Granny Knows Best

I had the good fortune to grow up with a grandmother from the South who instilled not only a love for cooking but also an appreciation for its necessity. Other than the good ol’ saying, “food is a way to a man’s heart” being the mantra of the kitchen, as a child, I was often told that if I wanted something I needed to learn how to get it.

Sure, there’s more work involved with making your own meals, and there is also the chance it won’t come out just right. However, the entire process has you learning what works, what doesn’t work, what you like, and what you dislike. You adjust accordingly and try again—much like you do when you’re learning anything.

Despite my laissez-faire attitude towards baking, though, at least one recipe has been a constant—and that’s my grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies. Her cookies are so delicious, and any time the family visited we could always count on her cookie jar being filled with these buttery cookies. Not only that, but more often than not she would bring me and my cousin into the kitchen with her to make another batch. This is the recipe I’m sharing with you here.

Substitutions

As I said before, if you’re looking to substitute a major ingredient you should expect the outcome to be much different than the recipe I listed below. There are some ingredients you can add to your batch of cookies that will not completely alter the body of the cookie such as the chocolate chips.

Chocolate Chips

There are so many different types of cookie chips available now. Some of my favorites are butterscotch chip, Heath Bar chunk, and Reese’s peanut butter chocolate chip. The last time I made this recipe, I used Nestle Funfetti morsels and rainbow sprinkles for my fiancée, who tends to enjoy more fun-looking desserts.

Salted Butter

If you choose to use unsalted butter rather than salted butter, that will work just fine, just be sure to taste your batter so you know if the salt content is to your liking.

Baking Powder

I learned about this substitution once when I was making these cookies but realized I was out of baking powder. What I did happen to have in my pantry was cream of tartar which is also a leavening agent.

If you are out of baking powder, you can simply take one part baking soda and mix it with two parts cream of tartar and voila! You have baking powder. You can choose to use this method or use the 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder in the recipe, the results will end up the same. Arrowroot powder can also be used in place of cream of tartar to mix with the baking soda.

Baking Powder Substitute Options

• 1 part baking soda + 2 parts cream of tartar
• 1 part baking soda + 2 parts arrowroot powder

Cook Time

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown granulated sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips (or chips of your choice)

• 1 cup salted butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and place parchment paper on a 2 baking pans.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
3. With an electric mixer set on a low speed, cream together the softened butter, white granulated sugar, and brown granulated sugar until combined.
4. Beat in the eggs and vanilla into the creamed butter and sugar until combined.
5. Add your dry ingredients slowly to the wet mixture, adding little by little until completely combined. Have a baking spatula handy to scrape the sides while it’s being mixed.
6. Add the chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed.
7. Roll 3 tablespoons of dough at a time into balls and place them evenly spaced on your prepared cookie sheets. You can choose to roll larger cookie dough balls if you wish.
8. Bake in a preheated oven for 8 minutes. Take them out when they are just barely starting to turn brown.
9. Let them sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes before serving or setting them on a cooling rack. They will be super soft straight out of the oven and will need to cool before being moved.
10. Serve and enjoy.

Notes

• Be sure to leave out a cup of butter (which is typically two sticks) at room temperature ahead of time so it will be ready to cream with the sugar.
• Do not over-bake these cookies. Some ovens may produce different outcomes, so if 8 minutes of cooking time does not seem like enough, try 10 minutes while keeping a close eye on your cookies. The bottoms of the cookies will start to burn if left in for too long.
• You will most likely need to use multiple baking sheets. When I make this recipe, I tend to use 2 1/2 baking sheets.

© 2023 Erin K Stewart