The story for the recipe is very short. I was bored and asked people for ideas for cookie pairings, pecan pie was suggested, and so here we are.
Revamped for 2022!
Makes 16
Hands-on Time 30 minutes plus chilling (overnight)
Cooking Time 10 minutes
Baking Time 15 minutes
Ingredients
250g Pecans
325g Caster sugar
150g Golden syrup
30ml Water
3 tsp Vanilla extract
1 1/8 tsp Fine salt
4 Eggs, large
100g Unsalted butter (chilled) & 250g (softened)
200g Light brown sugar
400g Plain flour
1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
Equipment
Chopping board
Knife
Saucepan
Spatula
Baking parchment
Freestanding mixer with paddle
Baking sheet (ideally aluminium)
Wire rack
Chop the pecans into small pieces. Set 100 grams aside.
Add 150 grams of caster sugar, the golden syrup, the water, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, and 2 eggs to a saucepan and stir until combined.
Cube the 100 grams of chilled butter and set aside.
Put the pan over a medium heat and stir using a spatula until bubbling. Reduce the heat to low and leave for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly until it resembles a thick paste.
Take the pan off the heat and add the cubed butter. Stir until melted and combined.
Finally add 150 grams of chopped pecans and stir one last time.
Tip the pecan paste onto a piece of parchment and spread it out a bit lengthways. It may be a little glossy from the butter, this is fine. When the paste is cool enough to handle, roll it up in the parchment like a sausage. Set the wrapped paste aside to cool to room temp. You can transfer it into the fridge but it will harden the filling a little if left in there too long.
Add 250 grams of softened butter, 175 grams of caster sugar, and the light brown sugar to the bowl of the mixer and beat on a medium-high speed for 5 minutes until you have a very light and fluffy mixture.
Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla and 2 eggs and beat for a couple of seconds until combined.
Add the flour, bicarb, and 1 teaspoon of salt, and again beat for a couple of seconds until combined. Scrape the sides down using a clean spatula to make sure everything is incorporated.
Finally add the remaining 100 grams of chopped pecans and mix one last time. You shouldn’t need to run the mixer for more than 10 seconds. The key thing is not to over-mix.
Lay a piece of parchment onto the worktop.
Tip the cookie dough out onto the parchment and shape into a sausage.
Roll the dough up in the parchment.
Pop the dough into the fridge for at least an hour to firm up the dough. It is possible to do this in the freezer to speed things up but don’t forget about the dough!
Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Slice the pecan pie filling into 16 discs and the cookie dough into 32 discs.
Take one round of cookie dough. Flatten it in the palm of your hand and put it down.
Take another piece of cookie dough and also flatten it but this time keep it in the cup of your hand.
Place a piece of filling into the dough in your hand and press the dough up around the sides. Take the other flattened piece of dough and place it on top. Press it down around the sides so it meets the other piece of dough. Press the edges of the dough together to envelope the filling. Roll the dough a little in your had to make it rounder.
Put the dough ball onto the lined sheet.
Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough and filling.
Pop the sheet in the fridge to chill overnight.
Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C (Fan)/325°F/Gas mark 3.
Slide the baking sheet out of the fridge and leave the dough balls on the shelf.
Once the oven has warmed up line the baking sheet with another piece of parchment.
Place approx 6/8 balls spaced about 10cm apart from each other onto the baking parchment.
Pop the tray into the oven on a middle shelf for 15 minutes.
When the time is up remove the tray from the oven. Slide the parchment carefully, with the cookies, onto the worktop. Re-line with more paper and bake your next batch.
After the cookies have rested for a couple of minutes they should be firm enough for you to transfer onto a wire rack to fully cool. Don’t forget they will get firmer as they cool, as tempting as it is to immediately eat them straight from the oven. Like some things in life, patience pays off.
Enjoy!