Secret Family Recipe #1: Hunter's Cookies

"A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand." ~Author Unknown


For years, I struggled making the perfect chocolate chip cookie. My first attempts always ended in cookies that were crumbly and dry. I didnt' know if it was the recipe or the baker. I persevered and tried recipes on the back of chocolate chip bags and various recipe books.



Then, after the birth of my third child, Tirzah, my mother-in-law Betty came to visit us. My husband attended Bible College in Kentucky and all of our family lived in South Dakota. So she came down to see the newest member of the family and also to help cook and clean. The help was wonderful, but the baking wisdom she shared was priceless.

For days, Betty baked. She baked until our little freezer could hold no more. Betty is an excellent cook and baker. Her apple pies are so good we had them at our wedding instead of wedding cake...yes, they're that good. So I watched and learned from the master.

Her baking expertise came from years of practice and the trusty First Baptist Church Cookbook. I had a copy of this cookbook given to me as a wedding gift, but had never perused the pages in search of the perfect cookie recipe. What negligence. The recipe was there the whole time and my mother-in-law finally pointed it out to me on page 92:

Hunter's Cookies.

The recipe is simple enough:
2 cups shortening
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
5 eggs
5 1/2 cups flour
2 cups chocolate chips

*Cream shortening and sugars;
*add eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and salt.
*Beat until well blended.
*Add flour and blend.
*Stir in chips.
*Drop by teaspoonful on greased cookie sheet.
*Bake at 375 until golden brown (generally 7-8 minutes...do not overbake!)
*Yield: cookies all over the place.
*Freezes beautifully

Now the trick to baking these cookies and having them turn out gooey and chewy is to not overbake them. Watch them carefully and take them out when they turn a light brown on the top (not all over, just partially), remove them from the oven and allow them to sit on the pan for a couple of minutes before removing them to a wire rack for cooling.

The fun part about this recipe is that you use it to make other types of cookies by simply adding more ingredients such as:

*1 cup peanut butter for peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
or
*2 cups oatmeal for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
Or
*both for peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

For really delicious alternative substitute M&M's for the chocolate chips and you will be the best mom ever.

Just another reason to Live, Love, and Laugh,