The Many Faces of Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Many Faces of Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed, dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 ½ cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Whip the butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in the eggs, and vanilla until well-blended. Add flour and baking soda until well-mixed. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets, about two inches apart. Bake for eight to ten minutes or until edges are golden brown. Don’t over bake! Makes about 4 dozen cookies. Especially good, hot and gooey out of the oven!

This ia the most basic of Chocolate Chip Cookies. The recipe is great and you will have a good outcome and please your family, however, you can keep your kitchen production varied and creative and still have the ease of the above recipe.

These are some of the ways I recreate basic Chocolate Chip Cookies . . . with no complaints to date!

1.  Add 1/2 cup chopped nuts to the stated recipe. Walnuts come to mind, first, but peanuts take it to a new level.

2.  Add 1/2 cup diced dates, some freshly grated orange zest, and 1/2 cup toasted and chopped pecans to the recipe.

3.  Use all white chocolate chips, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, and 1/2 cup diced fruitcake fruit.

4.  Use all white chocolate chips, 1/2 cup chopped nuts, and 1/2 cup diced orange slice candy.

5.  Add 1/2 cup diced spiced gum drops to the batter.

6.  Stick to the basic recipe and add 1/2 cup of toffee bits.

7.  Same recipe with the addition of crushed peppermint candy.

8.  Use all peanut butter chips and press some salted, crushed peanuts into the top of each cookie before baking.

9.  Add 1/2 cup dried cranberries to the mix - chocolate and cranberries taste good together.

10. Use all butterscotch chips instead of the chocolate chips or half butterscotch and half white chocolate chips.