*Originally published on November 11, 2020:
I'm going to try to make this explanation short because I know how frustrating it is to read through paragraphs and paragraphs of SEO-laden content just to get to the very best chocolate chip cookie recipe on Earth.
First of all, these cookies are probably the reason I'm married. My husband does not like sweets—except for chocolate chip cookies. And when I made these for him when we were dating, he was floored by their deliciousness and—subsequently—smitten with me. I can't promise you they'll help you woo any potential suitor, but they're worth a try.
"Period cookies," you ask. Well, quite simply, in 1989, when I was 11 years old, my family took a trip to Disneyland in California. And, on the first day of the trip, I got my.very.first.period. Yes, it was traumatizing, as you can imagine. But while we were in Los Angeles, we spent a couple of days with my dad's cousin, who had an incredible backyard pool. Alas—new as I was to the "period scene"—I could not swim with the rest of the family. That's when my dad's cousin, Carol, whipped out a recipe card for chocolate chip cookies and gave me the serious responsibility of baking whilst everyone else flailed about in the pool. And thus, my reputation for chocolate chip cookies was born.
I returned home with my own copy of the recipe, and the rest is history. I've never tasted chocolate chip cookies as good as these, and I've become a bit of a cookie snob because of it. It's not because of me or my skills, mind you—the secret is in the recipe.
"Period Cookie" Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup margarine, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 T. milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 4 cups flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 package of Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips (do not skimp on this! Nestle is not the same!)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, mix all ingredients in the order that you see them here, stirring them in as you go. My daughter likes to mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately and then combine them, and that works well, too. (But I have literally never done that myself with this recipe.) Just make sure everything is well combined. If the dough seems too oily, gradually add more flour until it absorbs.
- On an ungreased baking sheet, drop 12 one-inch dollops of cookie dough. Bake at 350 for approximately 10-12 minutes or until they rise and appear fluffy, like in the picture.
This recipe makes anywhere from 3 to 4 dozen cookies, depending on how big you make them.
Enjoy! And please let me know if you try my secret recipe for period cookies! You seriously will not believe how good they are.
