ULTRA-CRISPY, CHEWY WHITE CHOCOLATE CHUNK AND PECAN COOKIES

I found this recipe on the Lizzy Goes Dutch blog, where she gave it rave reviews as her adaptation of a Better Homes and Garden’s recipe.  It was simply titled "white chocolate chunk and pecan cookies."  I followed her recipe exactly, only adding some grated orange zest to pick up the flavor. 

The test batch turned out disappointingly soft, a texture I usually don’t appreciate.  That should have been no surprise, considering the amount of dark brown sugar used.  My first impulse, after tasting the soft cookies, was to throw out the remaining dough.  Then I remembered a similar incident about a year ago and remembered what I did then.

Cooling, then rebaking, produces ultra-crispy edges with chewy centers.  And the crispiness does not go away the next day, as it does in most recipes using large quantities of brown sugar, especially dark brown sugar.  But that’s not all – the extra baking caramelizes the ingredients, producing a caramel-butterscotch flavor that goes so well with white chocolate, pecans and orange flavors.   The cookies that I hated turned out to be phenomenal winners that I absolutely loved!

Ultra-Crispy, Chewy White Chocolate Chunk and Pecan Cookies Adapted from Lizzy Goes Dutch blog and Better Homes and Garden’s “New Cook Book” Rating:  10 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

INGREDIENTS: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 Tbsp. finely grated orange zest 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt or kosher salt 2 large eggs 2 tsp. vanilla extract (I used my homemade vanilla) 2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 3/4 tsp. baking soda 7 oz. chopped white chocolate 1-1/2 cups toasted chopped pecans Heat oven to 350F.  Using paddle attachment of a stand mixer, beat the butter for 30 seconds on medium to high speed.  Scrape sides of bowl.  Add sugars, zest and salt.  Beat till combined and scrape the bowl again.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Scrape bowl.  Sift flour and baking soda in small bowl.  Add gradually to butter-sugar mixture, mixing on low speed after each addition to combine.  Stir in chocolate and nuts.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight.  When ready to bake, take dough out 45 minutes before baking to soften.  Heat oven to 350F.  Line baking sheets with parchment.  Roll rounded tablespoon-sized drops of dough (about 2 Tbsp.) between palms to form round balls.  Space 2” apart on cookie sheets.  Bake 10 minutes, or till centers are underdone and edges are still soft.  Cool in pan 2 minutes, then transfer to rack to finish cooling.    When cool, place on pans and bake 10 more minutes, till edges are super crispy but centers are still soft.  Cool in pan 2 minutes.  Transfer to rack to finish cooling.  Yield:  25 (3”) cookies NOTE:  If you are a fan of soft cookies, then bake these for 11-13 minutes just once and skip the second baking.