Butter Pecan Cookies with a Soft Middle

Butter Pecan Cookies with a Soft Middle keeps the shopping list focused on chopped pecans 130g, butter 32g, and salt. It serves 12 Cookies.

Count on 15 minutes of prep, 19 minutes of cooking, 2 hours of resting, about 2 hours from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

• 1 cup chopped pecans 130g
• 2½ tablespoons butter 32g
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1¼ cups dark brown sugar 282g
• ½ cup unsalted butter 113g, softened
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour 217g
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• Maldon flaked sea salt or Fleur de sel for topping

How the cooking goes

1. Warm 2½ tablespoons butter with ½ teaspoon salt in a wide pan over a moderate flame. Add the chopped pecans and stir to coat. Toast, stirring often, until the butter browns and the pecans smell aromatic. Move it onto a sheet pan lined with parchment and cool until it is no longer warm.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and kosher salt in a medium mixing bowl. Keep it to one side.
3. In the bowl of a electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and dark brown sugar on medium speed until a paste forms.
4. Put the egg and vanilla extract and beat well to combine.
5. Reduce speed to low then add the dry ingredients in three additions, mixing until almost fully incorporated before adding the next. Add the cooled buttered pecans with the final addition, reserving about 2 tablespoons for topping.
6. Portion the dough into balls of approximately ¼ cup each. Press reserved pecans into the tops and sprinkle with fleur de sel. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
7. Warm the oven to 325°F convection or 350°F conventional. Place dough balls 2 inches apart on sheet pan lined with parchments.
8. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until the edges are deep gold and the tops look matte rather than shiny. Cool completely on the pan or a wire rack.

After it comes off the heat

Cool the sheet on a rack before the pieces are stacked. A covered tin keeps them for a few days.

If you want another plate from Cookies, open Butterscotch Chews after Supper and Amaretti Cookies with a Soft Middle.