Go-To Choco-Chip Cookies

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Written by: Josette Deschambeault

My mom won my dad’s heart with these cookies. Well, these cookies and a strawberry cheesecake, apparently, but nonetheless, these cookies were present. 

This recipe came from my grandmother, was used by my aunt in her bakery, and has made an appearance at every family gathering we’ve ever attended. Needless to say, it’s my go-to — simple, delicious, and everyone loves them at potlucks!  

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup granulated sugar

  • 1 cup brown sugar

  • 1 cup vegetable shortening

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 tsp vanilla

  • 2 ½ cups flour

  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

TOOLS

  • Large bowl 

  • Spatula (or mixer)

  • Dry measuring cups & spoons

  • 2 baking sheets

 
 
 

 STEP 1 — COMBINE SUGARS

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.

  • Mix granulated and brown sugar together with a spatula (or a mixer blade, if you’re fancy). 

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 STEP 2 — MAKE WET MIXTURE

  • Add vegetable shortening and eggs. Mix to combine into a smooth consistency.

 
 

 STEP 3 — ADD SEASONINGS

  • Add baking soda and salt. Stir in completely (no soda clumps!). 

  • Add vanilla. Stir to combine.  

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STEP 4 — ADD FLOUR

  • Add flour in, ½ cup at a time. Mix to fully combine after every ½ cup. The goal is a tacky dough after all 2 ½ cups!  

 
 
 

 STEP 5 — ADD CHOCOLATE CHIPS

  • Add in chocolate chips and mix just enough to fold all the chips in. 

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 STEP 6 — FORM COOKIES

  • Grease a baking sheet with extra vegetable shortening.

  • Measure out cookies with a tablespoon. Roll them in your palms to form a ball. 

  • Place three cookie balls across widthwise and 4 cookie balls down lengthwise (depending on how big your baking sheet is!). You should have 12 cookies on an average-sized baking sheet. 

  • Repeat with remaining baking sheet and dough. 

 

 STEP 7 — BAKE COOKIES

  • Bake for 8-12 minutes. (Take out at 8 if you like soft cookies, 12 if you like crunchy cookies!) 

  • Let cool on a cooling rack. (Or immediately transfer them to a plate/cool tray, so they don’t continue to bake.)

  • Eat them all!

*Allergens: Wheat, Dairy

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Bonus: Cookie bars

 

If you’re in a hurry, or trying to make a quick-and-easy dessert for a crowd of people (and have no patience for rolling out 5 dozen cookies, like me), go for the cookie bar approach. This is a double batch in a 9”x11” pan, and my office is loving it!

Make the dough exactly as above, but leave out the chocolate chips. Press the dough out in an even layer into a well-greased (I used Crisco and a paper towel) baking pan. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until the edges start to rise and the top is golden. (It doesn’t have to be fully cooked yet!)

Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Try to avoid clumping them all together in one area! Put the pan back in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the chocolate melts and the cookie is baked to your desired doneness. (I recommend taking it out when it’s still doughy — I like a dense, cookie-dough-esque bar.) Take a sharp knife and swirl the chocolate in a criss-cross pattern across the cookie bars.

For this batch, I used leftover ganache (chocolate chips melted in a double-boiler with heavy cream) to drizzle over top. Feel free to do the same — just make sure that your top pot doesn’t touch the simmering water below! For best results, I simmered water in a big pot, and put a medium metal bowl over it. The idea is to steam the chocolate into melting, not to boil it.

Cut into squares, and you’re done!

Enjoy!

FoodJosette DeschambeaultChocolate, chocolate chip, chocolate chip cookieComment