Happy Halloween!

My coworkers and I enjoyed a fun night of 'Hallo-Scream' Bunco this week!
I was Paula Deen, but a few folks thought I was Martha, until I said 'Hey Y'all!'

I hope everyone has a Happy Halloween!
Also, we're hoping that Flordia takes down Georgia once again in Jacksonville. GO GATORS!

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!

The Help

I am totally hooked on this book! If you haven't heard about it, you should definitely check it out. It's about 'the help' in Mississippi in the 1960's and how they get along with the white folks that they work for. It is a really great read and I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Sick Day

I stayed home from work today because I have the crud. My scratchy throat from the end of last week has turned into a super froggy throat and my nose has joined the 'sick club' as well. No fun for me. At least I have my humidifier and lots of kool-aid (a sick day staple at my house) to keep me company! If I had any extra energy, I would get started on my Christmas baking and crafts plan for the holidays this year. I can't believe November is right around the corner. I have lots of great ideas that I can't wait to try this year!

And since it's such a cold and wet day outside I decided to put some spicy chili on the Crock Pot so that we could at least have a warm and yummy supper tonight.

Photo Credit

Fall Color

It's starting to look like fall in Georgia!We got to see this beautiful fall color this weekend at the lake. We had a great campsite right on the water and the weather was gorgeous!

Homemade Vanilla

I made my first batch of baked goods with Andy's delicious homemade vanilla this weekend. I'll have a full post later on this week, but for now, here's a sneak peek at the yummy vanilla.If I had known it would have turned out so good, we would have had homemade vanilla a long time ago. Thanks again, Andy!

Hurry Up Christmas!

Fall has been fantastic this year and with all the upcoming holidays I can hardly think of anything but...
sparkly Christmas ornaments...and presents under the tree!I've begun my Christmas shopping and this week should be able to get started on Christmas crafts and my master plan for Christmas baking. Thankfully, October is nearly over (where did it go so quickly?) and I've got Fakesgiving, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's to look forward to. It's going to be fabulous!