Almost-But-Not-Quite Chocolate: Nibby Pecan Cookies

Alice Medrich's cookbook Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy includes a recipe for "Basic Butter Cookies" that you can make either as a slice-and-bake or as a roll-and-cut cookie. It serves as the base for her "Nibby Pecan Cookies," which have cacao nibs and chopped toasted pecans added. While I like the precision of a roll-and-cut cookie, I also appreciate the ease of a slice-and-bake, so I decided to go the slice-and-bake route. Either way, Medrich advises you to make the dough at least a day in advance of baking so that the cacao bean flavor can permeate the dough, and to bake the cookies at least a day before serving for even more flavor. I love a cookie that can be made in advance.

To make the dough, you beat softened butter with sugar, salt and vanilla until creamy; add an egg yolk (which is optional), along with cacao nibs and chopped toasted pecans; and mix in flour. I formed the dough into a log and chilled it for a day before slicing and baking the cookies.

The cookies were chock full of nibs and nuts and I really liked their speckled appearance. They were good -- buttery but tender, and I thought the pecans were much less prominent than than nibs, which had a super crunchy texture and a very strong flavor. While I like cacao nibs, I felt that they gave the cookie a flavor that was strongly suggestive of chocolate and yet not quite chocolate, which left me a bit unsatisfied. But I can't quibble with the strength of the underlying recipe, which is a fine cookie that can stand on its own or serve as a base for endless variations. 

 

Recipe: "Nibby Pecan Cookies" from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy by Alice Medrich.