The Battle of the Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm spreading my holiday baking out over the entire week this year.  This wasn't really intentional or thought out....it's more a result of laziness and procrastination.  But hey, I'm embracing it!  lol  On Saturday I spread my baking supplies all over the kitchen. On Sunday I organized it, looked through recipes, and baked these chocolate chip/peppermint checkerboard cookies that were a major PITA, gingerbread cookies from a box, and brownie bites.  Yesterday I was a little more ambitious....I did two batches of peanut butter/chocolate fudge and two batches of regular chocolate fudge and did molasses cookies.  I think it's the best molasses cookies I've made yet -- they weren't so soft you couldn't handle them, but they weren't hard.  We'll see what Mom thinks....she's the one I know who really likes that kind of cookie.  This morning I'm a bit more in the mood.  I cleaned up the kitchen, started the laundry, then whipped up my nemesis cookie:  Chocolate Chip.

Now, most people have made chocolate chip cookies.  Right from childhood it's the one cookie that anybody with a bowl and a spoon can whip up.  I guess.  I can't.  Well, that's not exactly true.  I've made chocolate chip cookies for years, but they tend to either come out of the oven in ball form as they went in or flat because they've totally melted.  I've used recipes from here, there and everywhere....recipes that other women have used successfully and made wonderful cookies with happy children that they shared with family in holiday joy.  I get hockey pucks with chocolate chips in them.  They taste good.....once you manage to find a spot you can chew.  Kind of like the turkey dinner in Nat'l Lampoon's Christmas Vacation....only they don't even look that good.
This year I tried the recipe on the inside of the butter flavored Crisco lard package.  I followed the directions, blending, stirring and folding the appropriate amounts of time to the listed consistencies.  They look good....they're not flat, they're cookie shaped, they don't look raw or burnt and the batter sure tasted okay.  Not that I'd know, of course.....just guessing......got raw egg in it can't eat it......yeah, yeah, that.  So here's hoping they taste good, too!!  Of course, when you mix together butter flavored lard, brown sugar, vanilla, chocolate chips and some milk, egg and flour how could it taste bad?  But wait....this is me we're talking about!!  LOL  I can make a cheesecake that I could sell for $10 a slice all day and night.  I can make a homemade pizza that has my boys nearly in tears tearing into it.  I've perfected my fudge, found the best brownie recipe and mastered it, and even moved on successfully to decorative baking with these checkerboard cookies.  I must NOT be defeated by basic chocolate chip cookies!!!!

Colin is sleeping off a two day migraine.  Hopefully when he wakes up he'll be pain free and able to taste test my cookies.  Kyle's working until tonight so he won't get to try them until much later....I can't wait that long for reassurement and worship in my role as domestic goddess!!!  So if the kiddo is still achy I'll have to start hitting people up to pop out and eat baked goods.  And that's more difficult than you'd think.....even on a bright sunny day with clear roads.  So here's hoping!!!