Chips Ahoy! Only Not…Cookies

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Mr. Picky-Eater (husband) must eat four Chips Ahoy! cookies each night with a glass of milk at 9:00 PM, and apparently if he does not eat them, “he does not sleep well”. Whatever. As grocery prices began to rise, so did the price of these cookies. It got to the point that several months ago I decided I could find a good homemade recipe and save us some money. I have tried nearly every CC recipe known to man and none of them have tasted very good. I make cookies on the weekend and by Monday afternoon; he’s at the store buying a package. A few weeks ago, on a whim I decided to search the Internet for a knock-off recipe of this cookie.

I found one at http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/home.php. When I first read the instructions, I nearly choked knowing that it was not going to be the most healthy recipe I’ve ever made but after doing the math, I realized I could make 3 dozen (turned out to be 5 dozen) for less than the price of 20 cookies. I actually had all the ingredients so I went to town on this!

Chips Ahoy! Only Not…Cookies

First, preheat oven to 325 F.

Ingredients:

1 ½ Cups Vegetable Shortening (solid)
1 Cup packed light brown sugar
1 Cup granulated Sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 Cups all-purpose flour
¼ Cup water (up to 1 full cup)
1 Twelve-ounce back of mini-semi-sweet chocolate chips
Then:
In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer – combine both sugars, salt, baking soda, vanilla extract, and shortening.
While beating at low speed, slowly add flour and mix well. Then add water. Mix in chocolate chips. Add more water a little at a time if dough is too dry.

Put some clear plastic wrap or wax paper in a bowl and put the dough (it will be sticky) into the bowl, cover it, and refrigerate for about an hour.

When the dough comes out – it will still be sticky and I’m not going to lie, it is messy.
Make cookies by breaking off pieces of dough and patting out to 2 inch cookie about 1/8 inch thick.
Cover dough and place back in the fridge.
Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 12 to 18 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
When I pulled the first ones out, they had spread, they looked nothing like the cookies in question but I was waiting on the taste test. When they cooled a bit, I tasted them. They tasted nothing like Chips Ahoy! Nope, they tasted better! My husband loved them so much I have been making them once per week since and placing them in an airtight container.

So, to sum it up: They were supposed to be Chips Ahoy! – they weren’t. They were messy. They are cheaper than store-bought. They are not very healthy. THEY ARE THE BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES WE HAVE EVER HAD!!