Name: Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 16 to 18 large cookies

Elizabeth Poett is passionate about preserving and maintaining her family’s ranch while growing healthy, fresh foods to share with loved ones.


Elizabeth Poett

There are a million ways to make a chocolate chip cookie. My grandfather used to sprinkle a pinch of salt on top of each one, and it’s my favorite way to make them too. This recipe is my preferred combination of sweet and salty, chocolatey and chewy. I usually bake half of the cookie dough and freeze the other half; that way I can bake them just when I need to and serve them warm.

Elizabeth Poett's Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

Meet The Creator

As much as I enjoy doing my own thing in the kitchen, I love when the kids are happy to jump in and help me make a meal. In this episode, I have a couple of

Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines: Episode 4

When we were dating, Chip would often say that there are about five foods that he really, really loves, and one of them is scalloped potatoes. The sliced potatoes make this a pretty dish, and the cream and cheese mixture tastes like heaven. When we serve steak for dinner and I don’t have much time for sides, I’ll make mashed potatoes, but anytime I have a few extra minutes, I like to make this one especially for Chip.

Scalloped Potatoes

Roasted mushrooms are one of my favorite dishes to make when hosting friends for dinner because it's so easy to throw them on a sheet pan and let the oven do the work. You can really build on the richness of the mushrooms by pairing it with a simple vinaigrette. As with the Honey Mustard-Glazed Pork Tenderloin, this was inspired by a dish in The Fresh Honey Cookbook by one of my dear late friends, Laurey Masterton. Laurey was wildly passionate about a lot of things, and one of those was bees and honey. It was an honor to be able to recreate some of Laurey's dishes for a dinner on From the Source, incorporating a few of my own touches along the way.

Katie Button's Roasted Mushrooms with Honey Vinaigrette

Roasted Mushrooms with Honey Vinaigrette

These sweet cookies, made with ricotta, are a treat that my mother used to make when I was little. The cheese gives them a wonderful, tender texture that is a hit with everyone from my kids to the local cowboys. I top these cookies with a light, creamy frosting that makes them extra sweet.

Ricotta Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

We all have those meals that remind us of our favorite time of year. Friendsgiving Casserole is just that for me. It’s a dish I started making when a group of

Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines: Episode 2

I often make these hearty, flavorful sandwiches when friends and family come to help out on the ranch. I can prepare most of this meal ahead of time—the meat and coleslaw can be made the day before I need to serve them (see Cook’s Note)—and the sandwiches are big and meaty enough to fill everyone up on a day full of hard work. (They’re also a favorite of Austin’s, because he loves sandwiches so much that he thinks of them as his favorite food group.) This recipe feeds six, but I usually double it to serve a crowd.

Pulled Brisket Sandwiches with Coleslaw

"When hush puppies are cut too large, they tend to end up with what my kids call "mushy middles." I prefer to cut them on the smaller side, so they'll keep a firm consistency all the way through. Hush puppies are delicious on their own, but I can't imagine serving fried fish without them. On those occasions, I'll have a plate prepped and ready to fry right before dinnertime so I can serve them my favorite way—piping hot." – Joanna Gaines, Magnolia Table, Volume 3

Joanna Gaines' Hush Puppies with Homemade Tartar Sauce

Hush Puppies with Homemade Tartar Sauce

Chicken Marsala is one of my dad’s favorite dishes. I learned to make this recipe by cooking it for him over time. This recipe has a really delicious balance of Marsala, mushrooms, garlic, and lemon. It’s an easy stovetop meal that can be made quickly, but is satisfying and rich in flavor.

Chicken Marsala

Friendsgiving Casserole is one of my kid’s favorite dishes and a go-to of mine when I want to take dinner to a new mother or a family who could use a hot meal—mostly because it’s easy to love, even for the pickiest eaters.

Friendsgiving Casserole Recipe

Making a pan of focaccia is one of quickest ways there is to get fresh bread on the table. And with a little creativity, your loaf can also be pretty enough to serve as a centerpiece. Once my dough has risen, and I’ve rolled it out and patted it out into a pan, I use edible flowers, vegetables, and herbs to make a kind of nature-inspired mosaic on the surface that bakes into a beautiful, flavorful topping.

Herb Focaccia with Edible Flowers

"An easy way to gather vegetables for this recipe is to keep a baggie in the freezer and whenever you have leftover vegetables you can just toss them in. That way, as soon as you cook a recipe that leaves you with chicken bones, you have what you need to make the stock—you can just put it all in a large pot on the stove and let it simmer. I always try to make as much of this stock as possible so that I can freeze at least half the batch. There is satisfaction in using every last bit of food you can, and knowing that nothing is going to waste." – Joanna Gaines, Magnolia Table, Volume 3

Homemade Chicken Stock

In busy seasons, one thing that I always look forward to is a slow Sunday at home with my family. For us, that can look like spending some time in the garden,

Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines: Season 3, Episode 1

While some evenings call for dishes that are quick and easy, on nights when I have a little extra time, this is the type of meal I can’t wait to get into the

Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines: Season 2, Episode 2

I love peaches! My godmother came for a visit on the ranch recently and reminded me about this classic dish. It is such a simple and wonderful way to enjoy summer fruit when it is abundant and at peak flavor. One of my favorite things about making a buckle is the way the batter buckles over and around the fruit as it bakes, making the most scrumptious, chewy, buttery top layer.

Elizabeth Poett's Peach Buckle with Homemade Caramel Sauce and Whipped Cream

Peach Buckle with Homemade Caramel Sauce and Whipped Cream

"A dish that looks fancy but is secretly simple will always have a place on my table. Wedge salads in general are great at pulling this off—and fortunately, everyone in our family enjoys them. I like to slice the iceberg wedges beforehand, then serve the toppings family-style so everyone can tailor their own. The kids and I like to dress our salad with ranch, but Chip always prefers blue cheese. Since this is one of Chip's favorite salads, that classic take is what I've shared here." – Joanna Gaines, Magnolia Table, Volume 3

Joanna Gaines' Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

My mother and I love making these empanadas together! We make a lot of different kinds of empanadas, but this sweet dessert is the perfect way to celebrate the apple season. The pastry is crunchy and flaky, the cinnamon sugar adds wonderful texture, and the frying process makes them absolutely decadent. People think they are a fancy food, but they are easy to make ahead, freeze, and then fry the day of a party. I like to serve them with small jars full of the bourbon whipped cream for dipping.

Elizabeth Poett's Apple Empanadas with Bourbon Whipped Cream

Apple Empanadas with Bourbon Whipped Cream

We serve this burger at Magnolia Table, and I have to confess that it’s one of my favorite things on the menu. My boys love burgers of just about any kind, so I could probably get away with serving something a little plainer to them (and, of course, you can leave any part of this out if you have picky eaters—or let everyone pick their own toppings). I just love how a grilled buttered brioche bun holds a savory burger, sweet drip jam, creamy melted cheese, and peppery fresh arugula, so that every single bite is an amazing combination of flavors and textures.

Gaines Brother Burgers with Drip Jam

Everyone needs a perfect burger recipe, and this is my go-to. The fresh honey buns are soft, delicious, and simple to make. The Worcestershire sauce and fresh garlic add just the right combination of sweetness and flavor to the ground chuck. I like to offer a wide variety of toppings on burger night so each person can assemble their own favorite burger.

Elizabeth Poett's Ranch Burger on a Honey Bun

Ranch Burgers on Honey Buns

These are, hands down, my kids’ favorite breakfast. Who am I kidding? They’re my favorite, too, especially when served alongside eggs—I can’t get enough of that combination of sweet and salty. These are definitely a labor of love, but honestly I think we all enjoy preparing them almost as much as we like to eat them. I’m in my happy place anytime I get to work with dough. Mixing the ingredients together into a cohesive whole, draping a towel over the bowl and letting the dough rise, punching it down, and then rolling, filling, and shaping it—the ritual of every step brings me pure joy. Whenever I bust out the ingredients for these squares, the kids know it’s a good day. I make these a lot during school holidays when there’s time in the morning for them to help. Duke and Emmie stand at attention with the measured ingredients waiting for the sign from me that they can dump them into the bowl, and then the older two help me roll out the dough and compose each layer. Drake loves that he’s finally allowed to use a big knife to cut the squares before they’re baked, and then he and Ella apply the egg wash to the tops of them. The kids understand that the bit of extra effort required for these squares makes them something really special.



I think it probably helps that these squares are the best iteration of a cinnamon roll that any of us has ever tasted. It can be hard to get a good balance with cinnamon rolls—they either have too much bread or too much cinnamon. The way I make these, rolling and folding them repeatedly so that the filling is between several thin layers of dough, results in a square that has a perfect amount of both bread and cinnamon, so every bite is balanced.

Cinnamon Squares

Do you like happiness? If you don’t, then this recipe isn’t for you. But if you do, then let’s make my macaroni and cheese together. This is the dish that put me on the map. It’s the one everyone talks about and the one that every person who comes over for dinner begs me to make. And the beauty is, it’s so simple. You’ll have friends begging you for this recipe.