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Triple Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: Reduce the semisweet chocolate chips to 1 cup; add 1 cup peanut butter chips and 1 cup roasted unsalted peanuts with the remaining chips.

PEPPERMINT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Rather than simply flavoring the dough with peppermint extract, we make these with crushed peppermint candies for an added kick. But be careful: those tiny, hard pieces of candy aren’t the best thing for bridgework or dentures.

MAKES ABOUT 31/2 DOZEN COOKIES

11/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening (4 ounces)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cool, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

21/2 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips, or semisweet chocolate chunks

11/3 cups crushed peppermint candies (see Note)

1. Position the rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl until the soda is evenly distributed; set aside as well.

2. Soften the shortening and butter in a large bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, about 1 minute. Add both kinds of sugar; continue beating until light and fluffy, about 2 more minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth. Turn off the mixer, add the prepared flour mixture, and beat at low speed just until moistened. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the chocolate chips and crushed peppermint candies just until evenly distributed.

3. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing the mounds about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 12 minutes, rotating the sheet back to front halfway through baking. The cookies should be lightly browned and set. Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cool the baking sheet for 5 minutes before baking further batches.

* * *

NOTE: To crush the candies, place them in a zip-sealed plastic bag, then place them on the floor and whack them repeatedly with the bottom of a large, heavy saucepan. Continue crushing them until you have a good mixture of fine crumbs and slightly larger pieces, a little larger than coarse cornmeal.

Recommended storage

4 days at room temperature between sheets of wax paper

2 months in the freezer

Mix It Up!

Spearmint Chocolate Chip Cookies: Substitute crushed spearmint hard candies or candy canes for the peppermint candies (do not use soft, Canadian mints or breath mints).

Wintergreen Chocolate Chip Cookies: Substitute crushed wintergreen candy canes for the peppermint candies.

POTATO CHIP CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

This is one of those only-in-America recipes, claimed to have been invented by residents of many states—California, Georgia, Texas, to name a few. Like other homespun treats, the exact origins are hard to pin down. Suffice it to say, crushed potato chips make a very crunchy cookie. We’ve used margarine here, not butter, so that the taste of the potato chips really comes through.

MAKES ABOUT 41/2 DOZEN COOKIES

13/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/2 pound (2 sticks) cool margarine, cut into small pieces

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 large egg white, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 ounces potato chips, crushed (about 6 cups)

3 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

1. Position the racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven; preheat the oven to 350°F. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and nutmeg in a medium bowl until well combined; set aside.

2. Place the margarine in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer at medium speed until softened. Add both kinds of sugar and continue beating until the mixture is homogenous but grainy, not smooth,