Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Recipie for A Choclate Chip Cookie: Chocolate chip cookies represent half of the cookies baked in American homes each year. I remember getting off of the school bus and walking into our house that smelled like fresh baked cookies! The aroma of these chocolate chip cookies still bring back wonderful memories for me, and I know they are making great memories for my family each and every time I bake them. This chocolate chip cookie recipe will produce a treat that is sure to please everyone in your house! It's easy enough that you can whip up a batch of these cookies (or even a half a batch) just after dinner so you and your family can have warm cookies for dessert. Add a glass of milk and the smiles will broaden even more. Ingredients: * 2 1/4 - 2 1/3 cups flour * 1 tsp. salt * 1 tsp. baking soda * 1 Cup shortening or 1 Cup (2 sticks) butter * 1/2 - 3/4 Cup packed brown sugar (total sugar should equal 1.5 cups) * 3/4 - 1 Cup white sugar (total sugar should equal 1.5 cups) * 1 - 2 tsp. pure vanilla * 2 eggs * 1 1/2 - 3 Cups chocolate chips * 1 Cup chopped walnuts (optional) * 2 1/4 - 2 1/3 cups flour * 1 tsp. salt * 1 tsp. baking soda * 1 Cup shortening or 1 Cup (2 sticks) butter * 1/2 - 3/4 Cup packed brown sugar (total sugar should equal 1.5 cups) * 3/4 - 1 Cup white sugar (total sugar should equal 1.5 cups) * 1 - 2 tsp. pure vanilla * 2 eggs * 1 1/2 - 3 Cups chocolate chips * 1 Cup chopped walnuts (optional) Steps:  Preheat your oven to 350ºF  In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Gently mix these together and then set this bowl aside.  In a large bowl, beat together shortening/butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and pure vanilla. When those are completely mixed together, add eggs and mix again until completely combined.  Slowly add the dry ingredients from the medium bowl to the wet ingredients in the large bowl, mixing until the dry ingredients are totally combined. At this point you should have a moderately thick cookie dough.  Scoop up a golf ball size amount of dough with a spoon and drop in onto a cookie sheet. Leave at least an inch of space between the cookies because they'll spread out when they cook. You can usually fit 12 cookies on a cookie sheet at a time.  put the cookies in the oven and bake for about 8-10 minutes. You'll want to check them after 8 minutes, but if they look doughy, you'll want to cook them for another couple of minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies sit on the pan for 3-5 minutes.