Perfect Sunday

Warm chocolate chip cookies with vanilla seeds scraped from pods, chopped chocolate instead of chips, and bigger than average size ...

Fire in fireplace

Christmas tree still up, other holiday decorations back in attic

New puppy in C's lap, helping him read the NYTimes.

Sunday: keeper recipes

$$ cookies

(from Saveur magazine. I first made them Jan. 7, 2004.)

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix 1 2/3 C. flour, 3/4 t. soda, 3/4 t. fine sea salt. (This recipe calls for expensive ingredients. Sometimes I use "ordinary" salt, chocolate, & vanilla, but today was over-the-top.)

3. Split 2 vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape seeds into mixer bowl. (I've been saving these beans for months!)

4. Add 1/2 C. unsalted butter. Mix.

5. Add 1/2 C. firmly packed dark brown sugar, 1/4 C. plus 2 T. white sugar, 1 egg. Mix until creamy.

6. Gradually add flour mixture. Mix until combined.

7. Add 4 oz. nuts & 8 oz. chocolate. Toast the nuts first & chop them. I used pecans because I had toasted ones in the freezer already. I used 2 Lindt Intense Dark 70% cocoa bars (3.5 oz. each) & cheated with a handful of Ghirardelli semisweet chips. Milk chocolate is also delicious.

8. Chill 10 min. in refrigerator. (Seems pointless, huh? But it does get cold.)

9. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment. Use a little less than 1/4 C. of dough for each cookie. Flatten them to 1/4" thick, I make them one at a time so I can space them at least 1 1/2" apart. I've made them bite-sized too, but that's not spectacular.

10. Bake, only one sheet at a time. Original recipe says 7-10 min., but 13 min. was perfect for me. I like cookies on the crunchy side.

11. Cool on sheet 1 min., then transfer to rack.

I forgot to count them, but it made more than 12 (which is what you get if you use 1/4 C. of dough for each) & fewer than 20.