tradition

I'm a huge fan of traditions. One of my favorite from my childhood is my mom making cookies on the first day of school. Every year I'd look forward to walking through the door on an Autumn afternoon being enticed by the smell of goodness coming from the oven. Well, now that I officially have a small family of my own (a.k.a Robby), I wanted to make sure that I didn't neglect this nostalgic tradition. Robby prefers dough, so on his first day of school, he came to good ole' fashioned chocolate chip cookie dough.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) chocolate chips
  
• 1 cup chopped nuts
  
  PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
  
  COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
  
  BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
  

* recipe courtesy Nestle (haven't found a better one yet)