I used to bake all the cookies as a local bakery and found this to be a great recipe. I substituted butter for the shortening and baked them on a baking stone. I also throw in a handfull of chopped pecans. The Ghirardelli semi sweet chips have been the best to use so far. They also seem to have to bake about 12 minutes in my oven before they are "right" for me the first batch about 2 minutes longer. I thought my oven was off temp wise but the oven thermometer I put in agreed with the oven on the temp. I have made them over 30 times for various parties and that is all everyone wants me to bring. For those who said they turned out thin I am scratching my head in wonder since mine always turn out fairly thick. Maybe the baking stone is the difference there or even the butter or pecans. I would also chunk your baking soda and get a fresh box just in case. If none of that works It could be how you are mixing them. Usally people over mix cookie doughs. One other possibility is the type of oatmeal you are using. I use the quick oats. The old fashioned require longer to absorb the moisture to cook which could cause some thinning to occur.
I substituted two sticks of butter for the shortening and I ran the oatmeal through the food processor before adding them to the cookie batter. I did use Guittard Extra Dark Chocolate Chips in this recipe. I really packed my small cookie scoop as I wanted a bigger sized cookie--they were done at eleven minutes. I let them sit on the hot cookie sheet for a minute before pulling them off and letting them cool on the countertop. These cookies turned out wonderfully. Very visually appealing cookie. My husband is not much for oatmeal or "extras" in his chocolate chip cookies but he told me that he thought these were VERY good--and that's saying something. No complaints here! I'll make these again.
This cookie is missing the mark BIG time! I think of a chocolate chip cookie and I imagine somewhat of a mild buttery vanilla flavour...this is lacking in taste big time!
I think this is a fool-proof crowd-pleasing cookie. The oatmeal makes the cookie nicely chewy but doesn't overpower the cookie with oatmeal taste. I use Ghiradelli Double Chocolate chips for a really sumptuous cookie. Sometimes I substitute 1 c. dried tart cherries for the chips to make a more sophisticated cookie. I think the shortening really makes the texture of this cookie sublime which is unfortunate because I wish I didn't have to use shortening as it contains unhealthy partially hydrogenated oils.
Leave it to this politically savvy powerhouse to figure out how to make a fantastic chocolate chip cookie!:) I'm being completely bi-partisan when I say these were fantastic. Crispy flavorful and delicious!!! I followed directions to the letter except for greasing the cookie sheet before baking (thought it wasn't necessary). I would reccommend NOT skipping this step however because cookies stuck firmly to pan!
Great flavor. I cut the oatmeal down to 1.5 cups too but I think it could have used the extra "filler" because my cookies came out flat and delicate if undercooked even slightly (I usually prefer cookies undercooked but these were better with brown around the edges.) If you want a less flat cookie substitute some shortening for some of the butter. Too bad Hillary doesn't have a good recipe for politics.
My kids and I made these cookies together. They are some of the best chocolate chip cookies we've made. We all highly recommend these to anyone who is a chocolate chip cookie lover!!
I have used this recipe since it was published nearly 20 years ago and it's the only chocolate chip cookie recipe that I use. I have made several variations including adding one or all of the following: shredded coconut chopped pecans and chopped walnuts. I typically use chopped Ghiradelli semi-sweet dark chocolate instead of chips and I typically use butter instead of any other kind of shortening. The recipe is very forgiving if you like to create variations and is an excellent base recipe to begin experimenting on your own. Several people have noted that the cookies come out flat. I have found that happens if you don't have a good cookie sheet. If you are serious about baking invest in a good cookie sheet and you shouldn't have a problem.
this is the only chocolate chip cookie I make now. it is very good!!! I suggest the butter flavor shortening.
