Making the Basic Mix

1. Gather all of your ingredients, along with the measuring cups, measuring spoons, bowl and air-tight container.

2. Combine 5 cups flour, 3 3/4 cups sugar, 2 tbsp. baking powder and 1 1/2 tsp. salt in a bowl.

3. Measure out 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp. softened butter, and add it to the dry mixture. Cut the butter into the dry mixture until it becomes coarse and crumbly.

4. Pour the mixture into an air-tight container, cover with the lid, and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. The basic mixture contains 10 cups of mix.

Baking the Cookies

1. Remove the container of basic cookie mix from the refrigerator and place 2 cups of the mix into a medium bowl.

2. To make chocolate chip cookies add 1/2 cup brown sugar, one egg, 1 tsp. vanilla, and 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips to the bowl containing the mix. Mix the ingredients together until well blended.

3. Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees, and prepare a cookie sheet by using a very light spray of cooking oil and then wiping it with a paper towel to remove any excess.

4. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of cookie dough onto the prepared cookie sheet, leaving a space between each. Generally, you should be able to place at least three across and four or five down the cookie sheet, depending on how large you make the spoonfuls.

5. Bake them at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies begin to brown on the edges.

6. Remove the cookies from the oven once they are done, and allow them to cool on the pan for 1 to 2 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks or sheets of wax paper.