Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I love chocolate chip cookies. They are...quite simply...the best food in the world. I have a special spot in my heart for this delicious treat. Growing up, my sister and I would often be awakened at around 10:00 p.m. (long after we had been tucked into bed for the evening) by the most delightful aroma, that of freshly baked cookies. We would rush downstairs to find our dad baking slice and bake chocolate chip cookies in the little toaster oven. He would always turn around looking like a 5 year old boy that got caught sneaking cookies before dinner! Dad would then cut off two more cookies and the three of us would enjoy our little midnight treat. I cannot help but think of these stolen moments from my childhood whenever I smell or eat chocolate chip cookies.

There are as many variations of the chocolate chip cookie as there are bakers of chocolate chip cookies. My favorite recipe of the moment uses Crisco and semi-sweet chocolate chunks.

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Ingredients:
3/4 of a stick of Crisco butter flavored all-vegetable shortening
1 1/4 cups of firmly packed light brown sugar
2 Tablespoons of milk (I used skim milk)
1 Tablespoons of vanilla
1 Large egg
2 Cups of flour (I increased this amount from the original recipe by 1/4 of a cup)
1 Teaspoon of salt
3/4 Teaspoon of baking soda
1 Bar of Semi-Sweet chocolate (8 ounces) roughly chopped

Steps:
1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In your standing mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the 3/4 stick of shortening, 1 1/4 cups of brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons of milk, and 1 Tablespoon of vanilla. Beat until smooth and fully combined.
3. Beat the egg into the mixture. Break the egg in a separate bowl before adding it the mixture. I know this is an annoying step, but I cannot even tell you how many times I have had to fish out a small piece of egg shell that has made its way into the batter. Very frustrating!
4. Slowly add the 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt and 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda to the mixture. Mix until just combined.
5. After coarsely chopping the chocolate, add all of it to the batter, even the tiny slivers.
6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it into the refrigerator for about an hour. This period of time in the fridge keeps the cookies from spreading and thinning out in the oven. Also, it is very helpful if you want to make the cookie dough early and then make fresh cookies later in the day.
7. After the dough has cooled, roll the about 1/2 a cup of dough between your hands to form perfect orbs of cookie dough. Spread out evenly on your prepared cookie sheets.
8. Bake the cookies for about 8 to 10 minutes. Take the cookies out before they are fully cooked as they will continue to bake after you remove them from the oven.
9. Enjoy with a tall glass of milk!

50th post celebration dinner at R&D! See Staci's post for the review (we liked it!).

Puppy play time!