Little Gram's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

the greatest of all cookies

I love cookies. I love everything about cookies. I love the shape and the smell and the taste of cookies. I’ve eaten all kinds of cookies - store bought cookies, Christmas cookies, really BIG cookies, and cookies I baked myself. None, however, can compare to my Little Gram’s Chocolate Chip Cookies – the greatest of all cookies.

These cookies are made with chocolate chips, crushed peanuts, brown sugar, shortening, flour, baking soda, and four eggs. All these ingredients are mixed together, molded into about 60 raw cookies, and baked at 400 degrees for thirteen minutes. Believe it or not, this simple formula makes the perfect chocolate chip cookie. They’re practically a food group.

To properly eat this circular blob of perfection, I perform the “Ritual of the Perfect Cookie.” First, I get a large glass of milk. Then, I take the red, slightly dented cookie-filled tin and slowly remove the lid. Inside lay the precious delights. I look for the best one to eat first; its about an inch in diameter and speckled with chocolate chips and peanut chunks. Smiling, I baptize it in the milk and swallow it whole. I eventually consume as many as my mortal body can hold. This is my ritual for eating my Little Gram’s Chocolate Chip Cookies.

When I am eating her cookies I taste sensations that I never dreamed possible. Waves of deliciousness orally enter me, spreading rapidly through my body, and I experience a burst of energy unknown to most humans. I feel as if I have a perfect body, perfect vision, and even perfect spelling. I am mentally and physically a better person, at one with the world. And that is after only one cookie!

It sounds as if I am exaggerating, and maybe I am…just a little, but my Little Gram’s are the best darn cookie I’ve ever eaten. One ingredient of the cookie I failed to mention is also the most important: love. My great grandma’s love gives the cookies shape, taste, character, and that’s why Little Gram’s Chocolate Chip Cookies – are the greatest of all cookies.

Little Gram’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
4 eggs
1 lb of flour
½ lb of brown sugar
1 cup of chopped peanuts
6 oz. of chocolate chips
½ of shortening
¼ tsp of baking soda
¼ tsp of baking powder

Beat shortening then add sugar. When light and fluffy, add eggs. When fluffy add flour and beat. When it gets too heavy for beater add flour by hand. Add nuts and chips. Bake at 14 minutes at 375 or 13 minutes at 400 according to which is best for your stove. Makes approx 60 cookies.




Click here to download / print this chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Looking For A Great Italian Sauce Recipe?

Sunday Gravy Never Tasted So Good

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Ingredients
1 large onion, sliced and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4-cup olive oil
1 28-ounce can tomato puree
1 18-ounce can tomato paste
1-teaspoon dried basil
1-teaspoon oregano
1-teaspoon salt
1/4-teaspoon crushed anise (or 1/2-teaspoon whole)
2 tomato paste cans of water (see note)

Sauté onions and garlic in oil in a large pot. Cook until golden. Add rest of ingredients. After sauce starts to boil, lower heat to a simmer. At this time add a pinch of baking soda which will cause sauce to foam. Remove foam with spoon. Cover pot and let cook for 2 to 2.5 hours. Recipe can be doubled and then frozen for future use. One half-hour BEFORE sauce is finished cooking -add meats such as meatballs, pork or Italian sausage for flavor. If using ground beef, cook separately and drain off fat and then add to cooking sauce.

NOTE: More water may be needed if sauce becomes too thick.

Looking for a great Italian meatball recipe?

Looking for a great Italian meatball recipe?

If you're looking for a great Italian meatball recipe then wrap your lips these balls.

I've known Tom Hartman since first grade. That means we've been friends for a long time. Since childhood Tom has always come across as a "worldly" type of fellow. He's always been very knowledgeable in politics, sports, the arts, history, and music. Especially music. He and I have listened, enjoyed, and argued about music for thirty years.

Tom is also knows a lot about food. He lives in Philadelphia and enjoys eating out often. Name the food and Tom has tasted it somewhere in Philadelphia or New York or around the world (Tom travels a lot. When it comes to food -- Tom has tried it all including Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Thai, French, and Italian. Now, given his background, experience, and his fondness for food I value his opinion and his recommendations about such matters.

I told you about Tom so you'll understand my disbelief when he told me that my meatballs were the best he's ever eaten. My meatballs? Tom has eaten thousands of meatballs in hundreds of restaurants in and around Philadelphia, New York, and other places, yet my meatballs are his favorite, "...the best I've ever tasted." Wow, what a compliment. Thank you Tom.

So given my new found respect for my meatballs I want to share my recipe:

The Best Meatball Recipe
Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Ingredients
1 pound combined beef, veal, pork (must be fresh)
3 large eggs
1 cup grated Romano Locatelli Cheese
1 cup bread crumb
1 clove garlic - minced
1 teaspoon salt

Preparation
(All mixing is done be hand) In a large bowl mix beef/veal/pork with eggs. Then add bread crumb, cheese, and salt. Finally add minced garlic in stages. Add a little then mix. Add some more, then mix. This way all the garlic does not end up in one meatball. Now, it's time to roll up the balls. Average size is roughly 2 inches in diameter. I usually get around 18 to 20 meatballs per pound. IMPORTANT! Do not cook meatballs in your pasta sauce! Meatballs cooked in sauce loose their flavor. The real key to a tasty meatball is cooking the them in an oven. So, heat oven to 375. Place meatballs on a rack - then on a cookie tray. Bake for 12 minutes on one side then 10 minutes for the other.

I freeze the meatballs in bags and take out what I need per dinner. I just drop the meatballs into the sauce as if heats up.

Buon Appetito!