Chocolate Chip Cookies

Everyone has an opinion of what makes a perfect chocolate chip cookie--soft & chewy, thin & crispy, chips or chunks.  While there isn't a chocolate chip cookie that I won't eat, I always crave this version made by my mom. They're crispy and airy, with a nutty undertone (but no nuts!), and one bite sends me spiraling back to my childhood.

When we were small, my mom would make huge batches of these cookies. There would be some in the glass jar in the cupboard, as well as a backup stash in a giant Tupperware bin.

I don't know what makes these cookies so good. The original recipe was published by Kellogg's in a bid to sell more All Bran cereal, and was a bizarre concoction of trendy 80s ingredients (i.e. shortening, margarine and bran) thrown together in an attempt to "healthify" the chocolate chip cookie.

I've modified the recipe somewhat, mainly because I don't like buying crazy amounts of All Bran (it's embarrassing and expensive). And while I've replaced the margarine with butter, the texture suffers without the shortening. I remember these cookies being crispy, although that appears to be more the result of the extremely dry Edmonton environment, so I've played with the ratio of brown and white sugars to re-create that snap.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
from the kitchen of Estella Lee and Kellogg's

makes ~36 cookies


2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup bran 
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 1.5 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F
Stir together flour, bran, baking soda,and salt.
Beat butter, shortening, white sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy and well blended.
Beat in eggs and vanilla extract.
Mix in dry ingredients.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop by tablespoon or cookie scoop onto greased or lined baking sheets.
Bake at 350F for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned. For extra crispy cookies, let them cool in the oven with the door propped open.

-These cookies will spread quite a bit, but if you want a denser cookie, just refrigerate them until firm before baking.
-The cookie dough freezes well. Portion out the dough and freeze on a cookie sheet. You can transfer them to a ziploc bag once they are frozen.