Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been conducting standardized testing in our home all week, so I wanted to make some cookies at the end to celebrate.  I pulled out my go-to recipe that my mom made for years and that I've been making all of my adult life.  The Nestle Tollhouse Recipe has never worked for me and I've tried it several times over the years.  Anyways, my mom always called this recipe "Mrs. Field's recipe", but we're not exactly sure where it came from. After searching the web, I found it on cooks.com  HERE.  The only difference in the ingredients between this recipe and the one I make is that I only add 1/2 tsp. of salt (not 1 1/2 tsp.)

My directions are quite different, though... So, here's my recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookies (medium size batch)

1 1/3 cup butter
1 1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
4 tsp. vanilla

Cream sugar, butter, and vanilla well so that there are no lumps of butter in the mixture.

Add:
4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 generous shakes of the salt shaker

Mix well and add  2 2/3 cup chocolate chips.  It will be a very crumbly mixture.  Don't worry.  (You can also add 1 1/3 cups chopped nuts if you wish.)

This is where my kids and I stop for a break.  We grab spoons and each get to eat one spoonful of cookie batter.  It's not batter, but it doesn't have eggs in it and once the crumbly mixture gets into your mouth, it tastes just like good 'ol cookie dough.  I probably end up taking about 3-4 Tbsp. of mixture in all out of the bowl, but it doesn't affect how the cookies turn out.  

Now, add the eggs-- 2 of them.
Cream well.  It's amazing how it all mixes together.  But, it does!

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  In my oven, it takes 12 minutes.  So, the first time you make a batch watch them closely after 8 minutes to see how long your oven likes to have the cookies in there.  Take them out when you see a little golden forming on the top edges of the cookies.  This is one of those recipes that you play with--bake them to how well you like them cooked--soft, medium, or crispy.  I always leave them on the tray after I pull them out for 3-4 minutes to let them cook slowly for a few more minutes.  

You can half the recipe and it still works quite well!