My Favorite Pumpkin Pie

If you have been searching for the best pumpkin pie recipe, then search no more! This is it. I promise. You'll love it. :o)

• 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup milk
• 9" pre-made pie crust

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Add the pumpkin, eggs, cream and milk and whisk to combine. Pour the filling into pie crust and bake until the center is set. About 65-70 minutes. Cover the edges with foil if crust begins to brown too quickly. Let cool about 2 hours before cutting and serving.

Freezer directions:  let baked pie cool completely. Then freeze up to 6 months. Thaw and bake for about 30 minutes or until heated through.

You can also just freeze the pie filling by pouring into a freezable container and freezing. Then just thaw an pour and bake as usual.

Harvest Muffins

I love Fall and the cool crisp mornings that come with it. I found this muffin recipe while looking for a pumpkin recipe that used apples as well (see previous post). I love these muffins. They're all the flavors of Fall all in one little muffin.

• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups apples, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Streusel Topping:

• 2 Tablespoons flour
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 Tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 2 muffin pans with paper liners and set aside. In a large bowl mix the eggs, pumpkin, and vegetable oil until well blended. Add the flour, sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Fold in the apples, pecans and cranberries. Scoop into liners, filling them about ¾ full. Set aside. Make the streusel: in a smaller bowl mix the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Cut in the butter with 2 knives, pastry blender or with your fingers until the mixture resembles small pebbles. Top batter with a small spoonful of streusel. Bake muffins at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until muffins bounce back when lightly touched.

Makes about 2 dozen muffins.

Caramel Apple Egg Rolls

We recently moved to a new home and have been blessed with not one, but two Apple trees! And they produce the most amazing red apples, and a few of them are even worm-free. I've been trying to figure out different ways to use up the many apples we pull off the tree every week and came up with this eggroll recipe. Super easy and so delicious! 🍎

• 2 medium apples, cored and chopped (I left the skin on)
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 egg roll wrappers
• Caramel sauce for dipping
• Powdered sugar for dusting

In a frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and stir until well blended. Add apples. Cook until apples have softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Fill egg roll wrappers with about ¼ cup of the apple filling. Follow the egg roll packaging directions for rolling and frying. Let cool on paper towel lined plate. Top with a dusting of powdered sugar and serve with a side of salted caramel.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes with Apple Cider Buttercream

These are one of my favorite cupcakes and they're perfect for any fall dessert table.

• 3 ¾ cups flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups brown sugar
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• ¾ cup chunky applesauce: (I've also just bought chunky applesauce and that works too)
• 3 apples, peeled, cored and choped
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• ½ cup water
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¾ caramel sauce (store bought or make your own, recipe here)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ cups buttermilk
• Apple Cider Frosting:
• 2lb bag of powdered sugar
• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ to ½ cup apple cider

Place applesauce ingredients in small saucepan over low heat and cook until apples are tender. Drain remaining water. Put aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line or grease 2 dozen muffin tins. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl beat the sugar and oil together until well combined. Add applesauce, caramel sauce, and vanilla. Beat for 30 seconds. Then add eggs one at a time. Add flour mixture in slowly, alternating with buttermilk. Pour 2/3 full into muffin cups. Bake for 18 -20 minutes.

Make frosting: Beat butter, cinnamon and powdered sugar on low until incorporated. Add apple cider slowly using only as much as needed to get desired consistency. Adding more powdered sugar if the buttercream gets to runny.

Let cupcakes cool before icing. Once cool top with frosting and drizzle with extra caramel.

Salted Caramel Sauce

I've made this recipe millions of times for craft sales and farmers market and it is always a hit. Some have even called it liquid gold or crack in a jar...It's highly addicting and amazing. And you can use it for almost anything: cheesecake, cupcakes, ice cream, cinnamon rolls, scones, muffins, fruit, pretzels,  or just by the spoonful. A couple of tips. Try not to double or triple the recipe unless you have a really good heavy bottom and large pot. I have had some incidents where it over boils and turns into a solid. NOT fun. Keep an eye on it when it starts to boil. It can go from Amber to black really fast. Don't add the heavy cream unless it's heated and use a gloved hand while stirring in the cream, the steam coming off is HOT! If you don't want it salted simply add just 1 teaspoon of salt. And lastly, try to wait for it to cool before you sneak a taste. 😉

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 Tablespoons corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a heavy sauce pan (I use a 3 qt pot), combine your sugar, syrup and water and still until the sugar is moistened. Heat over medium heat, whisking until sugar has dissolved and starts to become clear.

Once it starts to bubble, stop stirring completely and let it boil undisturbed until it turns a deep amber, about 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat your heavy cream in the microwave for 1 minute. Don't skip this step, or you'll be sorry!

Once it gets to the desired color, remove from heat, and using a long wooden spoon, stir while slowly pouring in your cream. If for some reason, your caramel starts to get lumpy, return the pan to the stove and heat and stir until the lumps dissolve. Stir in the butter and salt. Let cool for 5 minutes and then add your vanilla. Let cool completely before canning or storing.

Recipe makes about 2 cups of pure awesomeness.

Soft Pretzels & Bread Bowls

These are a bit time consuming, but so worth the effort. We love them! Soft and chewy and buttery. We ate them with this delicious Beer and Cheddar Bacon Soup. Fantastic!

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
• About 4 1/2 cups flour
• ¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted
• 2-3 quart pot full of water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
• course salt

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the water, sugar, yeast and salt on low speed for 10 seconds. Switch to the dough hook and add the flour and butter. Mix on low until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approx. 4 minutes. Take the dough out of the bowl and spray the bowl with cooking spray. Put the dough back into the bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap and set in a warm place for approx. an hour or until the dough has doubled in size. Spray a pastry mat or cutting board lightly with oil. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into about a 24-inch rope and then make into a pretzel shape. See link below for detailed pictures! Cover the remaining dough with a towel while you work, so it doesn't dry out. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Bring the pot of water and baking soda to a rolling boil. Using a flat spatula, gently lower the pretzels into the boiling water and boil them for about 30 seconds. you can probably boil 2-3 pretzels at a time. Remove the pretzels from the water using your spatula, draining as much water off as possible and place on cookie sheet. Brush with the remaining melted butter and sprinkle with course salt. Bake until golden brown, about 12-14 minutes. Serve warm.

To Make Pretzel Bread Bowls OR Rolls:

After the first rise separate the dough into four even balls, for bread bowls, or into 6-8 balls, for dinner rolls. Place on floured surface, about 2 inches apart, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30-40 minutes. Continue as above directs with the baking soda bath. Brush with butter and sprinkle salt and bake for 20-25 minutes or until slightly browned. When cooled scoop out inside, if using for bread bowls, leaving about an inch of pretzel and fill with your favorite soup.

Freezer directions: pretzels, bowls and rolls can be frozen after baked. Just cool completely and then place in a freezer bag and freeze up to 6 months. When ready to eat, thaw to room temperature and then wrap in foil and bake at 350 degrees F. for 10-15 minutes.

S'more Cupcakes

These are the perfect summer treat, and bonus, you get to use a torch.

• Graham Cracker Layer:
• 1 ½ cups crushed graham crackers
• ⅓ cup butter, melted
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• Chocolate Cupcake layer:
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¾ cup boiling water
• Toasted Marshmallow topping:
• 8 egg whites
• 2 cups sugar
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Hershey Chocolate pieces 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line your muffin tin with 2 dozen liners. Pulse graham crackers in your food processor, add butter and sugar and mix until well mixed. Press 1 full Tablespoon onto the bottom of each liner. Put to the side. Make the batter: in your stand up mixer add all the dry ingredients and whisk well. In a separate bowl mix together the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Slowly add in the hot water. Mix just until incorporated, do not overmix. Scoop unto graham cracker layer until about ⅔ full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until cooked through and bounce back when lightly touched. Place one bar of hershey chocolate in the middle of each hot cupcake. Let melt and spread around chocolate. Place cupcakes to the side and finish cooling. Make the marshmallow topping: put the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in the heat proof bowl of your mixer. Place the bowl over a saucepan with boiling water. Whisk constantly until sugar dissolves and is warm to touch. Do not let it get hot. Place bowl back on your stand up mixer and using the whisk attachment, whisk, starting on low and then gradually going up to high. Mix for 8-10 minutes. Or until it forms stiff peaks. Add vanilla and mix until incorporated. Place marshmallow frosting into your bag fitted with a 1M tip and pipe onto your cooled cupcakes. Torch and place a hershey chocolate piece into each cupcake. 

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes.

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Queso Fundido w/ Chorizo

This is one of our favorite appetizers (and sometimes a meal by itself). Super easy to make and comes together quickly. 

• ½ lb. chorizo (or regular sausage, if you prefer)
• ½ onion, diced small
• 2 small orange and/or red bell peppers, chopped
• 1 lb Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• Chopped tomatoes, if desired
• Green onions, if desired

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In your cast iron skillet, over medium heat, cook your chorizo, onion and bell peppers until the meat is cooked through and veggies are browned. Remove from heat. Cover with cheese and place entire skillet in the oven. Cook 10-15 minutes or until bubbly and brown. Top with tomatoes and onions and serve warm with tortilla chips.

Green Chile Cheese Bread

This has become my go to savory quick bread recipe! It's fantastic! And it's so versatile. We tried it just this past week with Mozzarella, cheddar, bacon and chives. YUM! Try this recipe today! You will not be disappointed! :o)

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cubed cheddar & Monterey jack cheese
• 1 cup whole milk
• ⅓ cup oil
• 1 egg
• 4oz can chopped green chiles
• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped jalapenos (I usually use the jarred jalapenos)

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 8 inch bread loaf pan. Blend the flour, salt, pepper, sugar and baking powder together in mixer. Add cheese. Pour in the milk, oil, egg, chiles and jalapeno. Blend just until incorporated. Pour into prepared pan and bake about 45-50 minutes or until the top is golden and springs back when touched. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Serve warm with butter.

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

These might be one of my favorite cupcakes. I could probably sit down and eat a whole bowl of just the custard filling. There just so good. Try some for yourself!

• Custard filling:
• 1 ⅓ cups heavy cream
• 3 egg yolks
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 Tablespoons butter, cut into 2 pieces
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
• Cupcakes:
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 ½ sticks butter, at room temp and cut into small pieces
• Ganache:
• 8 ounces chocolate, chopped (semi-sweet or dark)
• ⅔ cup heavy cream
• ¼  cup light corn syrup
• ½  teaspoon vanilla

Make the pastry cream by bringing the heavy cream to a simmer over medium heat in a saucepan. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together until pale yellow and thick. Slowly stir some of the hot cram into the egg mixture, then return the whole bowl in the saucepan and cook, whisking constantly, until thick and glossy, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter. Transfer to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly to surface of custard. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 

Make the cupcakes: preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your cupcake pan with cupcake liners. In your stand up mixer, mix the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Beat in the butter, adding 1 Tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat until the mixture looks like moist crumbs. Beat in the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla, mixing well. Scoop into your prepared liners, filling about 3/4" full. Bake for 18 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. 

Make the ganache: Microwave all the ganache ingredients together, whisking often, until melted and smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Let glaze cool until it's thick but pourable. About 30 minutes. 

To fill the cupcakes with the custard: scoop out the inside of the cupcake by cutting around the inner edge of the top of each cupcake, removing a cone-shaped piece from each cupcake. Fill with 2 Tablespoons of the custard, trim and replace the cupcake top and set back on wire rack over wax paper. Spread ganache over cupcakes.
Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes.

Peanut Butter M&M Cookies

One of my all-time favorite cookies. Chewy with the crunch of the M&M's, makes it one great cookie!

• 2 cups flour (¼ cup flour added for higher altitude)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temp
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 1 1/2 cups M&M's

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper, set aside. In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the butter, sugars and peanut butter, mixing until smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and milk and mix on low until completely combined. Slowly add the flour, salt and baking soda. Fold in the M&M's. Drop the cookie dough by rounded Tablespoons on cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden around the edges. Let cool on wire rack.
Makes about 3 dozen.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Tiramisu

This dessert is a lot like a tiramisu, but instead of layers of ladyfingers there are delicious chocolate chip cookies. And in between those layers of chocolate chip cookies? A creamy mascarpone mocha mousse. And it's perfect for these hot steamy days when you don't want to turn the oven on.

• 2 cups cold heavy cream
• 12oz container mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup coffee liqueur, such as Kahlua
• 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 24oz chocolate chip cookies

Using the whisk attachment of your mixer, combine the heavy cream, mascarpone, sugar, coffee liqueur, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and vanilla. Mix on low speed to combine and then slowly raise the speed, until the mixture forms firm peaks.  To assemble the dessert: arrange cookies in a 9x13 dish fitting as many as you can. Spread half of the mixture onto pan. Place another layer of cookies and then the remaining mousse. Top with sprinkles, cocoa powder or chocolate shavings. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight (the longer you refrigerate the better it will taste!).
Serves 12-16 people.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Cookies

My little family and I recently relocated to Colorado.

Moving is the worst. Seriously. I never need to do it again. But the biggest thing that made it worth it? The kitchen.

Oh and the views. The views are amazing.

(That's 2 apples and a cherry tree in the backyard AND to the right we have some amazing views of Mesa Verde!)

And the little fox that comes to visit our backyard at the same time every night. Or the deer that make their way through our backyard. Or the fact that the cool crisp mountains are just a 10 minute drive away. I could go on and on.

The first thing I did (with the help of my MIL) when we moved in was put together the kitchen. Today I was itching to make (and eat!) some cookies. I'm calling these the "Everything But the Kitchen Sink" cookies since I just threw in a bunch of bags of leftovers I had in the pantry. You could easily sub or leave out whatever add-ins you like. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• ½ cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 ½ cups flour (¼ cup added for higher altitude)
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups sweet add-ins (I used a mixture of dark chocolate, semi-sweet and butterscotch chips. Others you could try: milk chocolate chips, raisins, dried fruit, toffee bits, caramel bits, M&M's, etc...)
• 1 cup nuts (I used toasted pecans, again, you could use whatever nuts you prefer, or leave them out)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In your food processor, pulse the oats until semi-fine. Set aside. In your stand up mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together until well blended. Add the cinnamon, vanilla, eggs and lemon juice. Mix well. Slowly add the oats, flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Fold in the nuts and sweet add-ins. Scoop out onto cookie sheets and bake 10-12 minutes or until golden.

Yields: 50 cookies (using a medium cookie scoop).

Maple Bacon Cinnamon Rolls

It may sound gross, but trust me, it's not. I like the little sweet and salty along with the crunch the bacon brings to these delicious cinnamon rolls. And if you're just not that into bacon, then just leave it out, or sub out pecans. They'll still taste amazing. I baked these beauties in muffin cups to sell them at the farmer's market during the summer, more portable and easier to package. However, I do prefer to bake them all together in a dish when I bake them just for my family, I like them to be gooey and soft and when you bake them in cupcake liners, they aren't quite as chewy or soft. But still delicious! Enjoy! :o)

Ingredients:

• For the cinnamon rolls:
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• 3 to 3 ½ cups flour
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 ¼ teaspoon yeast (I usually use active dry)
• 1 egg
• Bacon filling:
• ½ pound of bacon cooked and crumbled
• 4 Tablespoons (½ stick) butter, softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar 
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• Maple Icing:
• 2 lb bag of powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons maple extract
• ½ cup milk
• ¼ cup (½ stick) butter
• ¼ cup brewed coffee
• pinch of salt

To make the cinnamon rolls: add the 1 cup of milk to the melted butter and heat in a microwave safe container for 1 to 1 ½ minutes in the microwave. Stir and check temp. If it's lukewarm then add your yeast. If it's still piping hot then let cool until it feels lukewarm. After you stir in the yeast let the mixture sit for 10 minutes. In your stand up mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix 3 cups of flour, sugar and the salt, whisk with a fork and then slowly add your milk/butter/yeast mixture. Add the egg and beat with dough hook on medium speed, adding more flour as needed (¼ cup at a time). When the dough begins to pull away from the bowl and form a ball, turn the speed up and beat a little longer, about 5 more minutes. Remove from bowl to a greased bowl, turning dough once to get it greased on both sides. Cover with a damp towel and let it sit in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

To make the filling: while the dough is rising, cut up your maple bacon and fry it until crisp. Remove to paper towel to drain off grease. Soften or melt your butter, set aside. Mix your ½ cup sugar and 1 Tablespoon (more or less to taste) together and set aside.

To make your icing: mix ALL of the icing ingredients together and blend well. If icing seems too runny, add more powdered sugar. If icing seems too thick, add more milk and/or coffee. It should be pourable and spreadable, but hold up to spreading on hot cinnamon rolls. This icing recipe makes a lot of icing, I usually freeze the extra icing for the next time I make these delicious rolls!

Assembling the rolls: once the cinnamon roll dough has doubled in size, punch down and lay out on a floured surface. Roll it out into a large rectangle (about 14x9). Spread out your butter evenly over the entire surface, then sprinkle your cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the butter, then the cooked and cooled maple bacon. Starting with the longer side begin tightly rolling up the dough, pinching in the ends to seal it up. Cut the rolls into about ¾ inch to 1 inch thick slices and place in a greased pan or cupcake liners. This recipe will make about 24 cinnamon rolls so you might need several pans. Cover with a dishtowel and let sit for about 20-25 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and back for 12-16 minutes, or until cinnamon rolls start to turn golden around the edges. Pour icing on hot cinnamon rolls and eat while warm.

Freezer Directions: After you have cut up the cinnamon rolls into slices, place them into a freezer container (I usually put them in a 9" round aluminum throw-away pan and then put the pan into a gallon size freezer bag and label the bag with instructions). Freeze for up to 6 months. When ready to eat, remove pan from freezer, let come to room temperature, and have grown a little in size, about 1-2 hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is. Then bake as mentioned above.

Yields: 20-24 cinnamon rolls.

Red Velvet White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

 

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 5 heaping Tablespoons cocoa powder
• ½ - 1 teaspoon red food gel (if using liquid food dye use 1 Tablespoon)
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray with cooking oil and set aside. In the bowl of your stand-up mixer: beat the butter, both sugars, cocoa powder and red food gel until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Slowly add the flour, baking soda, salt, chips and nuts. Using a medium size cookie scoop, scoop out cookie dough. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until set. Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.