The best chocolate chip cookies ever

This is one of my favorite recipes. These are the cookies I grew up with; Mommy rightly believed that no other cookies are as good, so why bother? When I stress-baked in high school and in college, I always made these cookies. I have the necessary ingredients on hand at all times, and I genuinely have the recipe memorized. These cookies have gone to French club bake sales, to copy editing nights at the Hi's Eye and the Ring-tum Phi and, perhaps most importantly, to Andrew's roommates his senior year. I don't think Ned would like me as much if I hadn't constantly supplied him with cookies; he even mentioned them in his best man speech at our wedding. Little did he know that he'd those exact cookies after the bouquet toss! Mom and I baked about 30 dozen in February--and Andrew had no idea--and froze them until June. They were still just as good!

Some of the cookie dough for the wedding...

I creamed the butter by hand until Andrew bought a hand mixer halfway through his senior year, but with a mixer they come together in no time at all. The trick to this recipe is the oatmeal. Do not leave it out! That's what makes these cookies so chewy and delicious. Chocolate chip cookies are often too dry or crunchy; the oatmeal makes the difference. I find that smaller cookies--about the amount of dough that fits into a spoon--tend to come out better. Plus, smaller cookies are easier to share. I cook them for about 7-8 minutes (Fannie Farmer calls for 8-10 but I know better), until they're browned on the bottom but not necessarily on the top. Then I take them out and let them sit for a few minutes before moving them to the cooling rack. This is a good trick to keep them from overcooking; they bake a little more on the cookie sheet when they're out of the oven, and letting them sit makes them come up more easily without falling apart.

Try to go for about this size--they spread out so much!

I could keep talking up this recipe forever. I've made it a bajillion times, and I genuinely have it memorized. (Yes, I double-checked before posting.) These are the best cookies you will ever eat. Ever. So here you go, and get baking!

Chocolate chip cookies
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream 1/4 pound butter (1 stick). Gradually add 1/2 cup dark brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until they are will mixed and light. Next, add 1 egg and 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Add 1 & 1/8 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. Mix in 1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal, then 1 cup chocolate chips (semisweet is best, but milk chocolate is fine).

Drop onto cookie sheets and bake about 8 minutes. Let sit before transferring to cooling racks. Makes 2 to 3 dozen cookies. Serve with a huge glass of milk.

Christmas sugar cookies and frosting

Christmas in July is my favorite holiday. It reminds me of camp, when we have a carnival and fireworks and a movie at night. We used to put our shoes out the night before and wake up to candy and a dusting of "snow." When raccoons started showing up in junior camp, the candy was replaced with little bottles of sunscreen and bubbles. Christmas in July is the slightly tacky younger cousin of actual Christmas. My family's time-honored Christmas recipes--egg nog, bon bons, candied grapefruit peels, 10 dozen ginger cookies--didn't make an appearance yesterday. Y'all will have to wait until December for these secrets! But it's a great time to wear bright red and bright green (I even pulled out a favorite tartan ribbon), drink hot chocolate and indulge a little. Andrew brought in flowers from our garden to decorate the dinner table. Look how beautiful they are!

Dessert was sugar cookies--and of course, you could make any shapes you want. I always made arrows and angels for Pi Phi cookie shines. My apartment in college didn't have a smooth countertop, so I used a big cutting board--easy cleanup! I usually take a chunk of dough at a time and dip it in flour all over so that the cutouts come up more easily. You can also use a paring knife and a thin spatula if the dough gets stubborn. Andrew and I bought these Christmas-themed cookie cutters three years ago, when I convinced him to let my pledge sisters use his house to bake cookies during finals. I threw in a few angels, too. I used his favorite sugar cookie recipe and let it sit in the fridge overnight. It doesn't have to wait that long, and it doesn't really have to go in the fridge at all, but it does roll out better if it's cold. These quantities make a LOT of cookies, so you can always cut the recipe in half or freeze part of the dough for later.

Rolled sugar cookies
Cream 1 1/2 cups softened butter and 3 cups white sugar until smooth. Beat in 4 eggs and 2 tsp vanilla extract. Stir in 5 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt. Cover and chill at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out dough onto a floured surface 1/2 inch thick (who would actually measure this? Just know that the thicker it is, the more you risk spreading) and cut into shapes. Bake 5-8 minutes. I know I roll my cookies thin, but I only baked them for 5 minutes. I like to keep them on the cookie sheet for an extra minute--they solidify a little more--before I transfer them to the cooling rack.

You could leave your cookies plain, or toss sprinkles on before you bake them, or cool and frost them. I did a bit of all three. My frosting recipe came from Joyce Winchester, whose daughter Cat is one of my best friends from high school. She read Psalm 121 at our wedding and it was beautiful. Our families are close--we've gone on vacations together, and I consider Cat and Lauren to be my sisters. My cousin and bridesmaid Julia (who is also Lauren's new roommate!) sent out recipe cards in the invitation to my shower. It was a lovely idea and a great way to kick-start my recipe collection. Joyce got this recipe from the mother of one of her friends and says it's her absolute favorite.

 I've tried several buttercream frostings over the past few years, which all have varying proportions of milk, butter and confectioner's sugar. This one is definitely unique, but it made a smoother and better-tasting frosting than any of the others.

Yummy buttercream frosting, from Joyce Winchester
Combine 5 tablespoons flour and 1 cup milk in a saucepan. Whisk together well then place over medium heat. Continue to whisk until the mixture is very thick. Cool completely. Cream together 1 cup butter and 3/4 cup sugar. Add 1 tsp vanilla and the milk paste. Whip it with an electric beater until it resembles whipped cream. Yum!