Cocoa Nib Pecan Cookies

Do you know what cocoa nibs are? If you do, I hope you've found a lot of good ways to use them and will discover another below. If you don't, let me explain: simply put, cocoa nibs are pieces of cocoa bean. Eating them is pretty much like eating a nut made out of unsweetened chocolate. They can be used in salads, sauces, and baking. You can find them at Whole Foods or other specialty stores.

This recipe pairs them with toasted pecans in a shortbread cookie. It's super yummy! I prefer them plain, while my husband loves them dipped in dark chocolate.

If you're looking for a last-minute recipe for a dinner party or something, don't pick this one! You toast the pecans and let them cool before you make the dough. And because the flavor of the cocoa beans develops and infuses the cookies over time, it is strongly recommended that you make the dough a day before baking, and bake the cookies at least 24 hours before serving them (longer is even better). That may seem like a lot of planning for cookies, but they're worth it! (It's also possible to freeze the dough - or the cookies - if you want to be able to have some on hand more quickly.)

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Two options are included for baking these: “slice and bake” or “roll and cut”. The first option is much easier and less time consuming, but the cookies will be less uniform in shape. The second option allows you to cut the dough into shapes (hearts, flowers, etc.) if desired.

Cocoa Nib Pecan Cookies (from Bittersweet, by Alice Medrich)

(makes about 4 dozen two-inch cookies)

1 c (3.5 oz) pecan halves

½ lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened

¾ c sugar

¼ t salt

1½ t pure vanilla extract

1/3 c cocoa nibs

2 c all purpose flour

Toast the Pecans:

Preheat the oven to 325°. Spread the pecans on a cookie sheet.

 Toast them in the oven for 7 to 8 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly colored. Let cool completely, then chop coarsely.

Make the dough:

Assemble the ingredients.

Combine the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a medium bowl and beat until smooth and creamy but not fluffy (about one minute with a mixer).

Stir or beat in the pecans and cocoa nibs.

Add all the flour at once. Beat on low speed just until the flour is fully incorporated. One of the best tricks I learned about baking is a way to prevent flour from flying all over the kitchen when I turn my mixer on. Even when the mixer's on its lowest setting, I still used to get clouds everywhere. Not anymore! I simply place a kitchen towel over the whole mixer and hold it down around the bowl as the mixer goes. After about the first 20 seconds the flour is usually incorporated enough to not be flying around anymore - and one towel is a lot easier to clean up than the whole kitchen!

Mix until your dough looks like lots of small crumbs. (Don't worry, those crumbs will come together in a cohesive dough once you start shaping it!)

For slice and bake cookies: Form the dough into a 12” log, about 2” thick.

For roll and cut cookies: Divide the dough in half and form into two flat patties.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. (Or freeze for up to 3 months.)

Bake the cookies:

Position the rack in the lower third of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350°.

Cut the cookies:

To slice and bake: use a sharp knife to cut the cold dough log into ¼ –inch-thick slices. Place the cookies at least 1½ inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

To roll and cut cookies: Remove one patty from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature until supple enough to roll but still quite firm – it will continue to soften as you work. Roll the dough out between two pieces of wax paper to a thickness of ¼ inch.

Turn the dough over once or twice while you are rolling it out to check for deep wrinkles. Peel off the top sheet of paper and place it in front of you. Invert the dough onto the paper and peel off the second sheet. One of my teachers from culinary school would say “pastry chefs are laughing!” She was adamantly opposed using wax paper to roll out dough under any circumstances. But this dough is so crumbly to begin with, and becomes so soft as you roll it out, that using this method is definitely worth it. Besides, the clean up afterward is a breeze!

Cut out cookies as close together as possible to minimize scraps, dipping the edges of cookie cutters in flour as necessary to prevent sticking.

Transfer cookies, using a narrow metal spatula, to ungreased cookie sheets, placing the cookies at least 1½ inches apart. (if the dough gets too soft at any time while you are working, slide a cookie sheet underneath the wax paper and refrigerate the dough for a few minutes until it firms up again.) Repeat with the second piece of dough. Press all of the dough scraps together gently (don’t overwork them with too much kneading), reroll, and cut out more cookies.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the cookies are light golden brown at the edges. (Bake only one cookie sheet at a time.) Let the cookies firm up on the pans for 1 minute before transferring the to a rack with a metal spatula. Let cool completely. For best flavor and texture, store the cookies in an airtight container for at least 24 hours before serving. (They can be stored airtight for at least 1 month.)

Dip the Cookies:

To make them extra special, you can dip these cookies in chocolate! If you use tempered chocolate or melt-and-molds, the cookies can stay at room temperature. If you just melt plain chocolate (like chocolate chips) to dip them in, plan on keeping them in the fridge.