just when you thought the kitchen aid was getting dusty - FEAR NOT! the chocolate chunk pecan cookies have made their debut…

At six in the morning, I woke, energized. I flounced about the apartment, cleaning, dusting, sorting through laundry, folding up my summer clothes pining for autumn (where all the leaves?! the leaves?! be gone this humid weather and famished mosquitoes making dinner out of my calves!) and felt sorry for my Kitchen Aid, which had gotten a bit dusty. As soon as the market opened, I rushed out for sacks of ingredients. Although I wanted to rock out with the bejeweled cranberry almond cinnamon tart, I drew comfort from my mainstay - cookies & loaves. This morning my kitchen was fragrant with chocolate chunk pecan cookies (crisp on the outside, soft on the inside) and my infamous chocolate chip pumpkin loaf. I have been warned that I dare not set foot into the office without baked goods. Okay! I said on Friday, waving my hands in defeat. Consider yourselves fed, folks.

Martha Stewart’s Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Felicia’s Pecan Touch

Makes About 3 Dozen
Ingredients: I use all local/organic ingredients because this is how I roll
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used unbleached all-purpose)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar (I used cane sugar)
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar (I used light brown sugar)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 large whole egg, plus 1 large egg white
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chunks (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 375F, with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the vanilla, whole egg, and egg white. Beat on low speed until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture in two batches; mix until just combined. Mix in chocolate chips and pecans. Note that even though the package of chopped pecans says “chopped,” I would give the nuts another rough chop so that they’re the same size as the chocolate chip morsels.

Shape 2 heaping tablespoons of dough at a time into balls and place about 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are golden brown, about 18 minutes. Transfer parchment and cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Tips:
1. It was essential that you not overmix the dough. Overmixing wheat creates gluten which makes cookies the texture of bread. Not yummy. Mix ingredients until just combined.
2. Forgot to leave your butter out overnight? No problema, foodies. Simply dice your butter into tablespoons and leave out on a plate for 45minutes. The butter will come to room temperature.
3. Want chewier cookies? Undercook the cookies and let them sit on a rack to settle. You’ll get crisper cookies by cooking it to the time the recipe allows or perhaps cooking a moment longer.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 20th, 2007 at 6:19 pm and is filed under foodie gal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.