by Anyone who lives in a high altitude area knows the woes of trying to bake cookies and cakes, especially if they are used to baking in a lower altitude. When I first moved to Colorado in 1990, my cookies always seemed to flop (they were very flat and “crispy”)…of course, this was pre-internet days, and it wasn’t quite so easy to find the information you needed. But, I asked around, and everyone had advice…some things worked and some didn’t…it took me several years of trial and error to figure out the art of baking in high altitude. The best advice I received for my cookies was to add an extra 1/4 cup of flour…which I did and it helped immensely. Now my rule of thumb is to add an extra 1/4 cup flour to every baked good recipe that I make. I also found that using brown sugar instead of granulated seems to make a softer cookie. This is Kayla and my favorite traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe… we have tried many over the years, but always come back to this one. When Kayla was in grade school, I was “well-known” at the bake sales and school functions for my Chocolate Chip cookies…they were always a favorite!
Most cookie recipes call for Golden Brown Sugar…but I always use the Dark Brown Sugar because I think it gives the cookies a richer flavor. The sugar does make a difference in the cookie flavor, but you can use whichever one that you, personally, like the best
Chocolate Chip Cookies (adjusted for High Altitude)
Ingredients
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter, softened or 1 cup butter-flavored Crisco
- 1 ½ cup Brown Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tbsp Vanilla
- 2 ¾ cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 cup Chocolate Chips
- 1 cup Coarsely Chopped Pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F
- In an electric mixer, combine 1 cup butter (or Crisco) and brown sugar. Beat at medium speed until well blended.
- Add 2 eggs and 1 tbsp vanilla, and beat until fluffy.
- Stir 2 ¾ cup flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp baking soda into batter.
- Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips (and pecan pieces, if using)
- Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet (3" apart). Bake at 375° F for 8-10 minutes.
- After removing from oven, allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes (don't skip this part- it is key to making good cookies 🙂 )
- Remove to wire rack to finish cooling.
- Sitr in an airtight container. Makes about 36 cookies.
