Although I made these with butter for this post, I recommend making them with shortening. They are much better that way!
These are the first cookies I made after I left home and was on my own. I had moved from Toronto to Ottawa and really wanted to learn how to bake. Who did I turn to? My mother-in-law Lorraine who is a well known Maritimer baking sweetheart. She lovingly wrote out the recipe by hand and sent it to me in the mail. This was just one of the many baking and cooking gems she has shared with me and I think it is a great place for people to start like I did all those years ago.
LORRAINE’S CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
1 cup of shortening (I used unsalted butter)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beaten (I added them one at a time)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups of flour
1 cup of chocolate chips
You begin with beating the butter until it is nice and creamy. This can easily be done by hand, I have done it often.
Add the brown sugar and work it into the butter. Then add the white sugar until nice and creamy.
Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt and stir well. Then add it into the batter, do not over mix! Working the dough too much will result in stiff and hard cookies.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Lorraine suggests a walnut-size round ball of dough for the cookies so I used my mini ice cream scoop but the cookies spread out quite a bit so do not put them as close together as I did. Bake at 325F for 13-15 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from baking sheet right away and put on a cooling rack. These cookies are crispy, buttery and very delicious. This recipe makes a lot of them too so they are great if you need to make a big batch of cookies for a lot of people.
I made these cookies for good friends at a Talisman gaming night at their place and I even had a ton of batter leftover so I will be able to make more homemade cookies later on this week.
Homemade cookies have no resemblance to cardboard box cookies in anyway. They are a thing of baking beauty!
those look yummy.. the recipe is very similiar to the one I made a couple of weeks ago, there is nothing better than a good choc chip cookie!
If I had leftover batter I would hide it in the fridge and go at it with a spoon once the kids were in bed LOL-this is truly another great comfort food, funny you should post this today because I passed up the boxed ones earlier while shopping with the intention of making my own as well, nothing warms a home like the smell of homemade chocolate chip cookies.
Nice cookies.
PS – the leftover batter would be in my stomach before long – I have a bad habit of eating the raw dough while making the cookieS
YUM! Who doesn’t love chocolate chip cookies?
Homemade chocolate chip cookies rock!
They are my favorites to bake and share with others.
I’m sure your mother-in-law is pleased that you’re still making (and recommending) her recipe. Are these your husband’s favourite chocolate chip cookies because they’re his Mom’s recipe?
Yummm…I’m going to write down that recipe and try it. I have always LOVED baking chocolate chip cookies!
COOL game night!!!
I just read this post Suzie, and my Nana’s cookie recipe (those cookies I sent to you in the mail) is almost identical, except for slight variations. Nana used shortening as well, 1/2 tsp of salt, no white sugar, 1 egg. No joke, those are the only differences between the recipes! Nana was a Maritimer as well, no doubt acquiring the recipe via family or friends on the East Coast. (Oh yeah, and Talisman RULES!!! I got so happy when I reached the end of your blog post and saw the cards. So many people don’t know of or remember this wonderful game!) 🙂
That is a very close recipe indeed Laura! Maybe it is a Maritime recipe?! So true, Talisman is awesome! I am so happy there is a new edition with expansion packs. Years ago I almost spent a fortune on ebay for a second hand edition.