Old-Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you and your loved ones are fiends for fans of a plain but perfect homemade chewy chocolate chip cookie that's easy and quick to make, you'll love this recipe. Read on ...

Everyone's Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies Made from Scratch. A Vintage, Easy Tried-and-True Recipe. Starts with Cold Butter, No Waiting. Just One Hour to the Table, Mixing & Baking Both. A New Addition to The Homemade Pantry, a Kitchen Parade Specialty. Great for Meal Prep, Just Freeze the Dough or Dough Balls to Bake Later. Potluck & Party & Kid Friendly. What're you waiting for?! So Good!!

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Falling In Love. With a Cookie?!

It took a special recipe to turn me into a chocolate-chip cookie fan fiend.

• For starters, the recipe calls for cold butter, that's right, there's no waiting for butter to soften!
• Second, the recipe follows an unusual mixing method that ensures the ingredients are very, very well-mixed.
• Third, it makes what to my taste is the most amazing chocolate chip cookie ever, tall and tender (but not cakey), slightly craggy and crispy on the outside while chewy on the inside.

So yeah, this chocolate chip cookie, the cookie itself, grabbed my heart. It was the technique, the taste, the texture. (And that's just the cookie. If you're a cook who lives to evoke smiles? You'll get it. Read on!)

Because then? The real magic happened.

Long-time cooks who love to feed people will understand. Don't we live for that special moment? that flash when someone we love lights up? when we see that smile of surprise? those eyes full of pleasure?

So yeah, that's what happened here. When Mr. Kitchen Parade aka The Man With the Hands first bit into an Old-Fashioned Chocolate-Chip Cookie, his face lit up, his blue eyes blazed. And then he exclaimed with child-like amazement, "This tastes just like my mother used to make!"

Truth be told, in the last eight years, I've baked chocolate chip cookies all of four times. But in eight weeks? I baked these cookies seven – make that eight, EIGHT – times, all to repeat that magic moment. Wouldn't you, too?

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Recipe Overview: Old-Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Old-Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookies are a classic version, slightly crisp on the outside and chewy inside, sweet and nostalgic with timeless appeal. The dough starts with cold butter and once mixed, is baked right away: that means there's no waiting for butter to warm up, no waiting for dough to chill. The mixing technique is a little unusual and slightly simpler than other recipes. The cookies bake on bare baking sheets (that's right, no parchment!) and the hot surface helps their bottoms brown and caramelize. The recipe makes a large batch but unbaked dough balls freeze well for baking later a few at a time or all at once.

• When to Serve = Kids love these. Grown men go silent with the first bite. Women reach for another. The cookies keep for several days, no problem, but my favorite time to put out these cookies, especially just warm from the oven, is after school or after dinner when grandkids and other family Littles are here or just want a sweet treat.
• Distinctive Ingredients = butter (for flavor) and vegetable shortening (that's solid Crisco, for tenderness) + vanilla + a mix of regular chocolate chips (especially dark chocolate chips) and mini chocolate chips
• Short Ingredient List = all the above + white sugar + brown sugar (dark is extra good and the "house" brown sugar) + baking powder + baking soda + salt + eggs + all-purpose flour + cake flour (may be omitted)
• Kitchen Tools = a stand mixer like this Kitchen Aid (affiliate link) especially since the mix time is so long for a big batch + baking sheets, these half sheet pans (affiliate link) are real workhorses in my kitchen + a thin metal spatula (affiliate link) helps release cookies after baking on bare cookie pans.
• The cookies turn out tall and tender but not cakey, slightly craggy and crisp on the outside while chewy on the inside.
• This an easy recipe for beginning bakers, just follow the instructions carefully, especially how the butter and Crisco are mixed with the sugars for 5 minutes, especially how the flour and chips are mixed in by hand before finishing with the mixer. Be aware, the cookies are baked on bare baking sheets. These days, almost all recipes call for putting down parchment paper first, not here.
• This is a time-friendly recipe. With big cookies, the cookie dough is mixed and the cookies are baked in an hour! Smaller cookies will take longer, even if more cookies can fit onto a baking sheet.
• This is a pantry-friendly recipe, especially for home cooks who love to bake.
• The recipe yields about 32 large cookies or 8 dozen small cookies or a mix of the two, just bake them on separate baking sheets.
• So good! I hope you love these!


• Want something chocolate chip-y but a little bit different? You'll love my Pumpkin-Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies, these have become my go-to year-round but with some extra fall flavors, pumpkin pie spice, molasses and some butterscotch chips.
• Not quite what you're looking for? Check out my other cookie recipes.

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Let's Talk Flour, Please.

So the inspiring recipe originated with an accomplished chef's grandmother. (And tastes just like my husband's own mother's cookies!) There's no messin' with Grandma's recipe, right?

Ooops. Sorry, Grandma. Let's talk this through.

PASTRY FLOUR Because here's the thing.

The inspiring recipe calls for two kinds of flour, all-purpose flour plus a specialty flour called "pastry flour" that is lower in protein and helps baked goods turn out extra-tender. But pastry flour is not easy to find even in well-stocked grocery stores, I don't know a single store in St. Louis that sells pastry flour. Of course, it's possible to order practically anything online and if you'd like to do that, I recommend the pastry flour from King Arthur Baking Company. But it's not cheap and don't you really want to make these cookies, like now? without waiting for flour to arrive in the mail?

I totally get that not everyone will want to invest in pastry flour just for chocolate chip cookies. Heaven knows, I work hard to make my recipes accessible so nobody but nobody (including myself!) needs to hunt up special stores for special ingredients.

Another quick note. If you find something called "whole wheat pastry flour", sorry, that's a whole-grain flour and not what you're looking for.

A SUBSTITUTE FOR PASTRY FLOUR Enter my friend Helen Fletcher, cookbook author and St. Louis professional baker and pastry chef, in her spare time she blogs at Pastries Like a Pro.

Helen taught me that the "standard substitute" for pastry flour is that 1 cup pastry flour is the equivalent of 2/3 cup all-purpose flour plus 1/3 cup cake flour which is also a lower-protein flour.

So I've written the recipe below for all-purpose flour and cake flour, both easy purchases at grocery stores. With the all-purpose + cake flour blend, the cookies turn out very well albeit "not quite as good" as with pastry flour.

OR STICK WITH PASTRY FLOUR For anyone who wants to join me in choosing pastry flour for this recipe, omit the cake flour entirely. Then use 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour and 3 cups (380g) pastry flour.

OR ... JUST USE ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR When I gave this recipe a fall spin that I call Pumpkin-Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies, I also decided to streamline the ingredients. And it worked, great. Skip any pastry flour, skip any cake flour. Just use 4 cups (500g) of all-purpose flour and be done with it.

I promise! Everyone gobbles up my chocolate chip cookies and nobody's stopping to ask, "Hmm, I wonder what kind of flour she uses ..."

For Best Results

For my weekly column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I interviewed chefs and translated their restaurant recipes for home kitchens. The most illuminating question? "How can a home cook ensure the same results?" So now I ask that question of myself, too, for my own recipes. Have another question? Ask away, I'll do my best to answer!

TRUST THE RECIPE I know it's unusual to mix cold fats (butter and Crisco) with the sugars, leavening agents (baking powder and baking soda), vanilla and salt all at once, especially for a full five minutes. But it works. The butter needs little scraping because there's all that sugar in the bowl for the beater to grab onto and work with. And the leaveners, salt and vanilla get mixed in really, really well.

IT'S OK TO SKIP THE CAKE FLOUR See all the detail just above but it's okay to leave out the cake flour without need to add more all-purpose flour. How do I know? Because I adapted this recipe into the wonderful Pumpkin-Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies and left it out there. I've made soooo many batches!

JOIN TEAM COOKIE SCOOPS For years, I've listened to bakers rave about cookie scoops for easy scooping and even sizing – but me, I just never "got" the need.

But for these cookies, yes, please do use a cookie scoop!

My usual "roll the dough into a ball" technique compresses the dough too much, even with gentle rolling, the cookies turn out tough and are prone to over-baking.

Moreover, cookie scoops help shape a "tall, lofty cookie" that has just the right balance of crispy cookie exterior and chewy interior.

For a large cookie, use the #24 scoop that holds almost 3 tablespoons (about 50g) of cookie dough. I'm happy with this big scoop (affiliate link).

For a small cookie, a couple of bites big, try the #60 scoop, it's this small scoop (affiliate link) that holds about a tablespoon (about 17g) of dough.

COOKIE SIZE, SMALL vs LARGE For the record, I almost always-always-ALWAYS make small cookies, just two or three bites big. Just check my other cookie recipes. But for Old-Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookies, I'm thoroughly smitten with the large cookie, it's the perfect balance of crispy exterior and chewy center. I so-so-SO wish I hadn't even started with the large ones!

FREEZE DOUGH BALLS TO BAKE LATER This is a big recipe, for sure. It's almost too much for my stand mixer to manage. But especially when I make small cookies, it makes a whole pile of cookies, not something I want hangin' around, I gotta tell ya! Luckily, this dough freezes ever so well. Just form the dough balls (roll gently between your hand to shape the dough) and arrange in a freezer container with a tight seal. I have good luck with three layers separated by waxed paper to make them easy to remove a few at a time and to prevent freezer burn. Bake from the frozen state or thaw in the fridge for a few hours. The baking temperature remains the same, surprisingly, the time needs only a bit more time.

Chocolate Chips Cookies for Fall Pumpkin Parties, Tailgates, Deer Camps, Friendsgivings & More

Soon after I first shared this recipe in 2015, I began working on a fall spin that includes Pumpkin Pie Spice, molasses and butterscotch chips. My husband and my dad (who was living with us at the time) and all the Family Littles are all crazy for them. Still, it took me awhile to both simplify the mixing steps and to enhance the combination into something really memorable. But here it is, in all its autumn glory!

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OLD-FASHIONED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Hands-on time: 20 minutes to mix, 30 minutes to bake (large cookies, more for small cookies)
Time to table: 1 hour
Makes 32 large cookies or 8 dozen (96) small cookies

MIX FOR FIVE MINUTES
• 1/2 cup (1 stick/114g) cold salted butter, in 16 small cubes
• 1/2 cup (100g) vegetable shortening (Crisco)
• 1-1/4 cups (250g) sugar
• 1-1/2 cups (300g) brown sugar, preferably dark
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt (assumes Diamond Crystal, use less Morton's Kosher)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

ONE AT A TIME
• 3 large eggs

STIR TOGETHER
• 4 cups all-purpose flour, fluffed to aerate before measuring or 500g
• 1 cup cake flour, fluffed to aerate before measuring or 125g (may be skipped, see TIPS)
• 1-3/4 cups (300g) semi-sweet chocolate chips, preferably a mix of mini & regular

Heat oven to 375F/190C.

FIVE MINUTES Combine the butter, shortening, sugar, leavening, salt and vanilla in a large bowl and mix on low to medium low speed for five minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl and the beater several times.

ONE AT A TIME One at a time, add the eggs just until mixed in, scraping the sides of the bowl and the beater after each one.

STIR Stir together the flours and chocolate chips in a separate bowl really well, thoroughly mixing. Drop the flours and chips into the mix bowl in one fell swoop.

SLOWLY NOW With a spatula, begin working the flour into the dough. (Why? The mixer will be very full, starting with a spatula prevents the flour from flying all over.) Turn the mixer on low, mix just until combined, no more.

SCOOP! For large cookies, use a large cookie scoop that holds about 3 tablespoons dough, for small cookies a scoop that holds about 1 tablespoon dough. Allowing for just a little room for spreading, arrange the cookies on a bare baking sheet (no silicone, no parchment).

BAKE & TURN Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, turning the baking sheet about halfway through.

CHECK! After 10 minutes, check the cookies, if needed, bake for another one to five minutes, one minute at a time. In my oven, the large cookies are done after a total of 10 to 13 minutes, the small cookies are done at 10 minutes (but some times 11). They should be golden on top but still slightly soft to the touch because they'll keep baking out of the oven. Timing is extra-important here, if they're baked too long, the cookies will turn out crisp instead of chewy. You don't want that!

COOL A BIT Let the cookies cool for 5 - 10 minutes before loosening from the tray, they will stick just a little, use a thin metal spatula.

HOW THEY KEEP OId-Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookies stay fresh for three to five days, not that they'll actually last that long, if you know what I mean. The cookie dough keeps for several days in the fridge and for several weeks in the freezer. That said, I prefer the cookie texture with just-mixed dough.

CHRISTMAS BAKING? I don't usually think of chocolate chip cookies as "Christmas Cookie Plate" cookies. But these qualify! Who's gearing up for holiday baking? Check out my Holiday Baking Tips from a Certifiable Cookie-Baking Fiend.

ALANNA's TIPS Who knew that Crisco has a short shelf life? I now buy a small container and keep it in the fridge. Do take a sniff of your Crisco, if it doesn't smell clean and neutral, you're due for a replacement. Don't substitute another stick of butter for the Crisco. Butter has so much good flavor but Crisco keeps the cookies slightly softer, slightly fresher, for longer. Yes, five minutes of mixing time is needed! In part, it's because the ingredient list specifies cold butter but it's also to ensure that the ingredients are really well-mixed. In fact, I set the timer for a full six minutes, this allows time for scraping down the bowl every so often. Just set a timer, it'll go by more quicly than you think.

FOR MORE INFO If you "skipped straight to the recipe," please scroll back to the top of this page for ingredient information, ingredient substitutions, tips and more. If you print this recipe, you'll want to check the recipe online for even more tips and extra information about ingredient substitutions, best results and more. See https://www.kitchenparade.com/2015/12/old-fashioned-chocolate-chip-cookies.html .

NUTRITION INFORMATION
Whole Batch (easy math for larger/smaller cookies): 7738 Calories (yikes!); 281g Tot Fat; 156g Sat Fat; 935mg Cholesterol; 5064mg Sodium; 1210g Carb; 33g Fiber; 703g Sugar; 94g Protein.
Per Small/Large Cookie: 80/241 Calories; 3/9g Tot Fat; 2/5g Sat Fat; 9/29mg Cholesterol; 52/158mg Sodium; 13/38g Carb; 0/1g Fiber; 7/22g Sugar; 1/3g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS WW Old Points 2/5 & WW Points Plus 2/7 & SmartPoints 2/11 & Freestyle 4/11 & myWW green 4/11 & blue 4/11 & purple 4/11 & future WW points. CALORIE COUNTERS Make seven dozen cookies so 1 cookie = 107 calories (1g protein).

Adapted from a recipe provided by the lovely folks at Chaumette Vineyards & Winery for my column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

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TIS THE SEASON: Christmas Baking Over the Years

Frosty Christmas Trees Homemade Microwave Caramel Corn Gourmet Mocha Cookies Graham Cracker Toffee Cranberry-Mac Morsels Butter Tart Bars Perfect M&M Cookies Sesame Candy Fresh Cranberry Drop Cookies Chocolate Ginger Crinkle Cookies Colored Roll-Out Sugar Cookies Holiday Baking Tips from a Certifiable Cookie-Baking Fiend No-Roll Christmas Sugar Cookies Bourbon Pralines Slice 'n' Bake Coffee Cookies with Chocolate-Covered Espresso Beans Fresh Cranberry Cake Chocolate-Almond Shortbread Cookies Christmas Banana Bread Big Fat Chewy Molasses Cookies Fat Rascals Fresh Cranberry Bars Gingerbread Snickerdoodle Bars Sugar Cookie Bars Cranberry Linzer Tart No-Chill Cutout Sugar Cookies Cranberry Walnut Bread

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The Classics: More Old-Fashioned Cookie Recipes

more
~ cookie recipes ~

• THE RECIPE Molasses Cookies An old-fashioned favorite. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Oatmeal Raisin Cookies For raisin-lovers and raisin-haters.

• THE RECIPE Gum Drop Cookies An old-fashioned cookie with jewel-colored bites of gum drops candies.
• ANOTHER TAKE Banana Oatmeal Cookies Oatmeal cookies with a banana twist. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Cinnamon Sugar Cookies (Snickerdoodles) Soft and chewy, bright with cinnamon.
• ANOTHER TAKE Snickerdoodle Bars Snickerdoodle flavors with the firm, chewy texture of blondies.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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