"Secret Recipe" Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe was submitted by my good friends Amy and Jeff.  I am told it is a long time "Secret Recipe" in their family, passed down through a few generations.  We made these for the first time the other night and they are SO GOOD we are making them again tonight!

Gourmet Dad's Rating:Scale of 1-5, 1 = Bad, 5 = Excellent
Simplicity - 5
Taste - 6  (Better than any cookie I have had.)
Prep Time - 5
Kid Friendly - 6  (Duh, they are cookies...)


Ingredients:
1 cup Shortening  (I use All Vegetable Shortening)
3/4 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla  (I used Imitation, it worked great too)
1 tsp Water
2 Eggs
2 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 12oz Bag Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips (1 1/2 cups)

Yield:   2 Dozen large cookies
Preparation Time:  15-20 mins
Cook Time:   10-12 mins

Items you will need:
Mixer
2 Mixing bowls (One for the mixer)
Sifter if you have one (I don't)
Cookie Sheet
2 spoons


Directions:  
Preheat you oven to 375 degrees.


1.  Combine Shortening, Sugar, and Brown Sugar in your mixer.  Mix on medium speed for 1 min or until smooth and creamy.


2.  Add the Vanilla, Water, and Eggs to the creamed mixture.  Mix on slow speed until combined well, scraping sides if needed.


3.  Sift the Flour, Baking Soda, and Salt into another mixing bowl.  (I just mixed them because I don't have a sifter, seemed to work fine.)


4.  Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix on slow at first to prevent puffs of flour.  Speed up to medium as you can let mix 30 seconds on medium.  


5.  Add 12oz bag (1 1/2 cups) of Chocolate Chips I used Semi-Sweet and it was really good.  Mix on low speed for 1 min.

6.  Take your 2 spoons and get a heaping spoonful.  Place it on the cookie sheet 2" apart.  Continue until you have filled your cookie sheet.  (I was able to put 12 on at a time.  Be careful with the size of your cookies.  I made the first set slightly too large and they ended up touching after cooking.  They still tasted great, just didn't look perfect.)

7.  Place on the center rack of the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes.  (I baked for 12 and they came out perfectly cooked.)  They should be just barely starting to brown on the tops when you take them out.

8.  *TIP/TRICK*  Always allow the cookies you bake to rest on the cookie sheet for 3-5 min.  This actually finishes cooking the center without burning the tops.  (Unless you already overcooked them, get them off the sheet as fast as you can without breaking them up in that case.)

9.  Move to a cooling rack and let cool.

*TIP/TRICK* If all of the cookies are not eaten within an hour, store the extras in an air tight container to keep them moist.

*TIP/TRICK* If the cookies get too dry and crunchy, put them into an air tight container with a slice of bread  overnight.  In the morning, the bread will be as hard as a rock but the cookies will be soft and yummy again.

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