mom’s chocolate chip craisin cookies 

Everyone has their favorite Chocolate Chip recipe. For years I relied on the back of the bag of Nestle Morsels - that’s what my mom did and I loved her cookies! Then she began to expand her vision and she added raisins to the recipe. Good choice. But somehow, my cookies were never quite up to par with Mom’s. She insisted she was just adding raisins to the Nestle recipe. So you can imagine the screaming when I watched her shake a handful of oats into her cookie dough. “Oh, I always add a little oats and cut back on the flour,” she explained. Really!

That’s when I realized that baking is a creative art and not a pre-determined science equation. So here’s my expression of Mom’s Chocolate Chips - now with Craisins and a handful of oats or shredded coconut depending on my mood and what’s in the pantry. You may be a fan of nuts or white chocolate or caramel bits or pretzels or peppermint sticks. It’s your creation and this recipe is very much open to your tasteful expression.

Ingredients

1/2 pound butter, softened (option: 1/4 butter and 1/4 margarine)

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar - packed

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs, well-beaten

1-3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. 

3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

3/4 cup craisins - or raisins

1/2 cup coconut or oatmeal

Directions Preheat oven to 350F

1. Soften butter in mixer and add white and brown sugar mixing until well-creamed.

2. Add vanilla extract and continue to beat on medium speed.

3. Beat eggs and add to butter/sugar mixture. Continue to beat until light and fluffy.

4. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed butter/sugar/eggs.

5. Stir in chocolate chips, craisins and coconut. Stir by hand with a wooden spoon until all elements are evenly dispersed throughout the batter.

6. Drop by teaspoonful onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. These will spread out when baking so leave space between cookies.

7. Bake at 350F approximately 10-15 minutes. Edges will begin to brown. (Ovens vary so watch carefully)

8. Allow to cool on wax paper or wire rack before storing. Sampling allowed while still warm.

9. These freeze very well.

Yielsd. Appx. 80 cookies depending on size.

Prep Time: 15-20 minutes

Bake Time: 10-15 minutes each tray

Difficulty: 1

Yield:

aprox. 80 cookies

Time:

Prep: 15-20 minutes

Cooking: 15-20 minutes per tray

Difficulty: