More Cheese More Chocolate

I’ve had a cooking blog for well over a year, and I’ve never posted a chocolate chip cookie recipe.  How un-American of me.  If you’ve been coming by here for the last 543 days looking for a classic cookie recipe, then today is your lucky day.  Finally.  And better yet, this is not just any chocolate chip cookie recipe; this is my mom’s chocolate chip cookie recipe.  Groups of hungry teenagers were permanently stationed at our house from 1993 until late 2001 for two reasons: an overabundance of gossip magazines (or comic books for certain members of the group) and these cookies.  The front door never being locked and the comfy couches might have played a part, too, but for a household with neither soda nor video games I think the never-ending supply of fresh cookies was the real draw.  Or, you know, my brothers and I and our irresistible charm.  Okay fine, it was the cookies.

My mom’s chocolate chip cookies are solid mounds of goodness, filled with the usual ingredients plus some crispy cereal, oats, and coconut.  Even though I love her cookies I spent a large part of my childhood secretly wishing that my mom would make soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies like the ones my friends’ moms would make.  I won’t name names, but there are a couple of moms in my hometown who made exceptional soft cookies that I remember to this day.  I eventually came around to the fact that even though these cookies aren’t of the super soft variety, they’re a solid alternative.  And they have oatmeal in them, so they have to be good for you, right?  I like these best when they’re fresh out of the oven, as soft as they’ll be and with melty chips, but they’re also great once they cool and harden up a bit.  A single recipe makes 3-4 dozen apricot-sized cookies or about 2 dozen slightly larger cookies.  They freeze well, and they can be eaten straight out of the freezer or nuked for 20-30 seconds.  Please don’t sue me if you chip a tooth on a frozen chocolate chip; I’m insolvent.

Necie’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup salad oil

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup coconut

1 cup crisped rice or bran cereal*

12 oz chocolate chips

*You can use any kind of crispy cereal – bran flakes, Special K, Rice Krispies, corn flakes

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or just a a regular bowl if you want an arm workout) mix the butter, oil, and sugars.

Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until incorporated.

Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar, and add it to the wet ingredients.  Mix to combine.

Remove the bowl from the stand.

Add the cereal, oats, coconut, and chocolate chips.

Use a sturdy spoon to mix it all together.

Scoop spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets.  Or ungreased.  I’m pretty sure I didn’t grease these, and I didn’t have any problems with sticking.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes (maybe less or more time, depending on the size of the cookies).  They should start to brown around the edges when they’re done.

Let the cookies cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

Finally, for those of you confused about the name, I am aware that my mom’s name is not Necie, and there is approximately one person in the world who calls her that (Hi, Kelly!), but I thought “Necie’s Chocolate Chip Cookies” sounded better than “Mom’s Chocolate Chip Cookies,” so I went with it.  Sue me.  Again, that’s a joke.

Thanks for the recipe, Mom!