Many, many years ago, my mother-in-law gave me a handful of recipe cards as a gift for Christmas. On each card was a tried and true family recipe.
Isn't that a great gift idea for a new daughter-in-law? And yes, I'm taking notes for the future when I have daughters-in-law!
One of the recipes was from Aunt Jane (hi, Aunt Jane!). The first time I read through the recipe I thought when in the world would I ever make that many cookies?
And then I had children.
Remember, this recipe is for a LARGE batch of cookies!
Here we go:
ingredients:
6 cups shortening (one three pound can of Crisco, or three pounds of butter - I use butter)
12 teaspoons vanilla
6 cups white sugar (about 3 pounds)
3 cups brown sugar
12 eggs (yes, a dozen)
14 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 pounds)
6 teaspoons salt
8 teaspoon baking soda
12 ounce bag mini chocolate chips
You need a BIG bowl to mix these in. I have a 12 quart stainless steel bowl I use when I make applesauce, and it works pretty well. You could also use a stock pot, if you have one that's big enough. Or (perish the thought!) cut the recipe in half so it fits in the bowls you do have.
First things first. Measure the dry ingredients into a large bowl (a different one) and stir them together.
Break the eggs into another bowl. If you beat them slightly, you'll appreciate it later.
Open the chocolate chip bag and have it ready.
If you're using butter, let it soften first.
Now you're ready.
In the largest big bowl, mix the shortening or butter, the sugars and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
I tried using a hand-held mixer once. No go.
Now I use my (clean) hands. Yes, just get in there and let your fingers do the walking!
Squeeze and mix until you have a smooth mess of sweet goodness.
Add the eggs and keep mixing until it's smooth again.
And the flour mixture and keep going.
Okay, somewhere along in here you can switch to a sturdy spoon for mixing. Your hands will be getting tired anyway :)
Finally, add the chocolate chips and mix until they're evenly distributed.
Now that you have a humongous bowl of dough, what do you do with it?
Well, you could have a marathon baking session, or you can do what I do. I roll them into logs, wrap them in wax paper, and freeze them.
This batch makes about fourteen 12-inch logs, plus another 4 dozen cookies that I had to bake to keep my family from complaining.
When you're ready to bake some cookies for a quick dessert or late-night snack, pull one of the logs out of the freezer. Just slice as many 1/4" rounds as you need, and bake. 10-12 minutes at 350° is about right.
I love chocolate chip cookies. And one of the many things I love about them is that the dough is so versatile. Last week I wanted to make some cookies, but couldn't decide what kind. So, I started with my regular chocolate chip cookie dough, then mixed things up a bit.
My basic chocolate chip cookie recipe is as follows:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/4 cups all purpose or bread flour
You know the drill. Beat butter and shortening together, then add sugars and beat until well combined. Add eggs and mix well. Now add your flour, half a cup at a time, salt, baking soda and cinnamon and mix well. If you were making regular choco chip cookies, you would add 2 cups chocolate chips and 1 cup chopped nuts, if desired. But here's where I threw in a few variations.
I scooped out my plain dough onto baking sheets, then let my imagination take over.
First, I had some leftover Christmas M&Ms that I wanted to use up. So, I pressed those into the first dozen dough balls.
I was really in the mood for pecans, so I pressed some halves into several. Oh, and I do like just the plain cookies, too, so I left a few as is.
However, number one son would balk if there weren't some tried and true chocolate chip ones.
And to make sure hubby was happy, I made sure there were a few with pecans.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8-11 minutes, depending on your oven and how crisp or soft you prefer your cookies.
And voila!
A people-pleasing,
pot pourri...
...of Toll House goodness.
Everyone was happy and the cookies were gone in no time. Which is good, because the more they eat, the fewer that are left for me.
Over in Seekerville, where we Yankee-Belle bloggers all met, some of us have made it a habit to choose
One Word for the year.
I chose mine in November. I thought about it, prayed about it, saw some flaws in my life I wanted to iron out...I chose "boundaries"...
...but God chose Joy.
You see, over the last few…no, several…years (or decades), I've let circumstances steal my joy. I don’t need to tell you what my circumstances are – we all have our own – but it started with one devastating event. Before
I had fully recovered from that event, another blow came, and then a
disappointment, and then a chronic sadness….
I let the events pile up like one snowfall after another,
never letting the sun fully melt the old remnants of previous storms before the pile grew
larger. Even when the sun did shine, which it does often in my life, there was
always a crusty patch of snow in a sheltered spot that never melted.
Lest you think I’m prone to depression, I've always been an
optimist. Happiness is easy to find when you know where to look.
Joy, however, can be denied.
Like when you’re recovering from the flu and every deep breath
ends in a cough. You can try to fill your lungs with joy…but, oh, the cough. I’ll
wait…until later…when I’m feeling better.
My word, Boundaries, sought to isolate that old patch of
crusty snow…control it…deny it by ignoring it. Joy isn't so gentle. Joy rips into the covering of dead
branches and frozen sod, revealing the icy canker, letting God’s grace melt every last remnant.
Once you give Joy access, it can’t be controlled. Joy will refuse to be hidden away
behind circumstances. Joy will make itself known, and once known…you never want
to let it be stolen again.
So my One Word is bright sunshine, warm rain, the scent of
growing earth, bare feet in green grass, and the promise…oh, the promise!...that on that day when all is
revealed, when the dark, rotting branches and mold covering my sins is stripped
away…Grace will see Christ's righteousness instead.
Oh, can there be greater joy than that?
What does all this have to do with Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies?
Years ago, when I was a young mother with one small son, I
made these cookies often. Because of my novice helper, I would forgo bringing
the mixer out of the cupboard, and do all the stirring by hand.
One of the things I've lost over the years is the enjoyment
of those sweet moments with my young children…lost in a concern for mess, and
getting the task done, and satisfying clamoring voices.
Letting circumstances
steal the joy instead of using the circumstances to magnify it.
Chocolate Chip
Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients (for a small batch - feel free to double or quadruple the recipe):
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 Tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup chocolate
chips
Let the butter come to room temperature in a large bowl –
and don’t cheat by trying to hurry the process in the microwave! While you’re
waiting, read a good book. Or plan ahead of time to make these cookies, and get
the butter out while you’re fixing breakfast.
With a large spoon, mix in the white sugar and brown sugar.
Stir and stir until it’s all smooth. Now taste a bit. Isn't that delicious?
In a small bowl, beat the egg with a fork or small whisk.
Add the water and vanilla, and keep mixing until it’s all combined.
Add the egg to the butter/sugar mixture and stir. Stir
until everything is all one happy mess.
Add the flour, soda and salt, and…you guessed it…stir some
more. Isn't this fun?
Now add the oats, mix it all up, and finally add the
chocolate chips.
Of course you can eat one of them! Eat ten! No one will
tell!
Wait…did you forget to preheat the oven? Do it now. 350° is
perfect.
Drop the cookie dough onto baking sheets by the spoonful.
You decide how big you want them, but be
sure to leave enough room between the bits of dough so the cookies don’t all
run together while they’re baking.
Is the oven hot yet? Good. Bake the cookies for 10-12
minutes. They should be golden around the edges, and the top should spring back
when you touch one.
Let them cool as long as you can (try to hold out for at
least five minutes so you don’t burn your tongue on the chocolate chips!), and
then take one. Hold an edge in each hand and s-l-o-w-l-y pull it apart. Catch a crumb on your tongue. Rescue that dripping chocolate. Pop one half in your mouth and savor it.
Isn't that the best cookie you've ever eaten?
Now, grab a cup of coffee or tea, have a seat here in the cafe, and join in the conversation.
Have you chosen your One Word for this year? And if you have, has it made a difference yet?
Or, what will you do to keep circumstances from robbing you of joy?
And just in case you need someone to teach you how to pluck joy from the passing hours, take the time to read this. How to Live Outside the Box
That Yank may be known for her yummy chocolate chip cookies (you can find that recipe here), but around these parts, I'm the queen of chocolate chip cookies. So, at the risk of stepping all over Ruthy's toes, I've decided to share my knock-out chocolate chip cookie recipe. Some of it is similar to Ruthy's, but, like her, I have a few twists of my own.
You're gonna need:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup dark brown sugar (if you don't have dark brown, regular brown sugar will taste fine too)
3/4 granulated white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon (for me, it tends to be a heaping teaspoon)
2 1/4 cups flour (like Ruthy, I prefer the Better for Bread variety, but all-purpose works great)
4 tablespoons ground flax seed (you can use more, or less, if you like)
2 cups chocolate chips
Cream together your butter and shortening.
Now add your sugars and beat until light and fluffy. This is not light and fluffy. Yet.
Now add your eggs, one at a time, and mix until well blended before adding your dry ingredients. While that's mixing away, I want to talk about cinnamon. I love cinnamon in my chocolate chip cookies. However, my tastes are evolving. I started using plain old cinnamon. Then I learned about roasted Saigon cinnamon. That stuff is worth writing home about. Just do a sniff test between the regular cinnamon and the roasted cinnamon and you'll smell the difference. Then my SIL turned me on to this company called Penzey's Spices (http://www.penzeys.com/). They have this fancy Vietnamese cinnamon that is to die for. And their prices are very reasonable. Cheaper than what I paid for the McCormick roasted cinnamon. I suggest going in with some other folks who like to bake to hit that $30 level so you can get free shipping.
Okay, I'll step off of my cinnamon soap box now and finish these cookies.
Now I add my secret ingredient. The one my kids know nothing about, but is so good for them.
Flax seed. It adds a nice nutty flavor/crunch and they never even notice it.
Stir in your chocolate chips.
Scoop (or drop by tablespoons) onto a cookie sheet .
And bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Notice there are a few empty spaces. Who can resist warm cookies? No one in my house.
I like my cookies soft and chewy, not crisp and crunchy, which is why I use half butter/half shortening. However, if you happen to like yours crunchy, then by all means, skip the shortening and use all butter.
