my favorite cookies ever.

I don't remember where this recipe came from.  I'm pretty sure I just kept looking at a bunch of recipes until my head hurt, so I ended up combining good ideas from different ones together and the result was pretty darn good. So I have stuck to it.  I think I originally made them for Kyle during his first year of med-school because white chocolate is his favorite (no nuts!) so I wanted a great white chocolate chip cookie recipe.  

I make them all the time.  It is extremely rare that I don't always have the ingredients on hand.  Usually I send most of them to the hospital as a treat for the residents; this batch went to our small group as part of our pizza party.  

In the past month though, I have started switching things up.  Really, the base is fantastic and can support whatever flavors you want to add.  For 6 years, that has always been white chocolate.  Yesterday, I used half of the dough with w.c. for Kyle, and the other half I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and raisins.  You could add your favorite nut or other dried fruit, I am sure, with pretty great results.  

For simplicity's sake, I will just do the original white chocolate chip cookie recipe.  Feel free to free style the add-ins to your liking!

Homegrown Hillary's white chocolate chip cookies

1 stick butter - room temperature*

1/2 C Crisco

beat together until smooth, then add :

2 eggs - room temp*

3/4 C packed light brown sugar

1/2 C granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract 

in a separate bowl, combine :

2 1/2 C AP flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

slowly add to the wet mix until well combined. then stir in your add-in :

1 C white chocolate chips (or whatever you want)

Oven is preheated at 350F.  I have always found that the cookies turn out more uniform and easier to take off the cookie sheet if you line it with parchment paper and scoop with a cookie scoop (like a small ice cream scoop).  The first batch usually takes exactly 10 min to bake to perfection (barely golden brown on the edges and almost looks raw in the center), and each batch afterward only 9 min since the pan is already hot.  Ovens vary though so keep an eye on them and always set your timer!

Let the centers collapse a little and then remove to a cooling rack before you store them in an air tight container.  

Makes ~ 4 dozen

*room temp is a necessity.  if the dough is cold (or you pack down your flour and add too much) then they don't spread out like they should and end up dome shaped... still tasty... just look weird.

Trust me on the barely-done appearance... this is how you get nice soft chewy cookies that stay that way for a few days when properly stored.  If you wait for the tops of the cookies to start to brown, then once they completely cool, they will be hard.  Maybe thats how you like them, but that ain't how we roll.