My chocolate chip cookie recipe was a work in progress for several years.  When I was first married, like many young brides, I had this ideal in my head of what the “perfect” wife ought to be.  And I wanted to personify that ideal.  Thank goodness I’ve let go of that, 16 years later.  A life without shedding that ridiculous standard would have necessitated being committed to a mental hospital. However it did make way for a couple good habits and by-products, one of which being my painstakingly perfected chocolate chip cookie recipe.   

My husband, bless his heart, made a statement in the first years of our marriage that went down in history.  Whether this was pure genius, coincidence, or total insensitivity, I’ll never know.  He made the offhanded comment that his mother made “the best chocolate chip cookies in the world”.  Hold the phone!  Excuse me?  That would mean they’re better than mine.  Oh no he did NOT just say that.  Challenge accepted. This presumably innocent statement (I submit he knew exactly what he was doing.  1 point to Jon for cleverness.) plunged me into a mission to not only best my mother in law, but to prove that I, the faithful wife, would hold the title of best chocolate chip cookie maker in the world. It took me several years to find my holy grail of cookies, but find it I did.

chocolate chip cookie

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

I have shared this chocolate chip cookie recipe far and wide. I have no problem with other people using it as their own. To wives everywhere: may you never hear the words, “They’re just not quite as good as my mom’s.”  Two rules though; don’t over mix, and chop the nuts don’t smash them. It’s the little things that matter. 

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup shortening (I know it's more popular to use all butter, but don't. Shortening has a lower melting point giving the cookies a better texture.)
  • 3/4 cup golden brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 12 oz chocolate chips (personal preference here, but I always use 60% cacao)
  • 1 cup shredded and sweetened coconut (optional)
  • 3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
  1. In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream butter, shortening, and sugars together until fluffy but not whipped.

  2. Add eggs and vanilla and mix to combine.  After adding eggs, don’t over mix or your cookies will be cakey. 

  3. In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients and whisk to combine. 

  4. Add flower mixture to egg mixture and mix on medium low just until combined.  Do not over mix.  If using a hand mixer, only use it for wet ingredients.  Stir by hand after adding flour.  

  5. Add chocolate chips as well as coconut and nuts if using.  Stir only to combine.  If using nuts, chop them.  Don’t smash them with a mallet.  The little powdery bits of crushed nuts will make your cookies too dry.  

  6. Form dough into a log tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 3 days.

  7. Remove dough from fridge.  preheat oven to 375.  

  8. Place tablespoon sized balls of dough on cookie sheet.  Give them a little space between each cookie.  They will spread.  

  9. Bake at 375 for 8-10 min.  

  10. Cool on wire rack. 

  11. For ultimate satisfaction enjoy while warm with a glass of milk.

chocolate chip cookie