Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cup flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ cup shortening
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla essence
• 1 egg
• ½ cup mini chocolate chips (Keep refrigerated until required)
• If coloring the cookies, gel or liquid food coloring as required

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180^o C.
2. Combine dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, salt. 
3. Cream shortening, sugar, brown sugar, add egg and vanilla. 
4. Tip in the dry ingredients and combine to form a dough. 
5. Add the chocolate chips and incorporate lightly.
6. Form into balls and place on baking sheet.
7. Place the tray in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. 
8. Bake for 10  to 15 minutes till edges turn brown.

For colored cookies:

For coloring, divide dough (before adding the chocolate chips) into the required number of portions, add a few drops of the respective color and knead lightly for the color to spread and become a uniform shade.  Divide the chocolate chips according to the number of color portions and add to the dough, mix quickly and form into balls and place on cookie sheet 2” apart.  Keep tray in the fridge for 10 mns.  Remove tray and bake for 10 to 15 mins till edges turn brown.

(If you want a more prominent color, replace the brown sugar with regular sugar as the brown sugar dilutes the color as shown in the blue, yellow and green cookies below).