famous chocolate chip cookies

I have two favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes.  There’s the one in Good to the Grain, and is the healthier option as it’s surprisingly made with all whole wheat flour. It’s really good (I remembered that Lecia posted the recipe last year). But my standard is a recipe that I’ve been making for years. I believe my mom got it from a neighbor and I think it was probably one of the only recipes that I made religiously as a kid. So I’ve had some years to perfect it. A few decades (yikes). It is so good they call it… famous.

I’ve come to the conclusion that there are two things that really make or break this cookie: the quality of the flour and the baking time. If you use good flour and watch them for that divine tick of the clock when they just start to turn brown, you’ll be fine as wine in the summertime. Oh, and it makes a lot of dough. I bake half and stick the other half in the freezer for an impromptu treat.

And yes, that is one pound of butter. I never said they were healthy. All things in moderation.

Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies
makes six dozen cookies!

1 pound butter
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
5 1/2 cups good all-purpose flour
4 cups (or 24 ounces) chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans

Cream butter and sugars. Add vanilla and eggs; beat 3-5 minutes until very fluffy. Combine dry ingredients and stir into the butter mixture. Add chips and nuts.  Use an ice cream scoop and drop onto parchment-lined sheets. Bake for about 10 minutes… a little more, a little less but don’t over cook them. You’re going for soft and chewy here so it’s better to take them out sooner than you think.

Eat with milk if you’re so inclined.