Quintessentially Quilly

This Christmas party is over.  It was a total success.  We had between 50 & 60 people visit our open house.  I feared we’d have too much food but the left overs were minimal.  Even the cookies guests brought with them as Christmas offers pretty well got mowed down.

Speaking of mowing sown Christmas cookies, I baked some dark chocolate-pecan cookies that were a major hit.  All my guests were counting the calories in each bite even while making certain they didn’t drop a single crumb!  I got the recipe from the Ghirardelli package:

Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

• 11 1/2 ounce(s) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup(s) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup(s) sugar
• 3/4 cup(s) brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoon(s) vanilla
• 2 1/4 cup(s) unsifted flour
• 1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1 cup(s) walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

Directions
Heat oven to 375ºF.

Stir flour with baking soda and salt; set aside. In large mixing bowl, beat butter with sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy and lightened in color. Add eggs and vanilla, one at a time. Mix on low speed until incorporated. Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.

Note: The 11 1/2 ounces of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips can should be substituted with any variety of chip flavor (i.e.- Milk Chocolate Chips, 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips, etc.)