Carrie Barrett (America's Test
Kitchen 2006) - We like these cookies made with pecans and dried sour cherries,
but walnuts or skinned hazelnuts, and dried cranberries may be substituted.
Quick oats used in place of old-fashioned oats will yield a cookie with
slightly less chewiness. If you're baking sheets are smaller than the ones
described in the recipe, bake the cookies in three batches instead of two.
These cookies keep for 4 to 5 days stored in an airtight container or Ziploc
plastic bags, but will lose their crisp exterior and become uniformly chewy
after a day or so. Too re-crisp the
cookies, place them on a baking sheet into a 425° oven for 4 to 5 minutes. Make
sure to let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before
removing them, and eat them while they're warm. Makes 16 - 4 inch cookies.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (6 1/4 ounce)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
- 1 cup dried sour cherries, chopped coarse
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks about the size and chocolate chips (about 3/4 cup)
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
- 1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) packed brown sugar, preferably dark
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
- Adjust the oven racks to the upper and lower middle positions; heat the oven to 350°. Line two large 18" x 12" baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Wisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a second medium bowl, stir together the oats, pecans, cherries, and chocolate.
- In a standing mixer, beat the butter and the sugar at medium speed until no sugar lumps remain, about one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula; add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium low speed until fluffy and incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl; with the mixer running at low speed, add the flour mixture; mix until just combined, about 30 seconds. With the mixer still running on low, gradually add the oat nut mixture; mix until just incorporated. Give the dough a final stir with a rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain in the ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Divide the dough evenly into 16 portions, each about 1/4 cup, then roll between your palms into balls about 2 inches in diameter; stagger eight balls on each baking sheet, spacing them about 2 1/2" apart. Using your hands, gently pressed each dough ball to 1" thickness. Bake the cookies 12 minutes, rotate the sheets front to back and top to bottom, and then continue to bake until the cookies are medium brown and the edges have begun to set but the centers are still soft (the cookies will seem underdone and will appear raw, wet, and shiny in the cracks), 8 to 10 minutes longer. Do not over bake.
- Cool cookies on the baking sheets on a wire rack five minutes; using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to the wire rack and cool to room temperature.
Side note:
toast nuts in a 350° oven for 6 to 8 minutes
to maximize their flavor. Irregular,
hand chopped chocolate chunks are better than chips.
