Although I'm not quite finished with my finals yet, I'm trying to get myself into the Christmas spirit. This time of year is always quite hard for me- I've never been much of a "Christmas" person, but getting homesick makes this season that much harder. I love my Hubs, my in-laws and my incredible friends, and I'm grateful that they've kept me sane (or insane, depending on who you ask...), but I miss my mom, dad, stepmom, siblings, etc.

So my attempt at getting in the Christmas mood is by following a tradition that my grandmother did, although not entirely unique. I have most of her cookie recipes (that I had to hand-copy from her handwritten notes 2 years ago after her funeral), and I try to make some of her recipes, with my own twist on a few. My neighbours and friends usually have to loosen their belts a notch this time of year. :-D My first Christmas cookie for the year? The old reliable chocolate chip cookie...


The recipe for these beauties gives you a crisp edge, soft center, and darn tasty cookie, if I do say so myself. :) There are 2 keys to getting a perfectly soft cookie:
1) An extra egg yolk. The added fat keeps the cookies "hydrated" (I absolutely hate the word "moist", so I say "hydrated" instead lol).
2) A low oven temp. Most cookie recipes call for 350°F, and some call for 325°F. However, this particular recipe calls for a 300°F oven. It helps. Really. Trust me!
Soft-Center Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from grandmother's recipe- which she said was her adaptation from a Mrs. Field's recipe)

1 c. salted butter, softened (yes, salted. Seriously, trust me!)
1 c. (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 c. white granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. molasses
2 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt (optional, depending on how salty your butter is)
1 bag (300-350 g.) of chocolate chips (roughly 2 c.??)

1. Preheat your oven to 300°F. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
3. In a stand mixer (or large bowl, if you're going to do it by hand), cream together the butter, molasses and sugars to form a grainy paste.
4. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl, then add eggs one at a time. Mix well between each addition, and scrape down the bowl after mixing. Mix in vanilla.
5. Add flour and chocolate chips to butter mixture. If you're doing this in a stand mixer, pulse the beater to keep the flour from flying all over your kitchen... unless you like looking like the Abominable Snowman. Whatever Double-Stufs your Oreo. :-D
6. Place rounded tablespoons of dough 2 in. apart on the parchment-lined baking sheets.
7. Bake for 18 minutes, if you have a single sheet in the oven, 20 minutes for 2 sheets. The cookies will look slightly undercooked, but very lightly browned at the edges. Transfer from the cookie sheet as soon as they come out of the oven, or they'll overcook.

If these cookies aren't soft, then I'm... well... the Abominable Snowman! :-P Hopefully, once my finals are over, I'll be baking and cooking like crazy, so I'll have tons to post about soon!