Chocolate Chip Cookies

These have a couple unusual ingredients, but they are my favorite chocolate chip cookies, and make a good change from the usual Tollhouse recipe.  This one was also found as a reader submission to Gourmet years ago.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 tsp. cider vinegar

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chocolate chips

How to make them:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
• In a bowl, cream shortening and sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then beat in eggs 1 at a time.
• Add vanilla and vinegar and combine well.
• Stir flour mixture into shortening mixture gradually.
• Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips.
• Form into balls of heaping tablespoons and arrange 3 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets.
• Flatten each ball of dough with the palm of your hand into a 1/4 thick round.
• Bake in the middle of oven in batches for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Transfer to wire racks and cool.

These are relatively large, but not gigantic.  You can leave out the nuts if you'd like.