From the time I could push a chair over to the counter I was baking in the kitchen with my mother and grandma's. We had this old Bosch Mixer and I always loved dumping the ingredients my mom measured for me into the bowl and turning it on. I remember my mom would stand behind me and hold my little chubby hands in hers, we had this huge tub of flour and she would help me scoop the flour into the measuring cup and then tap the top with the flat edge of a butter knife and then scoop it off. It was always tradition that we HAD to taste the cookie dough before we baked any, sometimes we needed to take two scoops just to make sure it was good. :) To this day when I am home I still ask my mom to take the first bite of cookie dough before anyone else can have any. Gosh, just thinking about all those fun memories in the kitchen with my mommy is getting me a little choked up and teary eyed. But this is really where my great love for cooking came from, from all those years of standing on dinning room chairs at the counter with my Mom.
My Mom is a great woman, I couldn't have asked for a better mother and best friend. She taught me a lot of really important lessons in life, one of which being the great importance of service. Christmas time in our house is always FULL of baking, we would bake so many different types of cookies, candies, fudges and breads and then. My mom would always package some of it up and deliver it to women in our ward, or share it at family gatherings and Christmas parties. I learned at a young age how much joy and love can be shared through something as simple as a homemade cookie. Now one of my favorite things to do is share my baking with those around me. I LOVE to try a new recipe and share it with friends and family, but im quite the succor for the old family favorites- especially a good chocolate chip recipe :) Here is the only chocolate chip recipe I ever use! Once you try it you will never want to use another recipe again!
My Mom is a great woman, I couldn't have asked for a better mother and best friend. She taught me a lot of really important lessons in life, one of which being the great importance of service. Christmas time in our house is always FULL of baking, we would bake so many different types of cookies, candies, fudges and breads and then. My mom would always package some of it up and deliver it to women in our ward, or share it at family gatherings and Christmas parties. I learned at a young age how much joy and love can be shared through something as simple as a homemade cookie. Now one of my favorite things to do is share my baking with those around me. I LOVE to try a new recipe and share it with friends and family, but im quite the succor for the old family favorites- especially a good chocolate chip recipe :) Here is the only chocolate chip recipe I ever use! Once you try it you will never want to use another recipe again!
Grandma Patteson's Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons cold water
4 eggs (best at room temperature)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
6 cups flour
chocolate chips
chopped nuts (optional)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons cold water
4 eggs (best at room temperature)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
6 cups flour
chocolate chips
chopped nuts (optional)
Ok before you start baking make sure you have created a fun and relaxing environment- because baking should be SO MUCH FUN! Start with a clean kitchen, turn on some favorite tunes (if your like me turn it on loud so that its easier to dance to and invites other to come join the party) Wear a cute apron (the power of a cute apron is something that not even I can put into words :) invite friends and just have FUN!!!! (maybe eat a few of the chocolate chips to really get you into the baking mood!)
1. Start with either taking your eggs out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before making cookies, or if you would like to do it the cheat way- like me! then run your tap water on hot till it gets to a pretty warm temperature, fill a bowl of water then place your eggs inside. (A fun fact, when you place the eggs in the water you will hear a chirping sound! No there are no baby chicks inside- although that's totally what I thought the first time I heard this, its the air escaping)
2. Cream the shortening and the white sugar at a high speed until light and fluffy, then slowly add the brown sugar. Add your vanilla and cold water. Now I never measure my vanilla I just eyeball it, but if you add about 1/2 teaspoon extra vanilla it sure does make your cookies yummy :)
3. Add your eggs one or two at a time, next comes your salt and baking soda. Be sure to not dump all of your salt and soda in one place, evenly pour it over your dough that way when you mix it in you don't get clumps of salt or soda- it really doesn't taste good when you bite into one of those.
4. Now add your flour, I start with 3 cups, and then slowly add 1/2 a cup at a time till I either get a good dough consistency or have reached 6 cups. Sometimes with the temperature of the room or the ingredients the consistency will be a little different so you may not need all 6 cups. Be sure that you dont over mix your dough here, when you over mix in your flour you end up with a heavier dough and your cookies will come out flatter and more dense. Make sure to mix in all the flour but try to mix as little as possible- this helps the shortening to still stay fluffy making for a lighter softer cookie :)
5. Then add your chocolate chips, nuts if you so choose or any other fun ingredients like heath chip or m&m's.
6. scoop your cookies out onto a cookie sheet- I do this just by scooping with a two spoons, i don't worry about perfectly shaped cookies or anything, they actually cook better this way! I do this a little weird but to help the cookie evenly cook flatten the top of the cookie dough ball ever so slightly then either take a tooth pick or a butter knife and make a small(ish) hole in the center of the cookie only going down about half way. When the cookie is cooking the heat will enter this cookie and cook the inside while cooking the outside, this way its not cooking from outside in, its cooking both the outside and inside at the same time! The hole will fill in on its own and you will never notice it there.
Preheat your oven to 350 and you will bake for about 11-12 minutes. Or if you want to do it my way, bake for 9 minutes or until the cookie looks evenly cooked, the top will be almost to a golden brown but the bottom will have just reached that golden brown stage. Pull the cookies out but let them sit on the cookie sheet for another 2-3 minutes. The cookies will still cook once you pull them out because they are still hot and they are on a hot pan. Allowing them to finish cooking this way out in the cooler air makes for a softer chewier cookie- they come out perfect on the edges and slightly soft and doughy on the inside.
This really is a great recipe and I know you will love it just as much as my family does!!!!!!!
1. Start with either taking your eggs out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before making cookies, or if you would like to do it the cheat way- like me! then run your tap water on hot till it gets to a pretty warm temperature, fill a bowl of water then place your eggs inside. (A fun fact, when you place the eggs in the water you will hear a chirping sound! No there are no baby chicks inside- although that's totally what I thought the first time I heard this, its the air escaping)
2. Cream the shortening and the white sugar at a high speed until light and fluffy, then slowly add the brown sugar. Add your vanilla and cold water. Now I never measure my vanilla I just eyeball it, but if you add about 1/2 teaspoon extra vanilla it sure does make your cookies yummy :)
3. Add your eggs one or two at a time, next comes your salt and baking soda. Be sure to not dump all of your salt and soda in one place, evenly pour it over your dough that way when you mix it in you don't get clumps of salt or soda- it really doesn't taste good when you bite into one of those.
4. Now add your flour, I start with 3 cups, and then slowly add 1/2 a cup at a time till I either get a good dough consistency or have reached 6 cups. Sometimes with the temperature of the room or the ingredients the consistency will be a little different so you may not need all 6 cups. Be sure that you dont over mix your dough here, when you over mix in your flour you end up with a heavier dough and your cookies will come out flatter and more dense. Make sure to mix in all the flour but try to mix as little as possible- this helps the shortening to still stay fluffy making for a lighter softer cookie :)
5. Then add your chocolate chips, nuts if you so choose or any other fun ingredients like heath chip or m&m's.
6. scoop your cookies out onto a cookie sheet- I do this just by scooping with a two spoons, i don't worry about perfectly shaped cookies or anything, they actually cook better this way! I do this a little weird but to help the cookie evenly cook flatten the top of the cookie dough ball ever so slightly then either take a tooth pick or a butter knife and make a small(ish) hole in the center of the cookie only going down about half way. When the cookie is cooking the heat will enter this cookie and cook the inside while cooking the outside, this way its not cooking from outside in, its cooking both the outside and inside at the same time! The hole will fill in on its own and you will never notice it there.
Preheat your oven to 350 and you will bake for about 11-12 minutes. Or if you want to do it my way, bake for 9 minutes or until the cookie looks evenly cooked, the top will be almost to a golden brown but the bottom will have just reached that golden brown stage. Pull the cookies out but let them sit on the cookie sheet for another 2-3 minutes. The cookies will still cook once you pull them out because they are still hot and they are on a hot pan. Allowing them to finish cooking this way out in the cooler air makes for a softer chewier cookie- they come out perfect on the edges and slightly soft and doughy on the inside.
This really is a great recipe and I know you will love it just as much as my family does!!!!!!!
