Karen MacInerney wrote:
> I've been experimenting w/choc. chip cookies for years (even picked up
> a cookbook dedicated to them and have tried at least 10 recipes), and I
> still haven't figured out how to bake those big, thick chewy ones
> without resorting to vegetable shortening. (And even those weren't
> that good.) I tried refrigerating the dough and using bigger globs,
> but the insides remained doughy.
>
> Anyone have any cookie secrets they'd be willing to share?
>
> Would a particular type of cookie pan help, maybe? (Grasping at straws
> here...)
>
> Karen MacInerney

I use this one - BUT, I have found that when they are super fresh or
even one day old, if they have been sealed up after cooling, they will
stay soft. Anything older than 1 day gets crisp.

I printed a new recipe that said "soft" at rec.food.recipes the other
day, but haven't tried it - it had sour cream in it.

Anyway, try this and if there are leftovers after a day, resign
yourself to freezing them in air-tight packages.

Nancy's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 stick oleo (Blue Bonnet - Best for Baking) and ½ stick salted or
unsalted butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm
1 C. light brown sugar
½ C. white sugar
1 extra large or jumbo egg, plus 1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla (I used a scant T.)
2 C. plus 2 T. flour (white, bleached, all-purpose)
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. soda
1 12-oz. pkg. semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

Put the melted butter and the sugars in a mixing bowl. Mix until
thoroughly blended. (I beat at a high speed for a couple minutes. This
also helps the melted shortening cool slightly.) Add the egg, egg
yolk, and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Put the flour, salt and soda in
a bowl and whisk or sift once. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar
mixture and mix thoroughly. Stir in chips by hand.

Line cookie sheets with baking parchment. Make drop cookies on cookie
sheets. Bake at 325 deg. for 13 minutes (check at 11 minutes).
Cookies should be slightly brown on the peaks and edges, and light
colored and soft in the center.

Remove from oven, leave on cookie sheets and cool. Do not put new
batches on hot cookie sheets; make sure sheets have cooled before
reusing.

This recipe makes about 36-40 cookies.

Store in airtight container with waxed paper between layers. The baked
cookies can be frozen. The raw dough can be frozen in an airtight
container for up to two weeks. Thaw it in the refrigerator. Thaw
baked cookies at room temperature.

Instead of chocolate chips, use chunks of white chocolate (6 oz.) and
macademia nuts (about 3/4 cup, cut into coarse bits) (or use
proportions of chocolate and nuts to taste).

For the choc. chips, you can substitute 1 C. quick-cooking oatmeal and
1 C. raisins, plumped 5 minutes in boiling water. Add 1/4 tsp.
cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg to the batter.

You can also substitute 1 ½ pkg. (about 18 oz.) of brickle bits and
3/4 C. coarsely chopped pecans for the choc. chips.