Ingredients
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center. Cover a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a sheet of parchment.
- Cream the softened butter and shortening with both sugars and the vanilla in a large bowl, beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add one egg, beat it in, then repeat with the second egg.
- In a second bowl, stir the baking soda and salt into the flour.
- Tip the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture and work them in until no dry patches remain.
- Use a spoon to fold the chocolate chips and chopped almonds through the dough.
- Drop the dough by tablespoon-sized portions onto the lined baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
- Bake one sheet at a time for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are golden and the centers look just set. Leave the cookies on the sheet for 2 minutes, then move them to a wire rack.
- Repeat with the remaining dough, letting the baking sheet cool between batches (about 3 sheets in all). Let the cookies cool completely before storing them.
Notes
The yield of about 54 cookies is approximate and depends on the size of the scoops.
Organic shortening can be used.
Keep the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze them for up to 3 months. Portioned dough can also be frozen and baked straight from the freezer; add 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time.
Sugar substitute: replace the 1/2 cup brown sugar with 1/2 cup of an erythritol-based brown sugar substitute that measures like packed brown sugar, and the 1/2 cup white sugar with 1/2 cup of a granulated erythritol blend that measures cup-for-cup like sugar. Use chocolate chips sweetened with stevia or erythritol instead of regular chips. The cookies will brown less and may have a faint cooling aftertaste.
Loosely adapted from the recipe on the back of a bag of Toll House chocolate chips.