$1,000 Chocolate Toffee Pecan Cookies

Okay, so here's the deal with these cookies.

On Friday, it occured to me that Sunday would be 10-10-10. This made me notably happy. Back in August, I was also tickled about 8-9-10, (though not as tickled as I would have been had I been alive on 5-6-78). 

I think I've always felt this way about numbers. In the good old days of elementary school summer vacation, Beck and I used to call our friend M at 11:11am. We would just say "It's 11:11!", giggle, and hang up. The three of us also used to put on American Girl plays and fight over who got to be the one who died of cholera. I suppose we were slightly strange children.

To celebrate the perfection of 10-10-10, I wanted to bake a special treat. When I couldn't think of any baked goods with "10" in the title, I set out to find something based on 10x10x10, and happened upon this $1,000 award-winning recipe.

 

Folks, I can see why The Cowboy's Wife got a chunk of change for this creation. These cookies are GOOD.

In keeping with the 10-10-10 spirit, here are the Top Ten ways to describe these cookies' deliciousness:

10. These cookies are so good that after I tasted the first bite, I had to immediately pack up the rest to give away; the temptation to eat them all would have been too much.

9. These cookies are so good that after that first taste, I also texted Becky and described them using a swear word, and if you know me, you know that saying even H-E-double hockey sticks is rare.

8. These cookies are so good that if they were competing in the Olympics in the sport of yumminess, they would get 10s from all the judges, set a world record, and get the gold medal.

7. These cookies are so good that if they were elementary school students, they would get all 10s on their report cards (and 5 is usually the highest you can get).

6.  These cookies are so good that if they were competing to be the dying character in an American Girl skit, their fellow budding actors would let them have the coveted role.

5.  These cookies are so good that if I owned a bakery, I'd sell these for at least $2.50 a piece.

4.  These cookies are so good that I might need to churn some homemade ice cream so I can make ice cream sandwiches with the leftover cookies.

3.  Never mind about #4.  These cookies are so good that there won't be any leftovers.

2.  These cookies are so good that if I had a time machine, I'd set the dial to 10-9-10, just so I could make and taste these cookies for the first time all over again.

1.  These cookies are so good that I might just make them again for 1-11-11.

Have I convinced you how much I like these cookies yet? 

It makes sense that I would like these - the recipe is similar to Friend E's chocolate chip cookies, but instead of walnuts, these use pecans; instead of milk chocolate chips, milk-chocolate toffee bits.

One thing to note: these are large cookies. Resist the urge to make them smaller; the texture won't be nearly the same if you try to shrink the cookies. Plus, who really wants to shrink cookies?!

Happy 10-10-10, everybody. I hope you find your own creative way to celebrate!

- Katie

 

$1,000 Chocolate Toffee Pecan Cookies

Adapted from My Wooden Spoon

Makes 12 large cookies

(Okay, maybe 13 if you don’t eat any dough, but come on, let’s be realistic)

• 2 c plus 2 tbsp flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 12 tbsp butter, melted (1½ sticks)
• 1 c light brown sugar
• ½ c sugar
• 1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips (half of 12 oz bag)
• 4 ounces English toffee bits (half of 8 oz bag)
• 3/4 c chopped pecans, very finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In small bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. In medium mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until well blended. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix until blended. Batter will appear slightly greasy.

4.  With mixer on low speed, blend in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips, pecans, and toffee pieces. Chill dough for at least 45 minutes (longer if you're making a double batch).

5. Using a ¼ cup capacity measuring cup or ice cream scoop, drop dough onto cookie sheets 3 inches apart. (You should get no more than 3-4 cookies per sheet depending on the size of your cookie sheets). Bake for 17-20 minutes or until edges begin to brown. 

6. Allow to cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.