Large Batch Chocolate Chunk (Chocolate Chip) Cookies (Oamc)

Submitted by Brenda.

"I've been making these cookies for over 20 years. I found this recipe in an old Service League Cookbook from the 1950's. The recipe was originally contributed by the Green Bay Day Nursery, and gently tweaked over the years. I can't begin to tell you how many people have asked for the recipe. The cookies do not spread much resulting in a nice thick drop cookie. Because of the large volume of cookie dough this produces, I use my KA Stand Mixer to prepare the dough and just mix the extras in by hand with a sturdy wooden spoon. This dough freezes very well, and can be halved successfully if desired. Don't be intimidated by the long directions as the dough itself is extremely easy, I have added Variations and Fun Tips which make the instructions seem longer. I hope you enjoy these as much as we do."

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photo by TeacherKim

Ready In:: 36mins
Ingredients:: 12
Yields:: 6 dozen
Serves:: 72

ingredients

1 ¹⁄₂ cups brown sugar
1 ¹⁄₂ cups white sugar
2 cups shortening (No substitutes)
7 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
6 eggs, gently beaten
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 tablespoons hot water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 lbs walnuts or 2 lbs pecans, chopped
3 lbs semisweet chocolate chunks

directions

Preheat Oven to 325°F.
In a VERY large mixing bowl or largest bowl of your Stand Mixer, add brown sugar, white sugar, and shortening. Cream together very well.
In another large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set Aside.
Add flour mixture and eggs alternately to the creamed mixture, mix well, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
Dissolve baking soda in the 4 tbs of HOT water. Add baking soda mixture and vanilla to dough and mix well.
Stir in nuts and chocolate chunks.
Drop by heaping tablespoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 325° for 15-17 minutes. I get 12 cookies to a standard sized cookie sheet.
VARIATIONS/TIPS:
Nuts: Can use walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, etc. so long as you have a total of 2 lbs. I measure each type of nut used into it's own bowl, see reason below.
Chocolate Chunks: I seldom use just the chocolate chunks called for in the original recipe. Instead I use a combination of 3 lbs of a variety of baking pieces, and put in separate bowls. Try chocolate chunks, semisweet chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, mini M&M's, vanilla baking chips, chocolate/caramel swirled chips, etc. so long as you have a total of about 3 lbs (about 4 - 12 ounce packages) I have already used a little less than 3 lbs when I just didn't have enough available.
FUN TIP:
Before adding the nuts and chocolate to your dough, divide the dough into 2 bowls. Since you have measured out the nuts and chocolate (or variety of baking pieces)into separate bowls, you can now create a variety of cookie dough flavors. Add whatever combination you would like so long as you add approximately equal amounts to each bowl.
FOR EXAMPLE: Divide cookie dough into 2 bowls. To first bowl add 1 pound chopped pecans, 1 pound chocolate chunks, and 1/2 pound butterscotch chips. To second bowl add 1 pound chopped walnuts, 1 pound caramel/chocolate swirled chips, and 1/2 pound vanilla baking chips. The possibilities are endless. Have fun with this!
When I freeze the dough, I do use my food saver machine. I fill the food saver bag with desired amount of dough and flatten out slightly before vacuum sealing. This way the dough lays flat in the freezer to save space, and thaws more quickly. I take the dough out of the freezer and put in the fridge the day before I plan on baking.

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Reviews

I have baked tons of cookies in my day, and these are among the worst. I can't believe the rave reviews that they have gotten. The cookies came out very cake-like and dry, very bland with little flavor. I am so ticked that I spent extra money on really good chocolate for these. What a waste of ingredients. No I didn't make any substitutions and used good quality ingredients. I am a very experienced baker, I have even earned a living from it. I was hoping for much better

Bakechef
This is an excellent recipe. Great cookies that hold their shape,almost perfectly.I had never used shortening in a chocolate chip cookie recipe before so I wasn't sure what to expect. I found out that I very much prefer butter, and the flavor it gives the cookies. So while this really was an excellent recipe I think I'll stick to butter from now on.

Retro Kali
I made these cookies yesterday and I am so impressed with how they turned out! What a huge batch! I have 5 kids here, so the large amount works well for us. LOL! I split the batch as suggested and did half chocolate chips and walnuts and the other half with butterscotch chips and pecans. Yum! They are perfect. Crunchy on the outside and moist in the middle. This will be my go-to recipe for cookies! :) Thank you!

All Astir and Mixed
These are the best cookies I have ever had! Everyone who had one asked for the recipe and asked for more cookies! They are WONDERFUL! Because they are so thick, I found that it works great to bake them with a piece of parchment paper on the cookie sheet so they don't burn on the bottom before they are done inside.

teabear8
Excellent cookies! The texture is absolutely perfect: soft and chewy. I used half a batch with semi-sweet chocolate chips, and the other half with choc. chips and toasted pecans. 15 minutes in the 325 oven was perfect. Thank you!!!

frozen_rain