Cache Valley Chocolate Chip Cookies

I picked up this recipe from a friend in the Hyrum 14th Ward, Shauna Johnson, while exchanging recipes for a Ward Cookbook.  She also happened to be the photographer of our Family Portraits on two occasions.  Just because she was a great photographer does not mean that I promise these to be the best Chocolate Chip cookie recipe you have ever eaten.  I'm sure that the Mackay family recipe (also contained within this recipe blog) is, in fact, superior.  

But, I needed a quick recipe when my decades old recipe book went missing.  The cookies from this recipe are decent, especially if you follow the tasty enhancements I have introduced. ;-)  Some day I will find the recipe that my sweet sister (Michelle) sent me while on my mission.  It's a hot pink recipe card, and is the Chocolate Chipper recipe our multi-talented Mom mastered! :-)   I rather thought I had entered it here already (to no avail), so I will have to add it when I come across it again.  Then you can decide which recipe you like best.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 5 cups flour (4 cups white, 1 cup wheat)
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 12 - 16 oz. chocolate chips
• 2 cups rolled oats (raw, not quick cooking)

Directions:

• Cream shortening, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla until fluffy.
• Mix in baking soda, salt, and four (just a little at a time), until well-blended.
• Mix in Chocolate Chips.
• Bake at 370 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes.
• Cool for 3 - 5 minutes; move to wire rack for cooling.

Yield:  6 - 7 dozen.  This recipe makes a lot of cookies, so plan on sharing!

Tips:

• If you have never used oatmeal in cookies before, try it!  It add's a thick fluffiness to the cookies that is both rich and satisfying.  No more flat cookies, even on the silicone sheets!  I added 2 cups rolled oats, whereas the original recipe rolled none.
• I swapped 1 cup of butter for the 2 cups of shortening.  Although fat is never healthy, natural fat seems desirable over artificial fat.  Shortening is best on a monetary budget, but sacrifices taste.
• I also replaced 1 cup of white flour with wheat flour, hoping to add a touch of nutrition.  2 cups wheat with 3 cups white would probably still taste great, but too much wheat flour tends to make your cookies increasingly thick and dry.  Find the balance that is right for your house.

NOTE:  Mom may already have posted the recipe I've been searching for... Oatmeal Chocolate Chippers