Everyone has this recipe—it’s right on the package of Nestle Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips —but I’m often told my chocolate chip cookies are something special. This winter we hosted students from France and Japan (not at the same time), and it only took one warm, gooey, bite to make them disciples of the chocolate chip cookie cult. Antoine C., Antoine G., and Kana loved these so much that they requested the recipes, meaning this silly little cookie recipe is my first to go global.

My secret to fabulous cookies is to turn on the mixer and cream, cream, and cream again. I often turn on my KitchenAid mixer to cream the shortening and sugars, then let it go while I do other stuff. It doesn’t seem that you can over-do the creaming to make light, fluffy cookies. The other trick is to not over-bake. Remove from oven when lightly brown on edges. And of course you have to put love in your cookies. Don’t forget the love. That’s the secret ingredient.

Makes 2 dozen cookies (I make them big)

1 cup shortening (do NOT substitute butter in this recipe)
¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
¾ cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups (or 12 ounce bag) of Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips or Nestle Chocolate Chunks

Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit. In large mixer bowl, cream shortening with beater attachment on electric mixer. Slowly add dark brown sugar, then white sugar, and cream ingredients until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and cream ingredients. Add vanilla, and cream ingredients again.

In a separate medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt with a spoon. Slowly add this flour mixture to the creamed shortening and sugar mixture until all ingredients are combined. Remove bowl from mixer, and stir in chocolate chips.

Drop cookie dough onto baking sheet with small spoon. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until light golden brown. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes before removing cookies from baking sheet. Continue cooling on racks. Store cookies in an airtight container.