Double Chocolate Raisin and Chip Cookies

My family doesn' t like the raisins, so I usually make them without. I love them with raisins, though. These make wonderful ice cream sandwiches!

1 stick butter, at room temperature
1/4 c. shortening
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa, preferably Dutch-process
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 c. raisins (you may omit or substitute nuts if you wish)

Cream butter and shortening together until soft and completely mixed. Add sugars and beat until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time and add vanilla.

Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda. Mix with creamed mixture, then stir in chocolate chips and raisins or nuts, if using. Wrap dough and chill thoroughly, preferably for 3 hours or longer.

Preheat oven to 350º. Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray with Pam. (I just use Silpat.)

Make 1" balls of chilled dough and place them about 3" apart on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten each to about 2" in diameter using the heel of the hand or a rubber spatula dipped in sugar. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies have puffed and then subsided to make a crackled surface and are just semifirm in the center. Do not overbake.

Slide the foil onto a wire rack and cool the cookies completely.

*From the Mrs. Witty's Monster Cookies cookbook.