The Perfect Cookie

We've found it - the recipe for the perfect chocolate chip cookie! There is an unusual, but readily available, ingredient in this one, and I credit the perfection to that ingredient - instant pudding mix. My Food, Nutrition, and Wellness students practiced with the recipe this week, and what a successful lab this has been! For the most part, our final products were soft, chewy, and delicious.



To dispel any misconception that teachers claim to never make mistakes, let me be honest by revealing my mishap on lab day one. We always have "demo day" before the students' actual lab, and on demo day, I demonstrate preparing the recipe from start to finish. The students are free to ask questions and taste the product. Well, on second period's demo day, I left out one very important ingredient - baking soda. Why is baking soda so important? It's the leavening agent. It is what makes the cookies rise. Did my mistake ruin our product? No, but our cookies were fairly flat and a little dense. We learned an invaluable lesson - less chatter in the kitchen may prevent mishaps like mine. And ALWAYS check and double check the recipe instructions!



We hope you will try our cookie recipe and let us know how you like it by leaving a comment on this post! It's a quick, easy recipe that is actually pretty foolproof. Well, as long as you don't leave out an ingredient! :-)



Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

* 1 cup butter, softened
* 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (Chocolate pudding mix might also be interesting!)
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add pudding mix, eggs and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.