Chocolate Chip Cookies a la Stephanie

Chocolate Chip Cookies a la Stephanie

1 cup butter (margarine is ok but not quite the same flavor)

2/3 cup brown sugar- packed

1 1/3 cup white sugar

1 ½ tsp real vanilla

2 large eggs

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3 cups real chocolate chips (I use guittards)

2 cups walnuts- not chopped

(add coconut if you like it)



Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or use air bake cookie sheet.

1. Cream the butter and the sugars until light and creamy. (usually I can play a couple of Bach inventions while this mixes, then I know the batter is ready) you can’t over mix this part.

2. Add the vanilla and eggs. Beat lightly, until smooth. Don’t over mix.

3. Mix dry ingredients (don’t need to sift) and stir into sugar mixture until the flour disappears. Don’t over mix.

4. Add the chips, nuts and coconut (if you are adding). Just barely mix.

5. Using an ice cream scoop, drop the dough onto the cookie sheet.

6. Bake 11-12 minutes. They will be slightly firm and soft in the middle. They get more firm as they cool. They will not look “done” but they are.

Using parchment paper I rotate the cookie sheets in the over after 8 minutes. Then cook an additional 2-3 minutes.

Let cool on the cookies sheet. Then transfer to a cookies track to complete the cooking, IF they last that long.



Makes about 25 large cookies, depending on how much dough you (or your husband) eat.



That’s the recipe as I have it in front of me. I have done both with butter and margarine. I couldn’t really tell the difference but I always use butter in baking anyway. I think margarine was all I had in the fridge at the time. Brown sugar is always packed. Unless it is stated that it is not to be packed. So I don’t know why she included it. I have used fake vanilla, until my mother bought me the real stuff. Honestly, I can’t tell a difference. But I can in other things.

Chocolate chips- there are so many brands. The ones that Stephanie uses are the big kind. I’m pretty sure you can find them in the bulk section of Winco. I normally use the semi-sweet ones of any brand but have found that I really like the special dark chips by Hersey. I normally add only 2 cups. I found that when my mom would make them and then ask me to finish cooking them there would be chips and nuts left over. But if you do just chips, 3 cups works nicely. I don’t like nuts too much in cookies or brownies. Now, that’s not going to keep me from eating them at all. So I normally don’t add nuts or coconut.

I let step one mix, since I have a stand mixer, while I get everything ready so I don’t have to go searching for it. Experiment with the time. When I lived in Draper Oaks apt I only had to cook these cookies for about 6 minutes. I took them until they just start to brown on the edges.

If you don't have parchment paper or an air bake pan...i suggest you put an air bake pan on your wish list. But until you get that gift, you can stick two pans on top of each other, if they are the same size. or you can use a slipat mat like my mom (other thing to put on your wish list, if you do not have one), slicone ones work too.

I only recently got an ice cream scoop for cookies. My mom uses a spoon. I like the scoop because I don’t get my hands in the dough and quickly attend to Sterling if I need to. I bought the smallest scoop walmart had. It makes them all the same size too, which helps with the baking time. I just made them and if Andrew didn’t eat any of the dough I should have 63 cookies. That’s one batch. Now that may seem like a lot, but they go fast!

Enjoy!

ps i sometimes use m&m's instead of chocolate chips. or different flavor chips....the batch i just made were for my visiting teachers who brought us dinner. so i put them on a cookies sheet, covered them, froze them, put them in  baggies and gave them to them. frozen cookie dough. to be eaten plain or baked into cookies whatever they wanted!