Not a Secret Recipe

My friends said if I'm writing a blog, I should at least share

my recipe for my kinda- famous cookies.

Sande's Secret Recipe Chocolate Chip Cookies

In a few weeks our son who has been away for two years will be home for a few months. I will have to keep the food coming so I'm busy getting recipes ready, some of the higher fat goodies that have disappeared from the menu around here. I'm not known for spending a lot of time in the kitchen these days, but when I did, I was kinda well-known for my chocolate chip cookies. I had no problem sharing them or the recipe, but everyone always thought I was omitting a secret ingredient. I wasn't and never would, but here is the non-secret recipe to keep those kids coming to the door and some essential cookie tips.

1. Always use Golden Crisco. Always. I use their box recipe for chocolate chip cookies with the following modifications. The recipe is usually on the inside or outside of box.

2. Slightly under cook, take them out just before you think they are done. Slightly brown, not brown. Don't worry, they will brown more as they cool. Nothing worse than an over baked cookie.

3. Throw in a small handful of those Skor butterscotch baking bits. No one knows can quite figure out what is in them, but they really, really like it. They do something with those chocolate chips. I think this is the secret part.

4. I use regular chocolate chips and then chop up some larger chunks of semisweet chocolate.

5. I take this recipe x4 for about 6-7 trays (6-8 cookies each) so that I can give away half. Someone always

needs some home-baked cookies.

6. After Day 1, my son microwaves them for exactly 10 seconds so they are just like oven-fresh.

7. Always use parchment paper on your cookie sheets. It prevents the bottoms from over browning.

8. I bake them, but don't eat them. Ok.......maybe just a bite.

If you have a friend who shares her goodies, she might like this handy custom ink stamp that can be ordered at this Etsy store {click here). I used to keep a supply of plain white bakery-type boxes handy for baking day, line it with parchment, fill it with cookies, tie it pretty ribbon and drop them off here and there. This stamp would have been perfect to use right on the box lid. I miss those days of buying parchment paper in bulk.

A more vintage style gift for the woman who bakes and shares.

You can order these personalised tags here at another Etsy store.

Oh.....one more thing, don't forget the very cold milk.
Enjoy!

Top image from Flickr/Ink stamp image from Sweet Paperie at Etsy, Baking Labels from Farouche at Etsy, Bottom photo from Flickr