas vanilla and 1 scant teas peppermint extract instead of 2 teas vanilla. Use 1/2mint chips 1/2 chocolate chips instead of  all chocolate.

 

Inside out cookies: Swap out 1/4-1/2C flour for 1/4-1/2C baking cocoa and use white chips instead of chocolate. They will look a little, um burnt, but taste very good.

 

Trail cookies: Use dried cherries and white chips instead of chocolate chips.

Mint chocolate chip using a large cookie scoop, Baked for 14-15 minutes.