Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe & Tips
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe & Tips: I’m sharing my secrets! Learn how to make bakery-style chocolate chip cookies right in your own kitchen.
One of my all-time favorite things to bake for my family are chocolate chip cookies. They are my specialty, so to speak, and were one of the first recipes I posted on my blog back in 2011. Needless to say, that post desperately needed an update so here I am again with my best chocolate chip cookies recipe secrets and tips!
Along with Rice Krispies Treats, this chocolate chip cookies recipe were what I always made when I needed a quick dessert or snack. They were great for potlucks, picnics or road trips. They stayed fresh in a ziploc bag for days…but most of the time they didn’t last that long. When my kids were growing up, I always made the full batch of about 20 cookies. I have started to cut the recipe in half because most of the time it’s just me, my husband and my dad doing the eating! The half recipe works perfectly when you want just a few, fresh cookies.
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Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe: The Dough
This dough is, of course, amazing. I use a standing mixer but my mom always used a hand mixer, so either one will work. I also use plain Crisco because again, that’s what my mom used. I tried butter one time when I was out of Crisco and they tasted good, but were flat and a little greasy. To get the fluffy texture, Crisco is a must.
The Scoops
Scooping the dough into half-moons is what gives the cookies their perfect round shape. I use a 2 in. scoop and scrape it along the side of the bowl to level it off. Drop the scoops, flat side down, on a large cookie sheet. A few years ago I discovered Goldtouch baking pans and since I started using the cookie sheet, my chocolate chip cookies bake evenly and brown perfectly.
Chocolate Chip Cookies: Cooling Tips
After removing the cookies from the oven, let them sit and cool on the pan for one minute. Remove them from the pan onto a section of newspaper to cool completely. The newspaper sort of sucks a bit of the oil out and this results in crispy, yet soft-in-the-middle chocolate chip cookies. If you don’t have, or would rather not use newspaper, brown kraft paper or a clean linen towel would work too!
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe & Tips
Ingredients
- 1 cup Crisco
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 2 3/4 cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine Crisco, both sugars, eggs and vanilla. Beat until very smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add flour mixture to sugar mixture in three increments. Beat very well between additions and scrape the bowl.
- Add chocolate chips and mix on lowest speed just until they are combined with the dough.
- Using a 2-inch scoop, make half-moons of dough by leveling the scoop along the side of your mixing bowl. Drop onto a large cookie sheet.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes. When done, cookies will be light on the top but slightly brown around the edges and on the bottom.
- Cool cookies completely on a section of newspaper. Store in an air-tight container or ziploc bag.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Variation
One of the things I like best about this chocolate chip cookies recipe is that it’s so versatile. It can be made into a cookie cake by simply putting all the dough in a baking dish.
I love this heart-shaped ruffled baking dish and it makes the perfect chocolate chip cookie cake. Prepare the dough according to the recipe. Place all the dough in the baking dish and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Spray the baking dish lightly with Baker’s Joy before adding the dough.
You can also use a 9 x 9 inch square pan or a 10 inch cast iron skillet. The outside edges of the cake are crispy, but the middle is chewy and moist. Click {HERE} for my favorite ruffled baking dish.
Even if you don’t love to bake, this best chocolate chip cookies recipe could be added to your arsenal when you need an easy dessert. If you do love to bake, definitely give these a try. Your kitchen will smell heavenly and your family will think you’re marvelous!
