A Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe That’s Been in My Family for Nearly 50 Years
It has been a while since I’ve shared a recipe, hasn’t it? This isn’t just any recipe — this chocolate chip cookie recipe has been in my family for nearly 50 years. It’s the one written on my grandma’s well-worn recipe card, and it’s been made for family gatherings, holidays, and everyday cookie cravings for decades. If a recipe sticks around that long, you know it has to be a good one.
It has been a while since I’ve shared a recipe, hasn’t it? This isn’t just any recipe, though. This is a chocolate chip cookie recipe that has been in my family for nearly 50 years. Grandma’s well-loved recipe card proves that — and yes, if a recipe sticks around that long, it must be a good one.
Some people are cake people. Some prefer pie. Some love candy. But if you want to win me over, a good old chocolate chip cookie will do the trick every time. These days, mine need to be gluten free, but this recipe has been tried and true both as a traditional cookie and, more recently, as a gluten-free version.
And if this recipe sounds familiar, it might be because I’ve mentioned it before — it’s that chocolate chip cookie recipe. The one involved in the infamous cookie dough-on-the-ceiling incident.
The Chocolate Chip Cookie Mishap That Ended Up on the Ceiling
Cookies were something we made often in our house, and they were also one of the few things my mom let me help with. I could read a recipe card at age three. There is photographic proof of this, but honestly, these days you can’t even share it online — I didn’t have a shirt on, and I was licking the spatula in the aftermath of my “cleanup.”
If you’re new here, here’s the short version: I was an impatient kid. (Not much has changed.) I had made cookies a hundred times with help, so one day I decided I could do it on my own while my mom was on the phone with my grandma.
What I didn’t account for was pulling the stand mixer beaters up without turning the mixer off.
Cookie dough went everywhere. The ceiling. The windows. Places cookie dough should never be. The kitchen got a cookie dough bath that day.
When my dad came home and asked what happened, I proudly said, “I made cookies.”
They found the humor in it… eventually. But from that day forward, I was under strict orders: no cookie baking without an adult.
How This Recipe Was Lost — and Finally Found Again
Somehow, this recipe went missing for more than 20 years. Then recently, while going through an old box, I stumbled upon it. Just like that, so many memories came flooding back.
This chocolate chip cookie recipe was loved on both sides of the family. Once my aunt shared it, it just kept getting passed along. My aunt shared it with my mom, my mom shared it with my grandma, my grandma shared it… and so on.
Looking at the recipe card now, you can tell it’s well loved. I imagine it’s been made thousands of times over the years throughout my family. And today, it felt like the right time to finally share it with you.
Why I Changed This Recipe (Butter, Gluten-Free, and All)
I made a few tweaks to the original recipe to work with my wheat allergy, and because I had milk chocolate chips on hand, I used those instead of semi-sweet. Aunt Betty was a strict semi-sweet kind of gal.
The biggest change? No Crisco. I used butter instead. Honestly, I can’t even remember the last time I bought Crisco. Do they still make it?
I also noticed chocolate chip bags aren’t 12 ounces anymore. An 11 ½-ounce bag it was — although I doubt anyone will miss that extra half ounce - these cookies are chocolatey.
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| Grandma tends to write people's first and last names on her recipe cards, for privacy, I have blacked out the name |
Aunt Betty’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
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1 ½ cups shortening (I used 3 sticks of butter)
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1 ½ cups white sugar
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¾ cup brown sugar
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3 eggs
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3 teaspoons vanilla
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3 ½ cups flour, not level (I used gluten-free all-purpose flour, cup for cup)
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1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
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2 ¼ teaspoons salt
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12 oz package chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
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| Did you eat cookie dough as a kid? What am I talking about, I still do, shhh... |
Instructions
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Cream together shortening (or butter), sugar, eggs, and vanilla until fluffy
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Sift together dry ingredients and stir into creamed mixture
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Add chocolate chips
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Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet
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Bake at 375 degrees for 10–12 minutes, I found 11 minutes was the sweet spot here
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Makes 8 dozen cookies
Don't Forget to Pin for Later!
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| You can layer the cookies in a 9x13 covered baking dish and separate the stacks with parchment paper |
Baking These Cookies During Our Kitchen Remodel
As some of you know, I haven’t been in the kitchen much lately — we didn’t have running water until recently because of our kitchen remodel. You’d think I had forgotten everything I knew about baking.
There was flour everywhere. On the countertops. In the sink. On the floor. It was a mess.
But the one big plus? How much I missed these cookies.
Are they low carb? No.
Are they on the list of things I should be eating? Also no.
Did I love every minute of recreating a recipe that’s been around since before I was born? Absolutely.
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| Everyone loved this recipe again, and they couldn't tell gluten free version I made from the old tried and true version |
Why This Will Always Be My Go-To Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
I remember these cookies at family reunions, holidays, birthdays — if there was a gathering, this cookie was probably there. Making them again felt like sitting down with an old friend at the kitchen table and reminiscing about the past.
Isn’t it funny how a recipe can bring up so many feelings?
My husband loved them. And my mom? She said, “I’m so happy you found this recipe again.” She couldn’t find her copy, and I never wrote it down. I guess none of us ever thought there would be a time when it wouldn’t just be there.
This is my grandma’s copy of the recipe. I can’t help but wonder how many times she made it over the years. Growing up, it was always my go-to. We’d make a big batch, store them in an airtight container, and keep them in the freezer so we could snack on them after school for weeks — unless, of course, the cookie monster visited.
And who’s the cookie monster? Well… there are several in my family.
So if you ever wonder whether a cookie recipe is good around here, just know this: if the cookies don’t last, you know it’s a winner.
Thanks for trekking down memory lane with me. If you try this recipe, you’ll have to let me know what you think — I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Cara
