Uncle Bill's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I realized I haven't yet posted a dessert and felt this should be my first. My Uncle Bill is really my mom's uncle, my maternal grandmother, Dorothy's brother. They've both passed on, but not before leaving us with lots of great family recipes. I'm not a big baker, nor do I have a big sweet tooth, but I've been making these for years for co-workers, hostess gifts, potlucks and just because. I've always gotten so much pleasure and satisfaction out of making things from scratch, and in this day of "break and bake" cookies and the like, there's something very comforting about making homemade cookies from a family recipe the same way the originator of the recipe made them.

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
¾ cup shortening OR ½ cup butter-flavored Crisco + ¼ margarine
¾ cup sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
12oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine first 3 ingredients (the dry ingredients).

Combine sugars, shortening and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat with a mixer until creamy. Gradually add in dry ingredients, then gently stir in chocolate chips by hand.

Using a spoon or small melon scoop, spoon dough onto cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.