Cooking Fresh with Chef Rick Recipe #4 - KCOY Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo - News

Cooking Fresh with Chef Rick Recipe #4

Cookies, like this very recipe, and candy were the first things I cooked, with my mom's help, when I was a kid.  And being a very intelligent young "chef" it quickly occurred to me that if you made cookies and candy-you got to eat cookies and candy!!!  So I just kept on cooking.

"The best chocolate chip cookies ever!"  is what I've heard about these.  You let me know.

1 cup "butter flavor" vegetable shortening
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup large chunks of best quality chocolate
1 cup plain M&M's
½ cup pecans chopped
½ cup chocolate covered pralines, chopped

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees
1. In a mixer, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
2.  Add the vanilla and the eggs and beat until the mixture is very smooth.
3.  Sift the dry ingredients together.  Add the flour mixture, both chocolates and both nuts to the butter mixture and mix just until well blended.  Do not over mix.
4.  Place ¼ cup-sized scoops (a #24 ice cream scoop will do this perfectly) on a greased cookie sheet and bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until dough is just lightly browned (This keeps the cookies crispy on the outside and soft in the middle-exactly just like me!).  Remove from oven.  Try not to eat on for about 5 minutes or you'll burn your lips!  If this is of no concern, eat them while they're very, very hot!  They'll be delicious and the blisters will fade away in a day or two.