Chocolate Chip Cookie Bake-Off

Chocolate chip cookies are classic and practically every American family probably has a token recipe that they always make on occassion. When my sister and I discussed making chocolate chip cookies for the kids, we were both proclaiming our love of our own chocolate chip cookie recipes.  So, we decided to each make our own cookies and have the family be the judge of which one they liked best. Mine are made with shortening and hers are made with butter. I know...shortening is not something I really EVER bake with, but I've always made this cookie recipe and I just can't seem to find one that I really like better - in taste or texture.  Sharon's are actually quite similar, but I'm still partial to mine (pictured above). They are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside with a yummy combination of bittersweet and milk chocolate chips.  

We decided to both break out our recipes and see what the family thought.  However, we made them at my sister's place so she had her husband and family on her side and the familiarity of her own oven, which I discovered is a bit finicky. We made our cookie dough one evening and baked our cookies for the kids during a play date the next day.

I love using the small cookie scoop to make the size of the cookies consistent.  

These are my sister's cookies below. They were similar in size in texture also.  However, hers are made with real butter (what I usually prefer) and she used chocolate chunks instead of chips.  I like the idea, but it's a lot of chocolate in one bite. 

Here they are - my sister's vs. mine. I'm not sure if it's how they baked in her oven or the recipe, but they also turned out a little rough around the edges (no offense) and not as smooth and finished off as the way mine baked.

I still like my recipe, but will probably use hers on occasion also. I also have a few other proven recipes that I've found and would like to try and see if I find any butter recipes that I like better than mine.

The verdict!?  The toddlers were impartial, the kindergarteners were split and her husband ended up siding with her (go figure). You can try out the recipes and be the judge yourself.  Go ahead...do it.  Make a nice batch of cookies, pile up a plate with warm ones right out of the oven and grab a cold glass of milk. 

RECIPES:

Amanda's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 C. shortening (I used non trans-fat shortening)

1 C. sugar

1/2 C. brown sugar

2 eggs

2 t. vanilla extract

2 C. flour

1 1/2 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

Cream the shortening, sugars, eggs and vanilla till light and fluffy. Sift together dry ingredients and stir together with the creamed mixture. Add chocolate chips and nuts (optional).

Use a small cookie scoop to drop 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes (turning part way through).  Remove and cool on wire rack.

Sharon's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 C. brown sugar

1 C. white sugar

2 eggs

2 t. vanilla

3 C. flour

1 t. baking soda

1t. salt

1 bag chocolate chips

Directions:

Mix together butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla.  Sift together dry ingredients separately and add to wet. Mix in one bag of chocolate chips.  Bake at 375 degrees on an ungreased cookie sheet for about 10 minutes (turning cookie sheets part way through). 

Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

I wanted to make some fun and easy to make ahead treats for this past weekend when I had family visiting, so I made a few different kinds of ice cream sandwiches. I've made plenty of cookies and I always try to make homemade ice cream, but this is the first time I've combined the two to make ice cream cookie sandwiches.

I tried a new recipe for a chocolate sugar cookie that I found on one of my favorite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen. I made homemade vanilla bean ice cream to make sandwiches with the chocolate cookies. While I thought the cookies were great out of the oven, I don't know if I cared for them as much when they were cold and frozen as ice cream sandwiches, but they were still yummy. It might have been because the other one I made was just so much better. I made my traditional oatmeal cookies and paired them with homemade cinnamon ice cream. This was the perfect combination and by far the favorite of the two. The cookies just have more texture and the ice cream was more creamy and flavorful with the cinnamon.



I baked the cookies a day in advance, let them cool and then stored them in air tight containers to keep them fresh. I made my ice creams in advance as well and let them harden more in the freezer. When I was ready to put together the ice cream sandwiches, I took the ice creams out of the freezer for about 10-15 minutes to let the ice cream soften so you could spread it. The vanilla ice cream I made was not a custard based ice cream though and it softened too much where it squished out of the cookies a bit when we wrapped them.

After we made the sandwiches, we wrapped them individually in aluminum foil and put them in the freezer to harden. It's nice that they can be made in advance and you can just pop them out of the freezer when you're ready for a treat. There are so many fun combinations you can try with different cookies and ice creams. The other thing I did not do that would be yummy is to roll the edges of the ice cream sandwich in nuts, chopped candy or mini chips before freezing them. You could also make chocolate fudge or caramel dipping sauce for even more indulgence.