Week 7 of the Christmas Cookie Exchange Challenge: Mom's Secret Recipe Chocolate Chip Cookies

Week 7 of the Christmas Cookie Exchange Challenge...

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well it took a bit of convincing but I finally did it…Somehow I convinced my mother that she should give up her secret recipe for everyone’s favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies! These things are amazing. Best if slightly undercooked so they are soft and gooey, my mouth is literally watering as I type this introduction. It is the cookie in which all others are compared to and the one I grew up with, my cousins grew up with, and (when I eventually allow him to have sugar) my son will grow up with. So read on and enjoy – if you make no other cookies from this adventure – make these. It will be well worth it.

From the desk of Barbara (my mom!):

What else do we do here at The Blue Peony? Well, I love to bake and don’t need to eat as many as I bake, so I typically give the goodies away. Before I worked for The Blue Peony, I would take them into the office, then after I retired, they went to the mail lady, the garbage men, the neighbors…….now I can take the extras to the market on Saturday morning and give away a bit of sunshine. A sweet treat makes people smile – something that makes me smile in return.

So how do you make the Chocolate Chip Cookie?

Ingredient list:

2 ¼ cups all purpose Flour

¾ cup Brown Sugar

¾ cup White sugar

2 room temperature eggs

2 sticks room temperature butter

1 teaspoon Vanilla

½ teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Baking soda

1 cup Chocolate chips if adding nuts if not adding nuts add 1 ½ cups chocolate chips

½ cup Chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1 cup Old fashioned rolled oats (the five minute kind)

Mix the flour, baking soda, salt together in a small bowl, set aside

Place 2 sticks butter in a deep mixing bowl, (suggestion: if using a stand mixer I double the batch). Mix for a bit on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add the white sugar and beat again until light and fluffy, add the brown sugar and beat until well mixed….while still mixing add the 2 eggs and the 1 teaspoon of vanilla….mix very well.

Now add approximately ½ of the flour, soda and salt mixture. Mix until well blended, add the rest of the flour mixture, mix again. Once it is completely blended add the cup of oatmeal and mix until just blended. Add the chips and the nuts and just blend again, I actually do this step with a big spoon instead of the mixer.

I don’t want all the pieces broken up……now the secret --- place the entire bowl in the refrigerator for a bit. I have found that ½ hour is not enough and 1 hour is enough……refrigerate until you can’t wait any longer to eat a cookie!

Take a soup spoon and make generous balls of dough, place on cookie sheet with about 2 inches between each dough ball.

Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 11 minutes. All ovens are different so please check the cookies to be sure they are slightly brown on the edges but still soft…do not over bake. (unless you like crunchy chocolate chip cookies)

Second secret, make all the remaining dough into dough balls and place side by side on a freezer proof dish.

Freeze for at least 2 hours and then place them the dough balls in a freezer proof plastic bag labeled with the kind of cookie and the date……I try to always have a bag of cookies in the freezer ready to bring a sweet smile to someone special.

I have even found that I can bake 4 on a little cookie sheet in a toaster oven…fresh hot cookies in just a few moments, yumm! What could be better with a proper cuppa of tea???

Only 32 more days till Christmas!!