Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here is one of the 6 chocolate chip cookie recipes from the family cookbook.  It's the one I usually make--I got it from a roommate during my college years. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup margarine

½ cup butter-flavored Crisco

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

3½ cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

2 cups chocolate chips

Nuts, if desired

Cream margarine, sugars, and eggs until creamy. Add the dry ingredients and vanilla. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts. Bake at 375° until done (9-11 minutes). For a double chocolate chip cookie, substitute ½ cup cocoa for ½ cup flour.

For the photo at the top of this post--I made the dough, baked some, and refrigerated some.  These cookies were made with cold dough.  They turn out prettier and chunkier looking.  With room temperature dough the cookies tend to spread more (like in the following photo). 

Occasionally I put in half of the chocolate chips called for and then add some M&Ms on top of the cookies before they bake.  I also really enjoy making the double chocolate chip option (which I learned from a Hershey's Cocoa container!). 

Sometimes I make the cookies, wrap them up in packages of 2 or 3, and put them in a zip top bag in the freezer.  Then it is really easy for the kids to get out a cookie bundle in the morning to put in their lunchboxes.