Chocolate Chip Cookies with Homemade Vanilla

Chocolate chip cookies are one of my favorite things to bake, and since Andy was kind enough to make both of us some homemade vanilla I thought the first thing I would make would be cookies! I made a batch for us to take while we were camping at the lake last weekend and thought I'd share them with y'all. I usually use the Crisco recipe, because the cookies always come out so soft and chewy. You can cook them longer to make them crispier, but we like soft cookies in our house! (I apologize ahead of time for the less than stellar food photography. I'll have to study up on my Pioneer Woman Cooks! photos.)

Here is the recipe*:

Ingredients:
¾ cups Butter flavored Crisco
1 ¼ cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tbsp. Milk
1 tbsp. Vanilla
1 Egg
1 ¾ cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Salt
¾ tsp. Baking Soda
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 cup pecan pieces

Directions:Heat oven to 375. Cream butter flavor crisco, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla in large bowl.

Andy's delicious homemade vanilla!

Blend until creamy. Blend in egg.Combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture, gradually.

(Y'all, I would be so sad without my Kitchenaid mixer!)

Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop rounded Tablespoonfuls (about 2 measuring tablespoons) of dough 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. (I usually cook on stoneware, which doesn't need to be greased either.)

Bake at 375 8 to 10 minutes for chewy cookies (they will look light and moist) DO NOT OVERBAKE or 11 to 13 minutes for crisp cookies.

Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes.

Remove to cooling rack. 3 dozen 3-inch cookies. Note: if nuts are omitted, use 1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Voila! Delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies!

*I did make two substitutions this time, besides the homemade vanilla. I used milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet and dark brown sugar instead of light because that's what I had in my pantry and they turned out even better than usual!