Mom’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

My Mom, Peggy was not known for her baking skills. However, the one thing she excelled at was baking chocolate chip cookies. They were the best. She would bake them on Friday nights and put them in a big Tupperware container that had a seal on it! Oh, the memories of eating warm cookies from the oven. Today, I bake my cookies on the same cookie sheets my Mom used to bake my cookies.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup of vegetable shortening, I used Crisco, the white kind
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, I mix dark and light sugars together*
2 large eggs, I used jumbo
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 12 ounce package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. In a mixing bowl, beat sugars and shortening until creamy. Add vanilla, and add eggs one at a time. Add flour mixture gradually. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts if you are using. Drop by rounded teaspoon on an ungreased cookie/baking sheet.

Bake for 9-11 minutes until golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes and remove to finish cooling on a wire rack. Once cool, store in an airtight container.

*I combine dark brown sugar and light brown sugar for 2 reasons. One for the taste, dark brown has a higher molasses base in it. The other reason is the color. It makes for a warmer browner cookie color. I find if I use all light brown sugar, the cookies seem washed out. If I use all dark, they are too brown!

This recipe can be easily doubled, tripled, etc. This is the recipe I grew up on and my boys grew up on. Now I have the pleasure of making them for my grandson. This recipe is grandson approved.