Maybe it’s just me, but I think butter pecan is an underrated ice cream flavor. Quite often overlooked and running with the “boring” pistachio and rum raisin ice cream crowd. For the record, I love all three of these ice cream flavors! And that’s exactly why I made today’s cookie recipe. They’re salty, they’re sweet, and they’re rich with butter flavor. If it’s not their chewy edges, soft centers, and buttery flavor– it’s the toasted pecans that make these cookies so incredible. The toasty, nutty flavor of these pecans is crucial to their flavor. If you’ve never toasted nuts before adding them to a recipe, you are missing out. The flavor is 84573849% better. I actually did the calculation yesterday; it’s really that much better. Butter is where most cookie recipes begin. It has several jobs, including keeping the cookies tender and also imparting flavor. As today’s butter pecan cookies bake, the milk proteins inside of the butter begin to brown– giving these cookies a nutty flavor. Which is intensified with the toasted pecans. A win win butter pecan situation.
Not only this, how butter is mixed into cookie dough affects a cookie’s texture. In my favorite chocolate chip cookies recipe, I use melted butter. Melted butter provides a denser, chewier texture. But with today’s cookies, I chose to cream the butter and sugars together. During this creaming process, air is incorporated into the dough which, in turn, helps leaven the cookies as they bake. The cookies rise up, the centers stay soft, and the edges slightly crisp and become chewy. This cookie dough is supremely soft and a little sticky. And you know what’s best for soft, sticky cookie dough? Chilling it in the refrigerator before baking. Chill this dough for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling allows the cookie dough to thicken and the brown sugar, butter, and toasted pecan flavor to enhance.
INGREDIENTS :
– Pecans: 3/4 cup (chopped)
– Unsalted butter, room temperature: 1/2 cup (1 stick, 112 g)
– Sugar: 1/3 cup (70 g)
– Vanilla extract: 1 teaspoon
– Salt: 1/8 teaspoon
– All-purpose flour: 1 cup (140 g)
METHOD OF WORK :
STEP 1 :
For cookie dough, use an electric mixer to beat the butter for about 60 seconds. Then you’ll want to add 1/3 cup of sugar beating until light, it takes around 60 seconds more. Alright, beat in together vanilla, salt, and flour, scraping down sides of bowl, until dough comes together and immediately fold in pecans.
STEP 2 :
Make sure to roll into balls, separating dough into 12 pieces. Not to forget, squeeze dough to shape into balls. And please place, 3 inches apart, on a baking sheet.
STEP 3 :
Okay now, gently flatten with the bottom of a glass (if necessary, you may reshape sides).
STEP 4 :
For this part, I always bake at 350°F (175°C) for quarter an hour, rotating sheet halfway through, until golden brown. After that, I cool cookies on a wire rack.