Chocolate Chip Cookies - an old favorite

I love a good Chocolate Chip Cookie. It has to be soft, almost to the point of cookie dough or I won't bother eating it. A dear friend and "sister" of mine that I grew up with, Christi Shrock, has an AMAZING cookie recipe in a cookbook. This cookbook is a collection of recipes from people I attended church with growing up. I also love a good church cookbook!

I throughout the years have great memories of this recipe.

* I remember making these cookies with Dixie, Stacy, Christi, and

Rachel - then staying up all night watching movies and eating almost the entire batch.

* I remember making several dozen (maybe 6+) the two weeks before my wedding with Ethel. We couldn't keep them coming fast enough... and no it wasn't a personal pre-wedding stock up. They were to feed the 4 groomsmen that came early and the 4 that came a few days later.

* I remember making them for our friends Daniel and Nancy and laughing so hard as we watched them hid the container from each other. Turns out neither one of them wanted to share with the other!

I love how a great cookie recipe can bring people together, create beautiful memories, and always to this day be a favorite in our kitchen. Thanks Christi for sharing this in our church cookbook and of course for the beginning of some really great memories!

Chocolate Chip Cookies - by Christi Shrock

Cooking From The Heart - Pleasant View Mennonite Church (1996)

Ingredients:

2 cups margarine

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

4 tsp. vanilla

4 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 (12 oz) pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

* Cream margarine and sugars until smooth

* Beat in eggs and vanilla

* Add dry ingredients; mix well.

* Stir in chocolate chips.

* Bake on greased cookies sheet at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

Makes 6 dozen cookies

Kitchen Notes:

* To make Dairy Free - sub Earth Balance Butter for margarine and use Vegan or Dairy Free Chocolate Chips (Whole Foods makes a great 365 Brand).

* I bake my cookies for 5-6 minutes - they turn out perfect for me!

* Store cookies in an airtight container with a piece of bread inside. This keeps them moist and soft, the bread in turn gets hard.

* You can easily cut this recipe in half - but really why would you??? They freeze great!