Honestly, do you really need another chocolate chip cookie recipe? Apparently, yes! These come to you from US Ski Team rising star Lila Lapanja, who contributed mightily to my condo survival guide in Ski Racing. Lila’s mom Margie is the baking legend behind Margie’s Cowboy Cookies and the author of four cookbooks that meld life and kitchen wisdom with soul-satisfying recipes. Margie is all about comfort food, so of course her chocolate chip cookies would be good.

I am not sure what makes these so fool-proof, but they are. Maybe it’s the combo of margarine and butter, or the nice round numbers that make the proportions easy to remember even if you cut the recipe in half or in quarters; or the way dough stays soft and easy to scoop even if it’s in the fridge for a while; or the way they cook evenly and stay just soft enough when cool. I’m not sure what the magic is, but it just is. The next time you’re making a care package (surely someone you know needs a boost!) try baking these and you won’t go wrong.

According to Margie and Lila, these cookies will bring you good luck if you eat them the night before your ski races or at lunch between runs.

Champion Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup margarine, room temperature
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 6 cups unbleached flour
• 4 cups chocolate chips*

(You can cut this recipe in half to make it more manageable. No calculator required!)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large (at least 13-quart) mixing bowl, whip up margarine, butter, and sugars until fluffy with an electric mixer.  Add the eggs, vanilla, and salt and mix well. (Slackers note—if a fork is all you’ve got just make sure the butter and margarine are soft and whip it good!)

Blend the baking soda and baking powder into the flour and tap into the creamed mixture on low speed. Mix until it comes together. Stir in the chocolate chips with a strong wooden spoon.

Line a cookie sheet with baking parchment and scoop the dough with a small (1- to 2-ounce) ice cream scoop or with a large spoon. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes (depending on your stove…), until lightly golden in color with tiny cracks on top of the cookies. Note your baking time for the rest of the batch. Makes about 4 dozen 2-ounce (Mrs. Fields’-size) cookies.

* Yes, there is a secret to this recipe: the chocolate chips. My favorite baking chips are, have been, and will always be Hershey‘s…or Trader Joe’s. I like to use half semi-sweet and half milk chocolate. On festive occasions, try tossing in white chocolate chips, a few toffee chips, or mini-kisses.