My chocolate chip cookies

Joe brought home a 3.5lb bag of Ghirardelli (yes, I had to get up and check the bag to see how to spell it) chocolate chips from Sam's the other day. What in the world?! Was my question, of course. For someone like me who really likes to eat for comfort and stress release and is selling their house and would like to NOT gain back the 30 lbs I've lost, why would you buy me 3.5 lbs of chocolate chips?! "To help sell the house." was Joe's answer. I guess that the most appealing smell to someone when they look at a house is the smell of chocolate chip cookies. Well, I guess I need to contribute to the cause, so I, of course, submitted and agreed to make cookies. I did this yesterday afternoon because you never know when someone could call and want to be there in an hour to see the house. I also decided to try a different recipe for my cookies. A few years ago, about the time I started having kids and had a little bit more time to actually bake cookies, I went on a quest to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. All my life my chocolate chip cookies had turned out very flat and very crispy. I wanted to be able to make the Toll House variety like you can buy at Target (and probably some other stores too.) I wanted plump, soft, and chewy chocolate chip cookies. I have no idea how many recipes I tried, but it was a lot. Several people told me that it was a butter issue--if you don't melt the butter all the way and just soften it, that they will turn out soft and chewy. Anyway, I finally figured it out and since then my chocolate chip cookies have been AWESOME! But, the bag of chocolate chip cookies that Joe brought home said they were bittersweet chips not semi-sweet so I wasn't sure if they would taste right with my recipe. Maybe they would need more sugar? And I didn't really want to take the time to look up the difference on the handy internet--the cookies were calling me afterall. So I used the recipe on the bag. I made sure my butter was just slightly soft and mixed everything together and tossed them in the oven. About halfway through the baking time, I checked them and did they look AWESOME! They were big, plump, huge chips, and not quite done. So I let them bake a little longer. About five minutes later I pulled them out of the oven--and had flashbacks of my 20s--they were very, very flat and very, very crispy! I couldn't believe it! Completely ruined. I know, I know, I'm sure they still tasted great (they did--I tasted one) but they just weren't the same. And so I will return to my old recipe and just trust that they won't taste bittersweet. For those of you who may be interested, here is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes. BTW, it is from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook copyright 1989 (it was new when I got it!!!)

1/2 C shortening
1/2 C butter (and NO you cannot use margarine)
2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 12 oz pkg semisweet chocolate chips

Oven 375 degrees. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

The recipe I used yesterday didn't have shortening--I think that is the key ingredient maybe...