College Chocolate Chip Cookies

It was 25 years ago that I entered Brigham Young University as a freshman. Ah, the halcyon days of youth! (What does “halcyon” mean? How do you even say that? Why would I use that word?) Before entering college, I had heard of the “freshman 15,” referring to the typical weight gain most people experienced their first year of college. I was determined not to let this happen to me. So I decided to only partake of dessert on Sundays. There was just one problem with this. On Sundays, the dorm cafeteria only served pie for dessert. I don’t get very excited by pie. I get excited by brownies and cookies, but pie just doesn’t do it for me. So I gave up on that plan and started eating dessert during the week when the good stuff was out. After a while, I completely abandoned my quest to avoid weight gain, and instead, started making boat-loads of cookies.

The picture on the right is just before a freshman dance. I don’t know why we were holding that wimpy rose. It’s just what you did in the 90’s for pictures.

You see, my freshman roommate, Jen (who was SO AWESOME) had a sister who lived nearby. This sister had a Kitchen Aid mixer–a luxury I never had growing up. Jen’s family had a famous chocolate chip cookie recipe, and we often went to her sister’s house to make these cookies. We would laugh, talk, watch movies, and eat cookies. A lot of cookies. Because the cookies were fantastically delicious. Twenty-five years later, this recipe I wrote on the back of a receipt is still my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Here’s the thing. This recipe makes a TON of cookies. Below is a picture of me holding a bag of these cookies. It is also a picture of me wearing high-water pants. And yes, I really did think I was fooling everybody by pulling my socks up to meet the bottom of my absurdly short pants. (Also pictured is Amy, who accompanied us on most of our chocolate-chip-cookie-making excursions).

So I know you’re wondering if I gained 15 pounds my freshman year. The answer is no. Although I definitely should have based on the number of cookies that I ate. Maybe I held the pounds at bay because of all the exercise I did. Like running around campus blindfolded. But that’s another story for another day 🙂

What’s your favorite memory from your freshman year of college? Leave your answer in the comments!

P.S. Halcyon [hal-see-uhn]

Definition: happy; joyful; carefree

You’re welcome 🙂 If it makes you feel any better, Jen was always getting after me for my show-off-y vocabulary. “Oh Mel, you and your big words.”

This post first published on August 28, 2015.

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College Chocolate Chip Cookies

Author: Melissa Howell

Ingredients

• 4 cubes of butter 2 cups, softened. Use the real stuff, please!
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 6 cups flour
• 1 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips (or more, to taste)

Instructions

1. Cream butter and sugars together.
2. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
3. Add two cups of the flour, along with the salt and baking soda. Mix well.
4. Add the remaining four cups of flour and mix well.
5. Add the chocolate chips and blend.
6. Using a cookie scoop, place balls of dough two inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. (I prefer to use stoneware or baking mats).
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. You want the edges to just barely be browned, but the centers will still be soft. Note that it will take cookies longer to bake if you use stoneware--especially the first batch.