CHOCOLATE COCONUT AND PECAN COOKIES
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cool, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 11/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 3/4 cup chopped pecan pieces
Instructions:
These classic “sandy” cookies are crisp, chewy, and full of chocolate flavor. It doesn’t get much easier—or better— than this. You don’t have to toast the pecans (they’ll toast right in the cookie as they bake), and you don’t have to do anything fancy to the dough.
- Position the racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven; preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats; set aside. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl until well combined; set aside as well.
- Place the chopped chocolate in the top half of a double boiler set over about 1 inch of simmering water, or in a medium bowl that fits tightly over a medium saucepan with about the same amount of simmering water. Stir until half the chocolate has melted, then remove the double boiler’s top half or the bowl from the heat and continue stirring until all the chocolate has melted. Cool for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, soften the butter in a large bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy but still somewhat grainy, about 1 more minute. Beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure each is thoroughly incorporated before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla extract, then the cooled, melted chocolate until it looks smooth (if you rub it between your fingers, you may still feel grains of sugar). Turn off the beaters, add the prepared flour mixture, then beat at a very low speed until a soft, pliable dough forms.
- Let the mixer beat in the coconut and pecans at a very low speed, just until evenly distributed.
- Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the drops about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 7 minutes, then reverse the sheets top to bottom and back to front. Continue baking for about 6 more minutes, or until the cookies are bumpy, rounded, and still a little soft to the touch. Cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Cool the baking sheets for 5 minutes before baking additional batches.