Toasted Pecan, Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies
According to the Washington Post, (circa 2014, but how could I not quote this??) ‘The most popular snack around the world, when measured by the sheer number of people who eat it, is chocolate.’
Whenever I think of cookies, I think of a kind of ‘on the go eating and thinking food’, devoured only by those on very important missions. And while I am not thinking of life saving surgery or peace keeping, I am thinking of those supposably small insignificant tasks that we think so little about and just do, day in and day out. It might be picking up the kids from school, dropping off a library book or tetrising that last grocery item into the pantry. These tasks, like many others, described by some, as devastatingly mundane, are necessary and fill our lives as we rush from one destination to the next. (And although I am one of those very peculiar people who gets a kick out of folding a tea towel into a perfect rectangle,) as you bite into the chewy and nutty crunch of this very jumbo cookie, in between folding yet another basket of washing, ……. I say to you, every moment is fleeting, and very much in the same context of ‘just eat the damn cookie’, don’t be afraid to fall in love with the simple things. Because we only get a limited amount of seconds in this thing, called life.
Like many other sweets, I just cannot imagine eating one of these from a plate, at a table or even with a cup of tea. You can very much treat these as a kind of on the go fueled enabler, giving you the motivation and incentive to just, Get. Things. Done.
And P.s, no judgement if you are doing absolutely zip when eating these cookies. That’s your jam.
Makes - 16 jumbo cookies
Ingredients
150g pecans
4g salt flakes
300g plain flour
6g bi-carb soda
540g Milk chocolate
210g unsalted butter (room temp)
75g brown sugar
215g caster sugar
100g free range egg (approx 2)
4g vanilla extract
Method
Take out a large chopping board and chop pecans into desired size. I like to do a mix of finely chopped and small chunks to make for the best texture throughout the cookie.
Place a medium sized frying pan over low heat and add the chopped pecans. Stay at the stove, stirring the pecans occasionally. If not watched, nuts can very easily burn. The pecans are done when they appear slightly darker in colour and a nutty, almost popcorny aroma fills your kitchen. Empty pecans into a bowl and set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 180C. Line four oven trays with silicone sheets or baking paper. Set aside.
Place salt flakes onto a small plate and crush very lightly with the back of a spoon. Set aside.
Sift together plain flour and bi-carb soda in a medium bowl. Add in salt flakes and mix thoroughly to combine. This is a very important step as you will want the salt to be evenly distributed in the cookie dough. Set aside.
Place 16 squares of milk chocolate onto your cutting board and chop each piece into quarters. Set aside in a separate bowl to use later.
Take remaining milk chocolate and chop roughly into generous sized chunks, again approximately each square into quarters or thereabouts. Ultimately you’ll want a really nice chunky rubble texture. Set aside.
Cream butter, brown sugar and caster sugar together with a beater attachment. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl down in between each egg. Add in the vanilla extract and mix to combine.
Add in half the flour mix and beat on a low speed til combined. Add in remaining flour mix and once again combine. Scrape down the bowl and mix for a few more seconds or until all flour has been absorbed.
Pour in your milk chocolate rubble and toasted pecans. (Making sure to keep your 16 cut pieces aside for later). Combine together on a low speed. Use the scraper to get right down to the bottom of the bowl and then mix again to combine. This is a very sturdy cookie mix so if your mixer is jumping around a bit, you can certainly do this last step by hand.
Take a golf ball size scoop of mix and mould into a rough ball about 7cm thick. You should be able to fit 4 cookies per tray. Press cookie dough down slightly with your fingers.
To make sure you are getting that really ‘chunky cookie look’, you’ll want to decorate the cookies with the remaining milk chocolate chunks prepared earlier. Add approximately four chunks randomly onto each cookie.
Bake cookies for 15 minutes, making sure to rotate and turn your trays half way to allow for an even bake. Your cookies should be golden all over but slightly darker around the edges and slightly lighter in the centre. This will ensure the cookies will be lovely and chewy in the centre and light and crunchy on the outside.
Storage
Store at room temperature in an airtight container. They should stay fresh for 5-6 days.
The essentials
Recipe inspiration sourced from
Foraging for Flour - Salted Caramilk Cookies
