1. Preheat oven to 360 degrees F. (Yes, 360)
2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the margarine and oil. Add and cream brown and white sugars until light and fluffy. Stir in the molasses and vanilla.
3. In another bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix this dry bowl into the wet bowl. Mix thoroughly.
4. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Drop onto cookie sheet, bake 9 to 11 minutes, just until the outer edges turn brown. -Let cool. The cookies will have the wonderful "sofft batch" consistency the next day (although they're plenty delicious right out of the oven).
In our testing, we thought that margarine based recipes were too dry and oil based recipes were too greasy. This mixture produces a great buttery flavor, but with plenty of moisture.
Mixing the sugars also contributes to the soft texture. I got the idea for the molasses from Isa's recipe in "Vegan with a Vengeance." I think it helps keep the cookie soft. I really got the best results at 360*F--we thought it allowed the outside to bake a little faster and the inside the stay a bit softer, although I'm sure 350 would work just fine too.
Source of recipe: My boyfriend missed the Keebler Soft Batch cookies, so we worked together and tried many different combinations until we came up with this recipe. He says they are just as good as the ones he used to buy in the red bag!