Not Your Average Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes

Steps:

• 1. Mix dry ingredients (first 5 listed) together. Set aside.
• 2. In a separate bowl, cream together shortening, butter, and both sugars until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and lemon juice and beat well.
• 3. Slowly add in dry ingredients, beating on low until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• 4. Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• 5. Using 1/4 C measuring cup, or an ice cream scoop, place cookies about 2 inches apart on lined baking sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until cookies begin to turn golden on the top and around the edges.
• 6. Cool on pan for 2 minutes before transfering to a wire rack to cool completely.

Steps:

• Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven, and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Beat the butter and both sugars with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a second large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs to the butter mixture, one at time, beating after each addition to incorporate; beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to medium, add the flour mixture, and beat until just incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.
• Scoop 12 heaping tablespoons of dough onto each prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Roll each into a ball with slightly wet hands. Bake until the cookies are golden but still soft in the center, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
• When the baking sheets have cooled completely, scoop the remaining dough onto 1 sheet and bake. Store the cookies in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
• Variations:
• For cakey cookies: Replace the light brown sugar and granulated sugar with 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar. Bake at 375 degrees F until golden and tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
• For crispy-cakey cookies: Bake the cookies at 425 degrees F until golden and crunchy on the outside, 8 to 10 minutes.
• For chewy cookies: Use 1 cup light brown sugar and 1/4 cup corn syrup and omit the granulated sugar. Bake at 375 degrees F until golden and crunchy on the outside, and chewy on the inside, 10 to 12 minutes.
• For super-chewy cookies: Substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour. Bake at 375 degrees F until golden with caramelized edges, 12 to 15 minutes.
• For extra-crispy cookies: Bake the cookies at 300 degrees F until flat and crunchy, 24 to 28 minutes.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
• In large bowl, beat softened butter and sugars with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon about 1 minute or until fluffy, scraping side of bowl occasionally.
• Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth. Stir in flour mixture just until blended (dough will be stiff). Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
• Onto ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Store covered in airtight container.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
• Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

Steps:

• Put the butter and both sugars in a stand mixer or mixing bowl. Cream together using a paddle attachment on medium speed, a handheld electric whisk or a wooden spoon for 1 to 2 minutes until paler but not fluffy. (Do not mix for too long; if you beat the mixture until super light and fluffy, that will cause the cookie to deflate later when cooking.)
• Add the egg and beat over medium speed until evenly combined.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (all the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt), then fold into the butter mixture using a rubber spatula until combined.
• Add the chopped chocolate and fold into the dough until evenly distributed.
• Immediately scoop out heaping 1/4-cup portions (about 60 grams), roll into balls and place on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 12 hours. (If space is tight, you can condense them on one sheet before refrigerating then redistribute among two sheets before baking.)
• The next day, heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Make sure the dough balls are evenly spaced out among two baking sheets, as they will spread. Bake the cookies for 13 minutes (or 15 minutes if baking from frozen), until the cookies are puffed and golden at the edges. You want the middle to be ever so slightly not-quite set.
• Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet; they will continue firming up as they cool. Once cooled, eat! (These cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The balls of dough will keep for up to 2 days in the fridge or 2 weeks in the freezer.)

Steps:

• Sift together flour and baking soda and set aside. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until lemony yellow, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl and paddle. Add sugar, brown sugar and salt. Continue creaming mixture on medium speed until it is smooth and lump free, about 1 minute. Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl and paddle.
• Add egg and vanilla and beat on low speed for 15 seconds, or until they are fully incorporated. Do not over-beat. Scrape down sides of bowl and paddle.
• On low speed, add sifted flour mixture. Beat slowly until all of the flour is incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add chocolate chunks and mix in.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees with the rack positioned in the lower third of the oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Spoon heaping teaspoons of dough 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. If not baking right away, remove small handfuls or spoonfuls of dough from mixer and plop them down on the middle of a sheet of parchment or wax paper, creating a log about 1 1/2 inches wide and 12 inches long. Fold parchment over, creating a sausage. Chill for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight. Using a serrated knife, slice chilled dough into 1/3-inch-thick rounds and place them 2 inches apart, in staggered rows, on parchment-lined sheets and proceed. (Dough will keep nicely, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator for 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw frozen dough at room temperature for 30 minutes before slicing.)
• Bake one sheet at a time for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned, rotating the baking sheet front to back halfway through. Remove from heat and slide parchment off baking sheet and onto a work surface. Allow cookies to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving, or for at least 20 minutes before storing in an airtight container. They will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature.