across, or 80 regular cookies)

1. Preheat oven to 325 F for Giant cookies, 350 F for regular cookies. Grease a cookie sheet.

2. Cream margarine and sucanat together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.

3. sift dry ingredients together and stir in, mixing throughly. Add chocolate chips to batter.

4. Bake on the prepared cookie sheet on the middle rack for 15-17 minutes for Giant cookies, 8-10 minutes for regular cookies. Remove from oven while cookies are slightly soft. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a rack to cool completely. Variations: - Add 1 cup chopped walnuts, or peacans, or coconut - Substitute 1 teaspoon mint extract for vanilla extract

And my own variation, in which I indulged just yesterday (naughty me!): melt half a cup of chocolate chips and stir into batter to make double- chocolate cookie dough! (A good way to get rid of that extra half cup of chips, if you use a regular 12 oz. bag instead of what Barat provides -- yeah, right, call it thrift instead of sinful indulgence

-)

Attention: All ye folks who have loved the taste of raw cookie batter for years, but have been afraid to indulge from fear of bateria in raw eggs (salamonea or however ye spell it): please note that vegan cookies, having no eggs, is Safe To Eat Raw! So go right on ahead and make that batter to eat straight from the bowl

-).