Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe with Shortening

Chocolate Chip Cookies: Made with shortening not butter for a thicker and chewier cookie. Tried and true recipe.

These Chocolate Chip Cookies are the best cookies.  If you know me in real life, then you’ve had them, because they’re are a favourite, tried and true, go-to recipe around here.  I’ve made them hundreds and hundreds of times.  They’re made with shortening, and other ingredients that I always have on hand.  Enjoy these as classic chocolate chip cookies, or add toffee chips as well for toffee chocolate chip cookies.  Either way they’re the best chocolate chip cookies and sure to become a favorite if you’re a fan of homemade chocolate chip cookies.

I first baked these when I was in high school, that’s a little while ago, and they became my family’s go-to chocolate chip cookie.  I over at a friends house and we decided we wanted to bake.  We made these and they were so much better than my mom’s recipe -sorry mom.  I asked the friend for the recipe and I’ve been making the ever since.  Over the years I decided to try toffee bits and they quickly became my favorite to have them.  But if you love a classic chocolate chip cookie they are great that way too.

Shortening vs. Butter

What I love about these cookies is that they’re slightly chewy cookies on the inside, and have crisp edges.  I think chewy chocolate chip cookies are the best.  Using shortening instead of butter in this recipe helps produce chewier cookies.  It gives the cookies more lift as they bake, and they don’t spread out as much on the baking sheet.  It tends to result in thicker cookies with soft centers, and a more chewy texture, instead of thin and crisp cookies, with very crispy edges.  If you love a softer more chewy chocolate chip cookie, rather than a  crispier cookie, then this is the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe for you, with the perfect texture.  The shortening version of chocolate chip cookies are a little bit thicker and chewier than a batch of cookies made with butter, if that’s your personal preference than these are the perfect cookies for you.

Chocolate

A classic chocolate chip cookie recipe is usually made with semi-sweet chocolate chips.  It’s a classic for a reason.  The semi-sweet chocolate isn’t too sweet and balances out the sweetness of the cookie, with a very slight bitterness of the chocolate.  If you love a classic chocolate chip cookie, than semi sweet chocolate chips are a great way to go.

You can substitute milk chocolate chips in these cookies,  The over all sweetness of the cookie will be a little increased, but it’s still a great option.  And with that added sweetness from the milk chocolate chips, you might also want to try a little sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top of the cookie to add a salty contrast to the sweet.

If you’re a dark chocolate lover, or a white chocolate lover you can substitute dark or white chocolate chips.  You can also look for seasonal chocolate chips like the red, green, and white ones at Christmas, and try using them for a festive seasonal treat.

Other Add Ins

My favourite way to have these cookies is to add in toffee chips.  Look for them in the baking section of the grocery store with the chocolate chips.  I love using the skor toffee bits, and combining them with semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Just substitute half of the chocolate chips in the original recipe for the toffee bits.

You could also try adding peanut butter chips as a substitute for half of the chocolate chips, if you’re a peanut butter chocolate lover.

Sea Salt

I also love to add some flakes of sea salt on top of the cookies as soon as they’re baked and fresh out of the oven.  It gives you that great salty sweet combination, and if you’ve never tried it before you should.  It works great with the toffee chocolate chip version too, creating that salted caramel vibe, but with chocolate too.  Again, if you’ve never tried it just try it on a few cookies and see if you like it.  I like to use a the Maldon sea salt flakes for this.

Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.

I like to make these cookies with about 1 tbsp of cookie dough each, but you can adjust the size of the cookies to your liking, and adjust the baking time accordingly

Large Batch

Another thing I love about these cookies is that they make a big batch.  They’re perfect for a party, or bake sale, or one of those occasions where you have to make cookies for church or a meeting or someone else because you’ll have enough leftover cookies to leave a plate at home for your kiddos too.  They also freeze well as baked cookies or as cookie dough.  If you want a small batch of chocolate chip cookies, feel free to 1/2 the recipe.

These cookies make me want a cup of a tea, and comfy spot.  They’re true comfort food.  I love that they use basic ingredients that I always have on hand so that I can anytime.  If you’re looking for a good cookie recipe that never fails, these are them.

With fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies, life really is a party!

More Cookie Inspiration

You might also like our Oatmeal Cookies here.

Also check out our Jam Jam Raspberry Sandwich Cookies here.

You might also like our Chocolate Chip Shortbread recipe here.