My mom made the best chocolate chip cookies ever.

Okay, my kids may disagree. They like the puffy kind of chocolate chip cookie, slightly soft and full of chocolate.

I’m the complete opposite. I love thin and crunchy chocolate chip cookies, with the chips spaced out so that they are individual chocolate capsules studding the dough.

That’s how my mom used to make them.

I have tried and tried to recreate her cookies. It isn’t the recipe; she used the one on the Toll House morsels bag. So did I. Yet, my cookies just didn’t compare.

My mom used margarine for baking, but I use butter. That may be a key reason why it took me so long to recreate her cookies. I had to figure out a way to make crispy cookies without margarine.

Then, this week, it finally happened! My cookies tasted like my mom’s. I was so excited and ate way too many. No surprise there.

If you like crispy cookies, read on! I have a few tips to share.

1. Use the right flour.

The flour brand you use does make a difference. I used Pillsbury® Unbleached All-purpose Flour and it worked like a charm. Other brands yield different textures. It’s a matter of experimenting to find what you like.

2. Measure the flour carefully, don’t add any extra. You don’t need to sift it.

My mom told me that her secret was to use a little less flour than the recipe called for, but that tip didn’t work for me. What did work? Measuring the flour precisely, without sifting it.

BTW, my mom never sifted flour. I think that raising four kids, she felt that sifting flour was a bigger time investment than she ever wanted to make!

3. Bake at 375°F for exactly 10 minutes.

The cookies will be browned and crisp, but not burnt.

If you take out the tray too early, you’ll never achieve that crispy crunch. I think it has to do with the way the butter and sugar melt together and then cool.

4. Remove the tray and let the cookies sit for a minute before moving them to a cooling rack.

If you move them too soon, you alter the “crumb” of the cookie, and risk losing that crispy texture.

5. Let the cookies cool completely before stacking them.

The biggest change in method for me was moving the cookies from the cookie sheet to a cooling rack. My mom simply used paper towels on the counter, and that worked for her but not for me. Cooling those crispy cookies completely before piling them into a serving bowl keeps them crunchy.

I hope that you have good luck with your next batch of chocolate chip cookies. Try not to eat them all in one sitting!

? -Jo
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