everydaymatters: Today's Baked Goods Are:

COOKIES! Woo hoo. :) I love pumpkin bread and apple pie, but I can really relate to cookies. They're the food of my childhood. No really, they are.

Here is the yummy recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep: 25min Bake: 8min per batch
Oven: 375° Makes: About 60 cookies

1/2c shortening
1/2c butter, softened
1c packed brown sugar
1/2c granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2c all purpose flour
1 12-oz package (2 cups) semisweet chocolate pieces or miniature candy-coated semisweet chocolate pieces
1 1/2c chopped walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts (optional)

1. In a large mixing bowl beat shortening and butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, and baking soda. Beat until mixture is combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Stir in chocolate pieces and, if desired, nuts.
2. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375° for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer to a rack and let cool.

I didn't read this through very well before I started. It turned out alright though, but just now as I was typing it I realize I changed things without meaning to. First of all, whoever wrote the Better Homes & Gardens Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe did not attend Grandma Ginny's School of Makin' Cookies, because we don't do no sissy rounded teaspoon size balls of dough. No. We put our hands in the dough and pull out a ball that looks about right. I say that because this recipe says it makes 60 cookies...I ended up with 36. Since mine were almost double the size recommended, they also took double the time to bake. I didn't realize that I was supposed to get miniature M&M's, so we have cookies with big ones in them. They're good though. I also didn't read that I was supposed to bake them on an ungreased cookie sheet. I greased it, and they came out fine. I didn't use the nuts because I saw how much space the M&M's were taking up. I'm telling you, my stand mixer is my favorite kitchen appliance ever. It makes everything so much easier.

This is the cookbook I'm usually talking about when I say Better Homes & Gardens. I have a different BH&G cookbook, but this one is smaller and easier to have in the kitchen. Plus it has a handy built in bookmark ribbon, so I always know where I'm at.

This is the first time I've ever used shortening. Nothing exciting to say about it.

The dough.

I got pretty busy putting the stuff in and I forgot to take progression pictures. I'm pretty sure you understand how cookie dough comes together though.