Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies, Made With Cake Flour
Catherine Hall is many things. She’s a mother of six, partner to a cattle nutritionist, a neighbor, a friend and the master of the Jumbo Cake Flour Cookie. Catherine has been making Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies since Dr. Laun Hall’s college days at Utah State University. The recipe came from a friend and according to Catherine; they are a Hall family favorite. They are also a way for the Halls to get to know people. When Laun and Catherine deliver her special cookies to a new neighbor, they quickly make new friends.
“On the nutrition side, food is supposed to make you happy, and these cookies do that, and they have butter, so it's a double win.” –Dr. Laun Hall, IFA Animal Nutritionist
Notes from Catherine Hall: I usually make a double batch & it fills the whole Bosch. For the chocolate chips, add according to preference (less or more). I have also noticed that if I take the cookies out when they look a little bit underdone, they taste better. I usually leave them in for 11½ - 12 minutes, but every oven is different. I often don't have mini & chunk chocolate chips, so I'll use normal semi-sweet chips instead.
The Hall Family: A Life Built on Family Values
While Dr. Laun Hall’s professional life is dedicated to livestock, his personal life is centered on his family. He and his wife, Catherine Hall, have six children and Catherine has been Laun’s partner through every stage of his academic and professional career. " 
Laun could be a cow nutritionist without me," Catherine says. "But he got to have a family, too, and his career has let me be home with the kids. Together we do what we can for each other and our family.”
Catherine describes Laun as a man of "true grit," a term that encompasses both his work ethic and his ability to solve any problem. "He will come home and fix anything that is broken," Catherine says. "Whether it’s welding a gate or fixing the plumbing, he just does it. He has that true grit where he doesn't give up until the job is done." 
The life of an IFA nutritionist is not a standard 9-to-5. The balance between a demanding career and family life isn't always easy. Laun is often on the road by 4:00 AM, traveling to agriculture operations across the Intermountain West.
Catherine knows Laun is focused on the producers he helps, but they have developed a "three-call rule" to manage the long hours apart. "We have an agreement," she says with a smile. "If I call once, it's just to chat. If I call twice, I need something. But if I call three times, it’s an emergency, and he knows he needs to pull over and answer."
The Hall children have also been influenced by their father’s work. Their oldest son worked at the IFA North Region Feed Mill while attending Utah State University, and their daughter, Marlee, assisted with nutritional studies at the Bateman Lakeview Dairy, measuring colostrum quality and blood Immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels in calves.
"They jump in wherever they're at, and they appreciate and understand agriculture," Laun says of his children.
The Hall family is starting to grow and Laun and Catherine excitedly welcomed two new daughters-in-law to their family in 2026. IFA is excited for Laun and his family. We are grateful for his contributions to our cooperative and to Catherine and the whole family for the support they have provided all these years.
Written by Mikyla Bagley and originally published in the IFA Cooperator magazine (vol. 92, no. 3) Fall 2026.