Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

A little over a week ago I got an email from my thesis supervisor saying I passed my dissertation, and with a very good grade as well! To celebrate this, I decided to bake some cookies (yes, that is celebrating for me), and guys – they might be the best cookies I have ever baked.

They’re based on the M&M cookies I did last year, but instead of M&M’s I used dark chocolate chips and pecans and they turned out delicious. I prepared the dough in the evening so that it cool chill over night, and then I baked the cookies the next morning. When they were done, me and one of my friends tried one pretty much straight away, having let them cool just enough so that we wouldn’t burn our mouths.

I couldn’t just eat one – I needed more of them straightaway. And that rarely happens with me and baked goodies. Needless to say, the cookies were gone within a day – but let’s make something clear here: I didn’t eat them all by myself (although that would’ve been fine too). I had some more friends over for dinner and they seemed to like them just as much as I did. This recipe is definitely a winner, and I suspect I will make these chocolate chip and pecan cookies quite a lot in the future!

You’ll need… (for 16 cookies)

• 125 g butter (softened)
• 160 g light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1½ teaspoon vanilla flavouring
• 225 g plain flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• pinch of salt
• 100 g chocolate chips
• 70 g pecans (roughly chopped)
• parchment paper
• baking tray
• and an oven of course! These cookies need to be baked at 180 °C (don’t forget to preheat your oven!)

So, let’s get baking!

1. Mix butter and sugar Put the softened butter and the light brown sugar in a bowl and mix them together until you’ve got a nice creamy consistency. Since it was late at night and I have neighbours, I used a wooden spoon, which worked perfectly for the entire recipe.

2. Add egg and vanilla flavouring Once the butter and sugar are nicely mixed together, add your egg and the 1½ teaspoon of vanilla flavouring to the mixture and mix together again.

3. Add flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt Time to add the dry ingredients. Firstly, sieve the flour above the bowl (preferably in parts) and mix it through, then add half a teaspoon of baking soda, one teaspoon of cornstarch and a pinch of salt and mix everything through. You’ll have a nice, solid dough by now.

4. Add the chocolate chips and chopped pecans These are what make these cookies possibly the best I ever made! Add the chocolate chips and chopped pecans to your dough and mix them through.

5. Let the dough rest in the fridge Now, this is going to take some time, because if you want the best flavours for your cookie, it’s best to let the dough rest for at least 5 hours (I made the dough in the evening and baked the cookies the next morning). I just put the entire ball of dough in the fridge in a bowl wrapped with cling film. However, that made it quite hard to separate little balls of dough the next day, so if you’ve got enough room in your fridge I recommend already forming little balls, putting them on a tray or a plate and then putting them in your fridge (covered with cling film of course).

6. Divide dough in balls over baking tray Line your baking tray with parchment paper, and then transfer the dough in little balls to the baking tray. Gently press them down a bit, so they are not entirely round. Leave enough room between the clumps of dough, because they will spread out quite a bit. I only put six clumps of dough on my baking tray at a time.

7. Bake! Put your baking tray into the oven and bake the cookies for 14-16 minutes at 180 °C. They’re done when they’re starting to turn golden brown around the edges. Take the tray out of the oven and let the cookies cool on the tray for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack (or a plate).

And there you have it! Your delicious chocolate chip and pecan cookies – enjoy!