Golden Pecan Crunchies
When you want to impress your family or guests, serve these golden cookie rounds loaded with pecans and topped with thick, sweet, chocolate icing. These cookies were one of my mother's Christmas specialties, but the recipe can be made throughout the year.
Prep dough: 1 hour Chill dough: 1 hour Bake: 10-12 minutes Bake at: 375° Spread icing: 30 minutes Makes: 30 cookies Pan: baking sheet
Difficulty: intermediate
Ingredients:
Cookie Dough:
2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
10 tablespoons softened butter, divided
1 3/4cups (372g) packed cups dark brown sugar, divided
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 large egg, unbeaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray
Chocolate Icing:1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (6-ounce package)1/2 cup sweetened condensed milkUp to 1/4 teaspoon milk for thinning, if needed
Directions:
Bowl #1: In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.
Bowl #2: Place 2 tablespoons of the softened butter, 1/2 cup (82g) of the dark brown sugar and chopped pecans in a small bowl. Stir or mash together between your fingers to combine.
Bowl #3: In a large bowl, use an electric mixer at medium speed to cream remaining 8 tablespoons (1 stick) softened butter until whipped, about 30 seconds. With mixer running, gradually add remaining 1 1/4 cups (205g) dark brown sugar and then beat for 2 minutes more. Turn off the mixer and add egg and vanilla. Turn on the mixer and blend.
By hand, stir the contents of bowl #1 into bowl #3. Next, barely stir the contents of bowl #2 into bowl #3. Do not overmix when you add bowl #2. Batter should look clumpy and separated, not blended. Cover and chill dough for 1 hour.
Pre-heat oven to 375°.
Prepare baking sheet with cooking spray. Shape into balls by rounded tablespoonfuls (#50 cookie scoop) , pressing dough firmly together. Press each ball flat with the palm of your hand. Place on baking sheet 2" apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Bake in 2 batches and do not stack baking sheets on racks in oven. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
To make chocolate icing: Place chocolate chips in a small, microwave-safe bowl. At 50% power, melt chips in 30 second intervals for 2-2 1/2 minutes. Stir after 1 minute and continue stirring at 30 second intervals until chips are hot and completely melted. Stir condensed milk into melted chips. Icing hardens quickly! Spoon hot icing onto cookies and spread fast, leaving a small margin around the edge. If icing becomes too stiff to spread, add a few drops of milk at a time and combine; do not add too much milk.
Store in an airtight container. To freeze, place cooled cookies in a tin, separating layers with wax paper, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Tips:
- The most important step in the recipe is adding bowl #2 to bowl #3. If you overmix, the cookies will spread on the baking sheet and not hold shape. You do not want lacy edges.
- For less sweet cookies, halve the amount of icing or omit.