Looking for a change from the usual chocolate chip or peanut butter cookie? Young or old there is nothing like a sweet with a glass of milk or cup of tea. What a perfect way to finish of lunch or just enjoy a few minutes of down time.
These cookies smell fabulous, taste great and are quite simple to make. Came across this recipe in 'Big Fat Cookies' by Elinor Klivens.
You will need:
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
4 teaspoons finely grated orange zest (about 2 oranges)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift flour, cornstarch and salt into medium bowl. In large bowl using mixer on medium beat butter and sugar until smoothly blended. Scrape sides of bowl as needed during mixing. Mix in orange zest, vanilla and 1 1/2 cups of the pecans until blended. On low speed add the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated.
Using medium size ice cream scoop or tablespoon (or larger scoop if you want an extra-large cookie fix) scoop out portions of dough. Roll into balls and flatten with heel of hand until about 1/2 inch thick. Spinkle with remaining pecans (I just put all the pecans into the dough for ease and they turned out great!) and press gently into dough.
Bake one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm. It is difficult to tell when these are done as the colour change in the cookie is very subtle. They will take about 15-20 minutes. These cookies spread a lot and will be fairly thin when done.
For a fancier look dust with icing sugar when they cool. Enjoy.
