Brings a smile to my face…

If you know me, you know there is a polite southern charm smile on my face at most times.  (You may also know that my red tends to come out…redhead, not redneck…but, that’s not what I am writing about.)  I received the alert about a new post being added to the Post A Day Challenge blog.  The recommendation was writing about something that makes you smile.  I could think of nothing better than my “special cookbook”.

It’s not just any cookbook mind you.  This is a copy of my Maw-Maw’s cookbook (Grandma for those non-southerners).  As you will see below, it contains copies of each page of her personal cookbook.  They have been put in a binder with sheet protectors (for us messy cooks), and given with love.  Some pages are pure handwriting, while others may be a magazine clipping from years past.  Some recipes come from friends, some from Granny (great-grandmother if you needed help with that one folks), distant family members, members no longer a part of our family, friends, friends of friends, and friends of friends of friends.  Betty Crocker and Mr. Toll House even sent us recipes personally for us to include in it….well, not really, but can you imagine???

The recipe below is my Maw-Maw’s homemade (that means from scratch, not store-bought and pre-packaged) Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Growing up, I couldn’t wait to get my grubby little kid paws on the cookie container.  I don’t really remember a cookie jar…OH WAIT!…there was a cookie jar!!!  It was huge from my perspective of barely being able to see over the counter-top.  It had a metal lid on it.  Oh yeah, it’s all coming back to me now.  I remember countless times spending the night at her house, or visiting her, and trying to sneak a cookie out of the jar.  I would creep out of the living room, and through the foyer, acting as if I were going to the restroom.  Then I would sneak through the dining room very light on my feet…(I guess I had a lot of practice with that, because I am pretty light on my feet to this day).  I would make it into the kitchen and to the counter where the mecca of all cookie jars sat.  I would begin to unscrew the lid…very slowly.  You know that noise when opening a Ball jar (you better know what I mean when I say a Ball jar…canning jar, jam jar, etc.)?  That eerie metal on glass scraping?  Well, that’s what I had to contend with.  I would grab 1, 2, or maybe even 5 cookies (she made them smaller than I make them nowadays, I promise).  Before I could make it back into the living room with them, I would have already eaten half of them…shoving them down my throat as fast as I could so no one would know I ate that many cookies (wow, I wonder if that’s why I am…oh, nevermind).  I’d get back into the living room, sit down with my 1 or 2 cookies, and smile like a little angel.

So, in more ways than one, this cookbook has brought me smiles.  Whether I am remembering a recipe and want to make it, I was sneaking cookies out of a jar, or just taking a stroll down memory lane…this cookbook has made me smile.

With no further delay…the amazingly, delicious, wonderful, perfect cookie recipe…(Sidenote: Maw-Maw says she got this off of the back of the Toll House Morsel bag ages ago.  She was afraid they would stop printing the standard recipe on the back of the bag or change the ingredients.  By the way, they have changed the cornstarch boxes…so, the cornstarch people’s Lemon Pie recipe is no longer on there.  Take a note from Maw-Maw, when you find something you like, save the recipe and cook it like it’s your own!  She’s so smart!!!)

Wow!  Did you know Nestle has a WordPress site???  Go to it here… http://nestleusa.wordpress.com/

***Tips: I always line my cookie sheets with Parchment Paper (it’s my best friend in the kitchen).  Also, Maw-Maw’s recipe had only one thing different…hers added a 1/2 teaspoon of water.  I asked her how long she has had the recipe, and she feels she has had it written down for over 20 years, straight off the Toll House Morsels bag.  So, maybe Toll House decided they didn’t need that 1/2 teaspoon of water after all.  She also has listed to add a 1/3 cup of cocoa to make these into chocolate cookies if you wanted to live on the edge of the chocolate cliff.

I made the below with semi-sweet morsels, milk chocolate morsels, and white chocolate morsels all combined.  They came out quite lovely…and, oh yeah, homemade cookies aren’t meant to come out perfectly round like the pre-packaged pre-made squares you get in the refrigerated section.  I personally enjoy the odd shapes…more fun to break apart when coming out of the oven.  If one breaks, you eat it…because, you surely can’t give it to someone…it’s broken.  The joys of homemade!

Maw-Maw’s/Toll House’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Directions

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

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