"Bake the world a better place."

I absolutely love baking, and lucky for me my entire family loves it when I do! My go to baked goods are chocolate chip pecan cookies, and fudge brownies with nuts or chocolate chips in them! I love hopping in the kitchen with my KitchenAid Stand Mixer , and watching my Real Housewives on Bravo!, while G does his famous quality control taste testing on the treats, ha :)

Below are my recipes for both items, and with the holidays coming up I'm making both of these goodies - otherwise I'm sure my family would disown me!

Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

First, mix the following ingredients together for about 30-45 seconds:

• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 sticks of softened butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla

Then gradually mix in the following items into the mixture above for about 2 minutes:

• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Finally, my favorite part, adding in the chocolate chips and chopped pecans!

• 6 ounces of dark chocolate chips
• 6 ounces of pecans

Then roll each cookie, place then on baking sheet with parchment paper, heat the oven to 375 degrees, and bake for about 10-12 minutes. 

* Pro tip, add a dash of cinnamon to the cookies, or add a extra handful of pecans!

Fudge Brownies

First melt the following ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup of butter
• 4 squares of unsweetened chocolate 

Then mix the following items for about 2 minutes:

• 1/2 cup of butter
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 3 eggs (blend in each egg, one at a time)

Next, add the cooled chocolate to the previous mixture with 1 cup of all-purpose flour and mix for about 30 seconds. Throw in pecans or chocolate chips into the better, about 1 cup each.

Bake brownies for about 40-45 minutes, at 350 degrees. 

* Pro tip, I use a glass pan, and use parchment paper in the pan to get those goodies out of the pan easy and with no mess. Also, when cutting the brownies in those perfect squares, once they cool, use a plastic knife! The metal knife often times break the brownies, causing them to stick to the knife.

What are some of your favorite goodies to eat or bake? Enjoy!

XO, Analise