p.s. Chewy Maple-Pecan Cookies (N°27)

6 ingredients, easy, gf

P.S.: What could I make that would benefit from the maple sugar I’d just learned how to make? Pecans were on my mind, as they pair so well with maple — and I’ve made so many damn cakes lately (stay tuned) that I wasn’t about to make another — so I thought to make a maple-pecan cookie inspired by a chewy almond cookie.

Digressing to cakes, though, for a second: This week, I had the pleasure of twice celebrating the release of the 35th anniversary edition of Rose Levy Beranbaum’s canonical The Cake Bible—first, at Cambridge School of Culinary Arts for the official launch and the following day at Byrd’s Books in Bethel, Conn., where I had the honor of moderating the conversation with Rose and her husband and kitchen partner, Woody, and of tasting the attendees’ renditions of recipes from the book. Rose is a gem, as is the book. The revised edition has about 30% more (new) recipes and a lot has been updated (Just think: in 1988, when the book was first published, instant-read thermometers and digital scales didn’t exist!—at least not for the home baker.)

Back to the cookies. The “Chewy Almond Cookie” recipe that I started with as a reference is from Nigella Lawson’s Feast. (Side note: Eric Kim adapted this recipe for the Kitchn, and it’s worth reading his introduction just for Kim’s beautiful writing.) The cookie dough in Lawson’s recipe is simply almond flour, sugar, egg white, rolled into balls (hands moistened with rosewater) each pressed with a whole almond before baking. Because of the makeup of pecans (more fat, less protein and starch or “ash” than almonds) and of maple sugar (some glucose and fructose, unlike the pure sucrose of white sugar), adjustments were required (Note: After the recipe below, I give some more details on the testing process under the heading “Inside Scoop”). I could not be happier with the result! So easy and flavorful and such a lovely texture: chewy and substantial.

If you don’t have maple sugar, they will surely work with light brown sugar instead (Please let me know if you try, as I haven’t yet).

Enjoy.

Brian

RECIPE: CHEWY MAPLE-PECAN COOKIES

Yield: 12 cookies
Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes, plus cooling

Make sure the nuts are raw (not roasted) and unsalted. If you don’t have maple sugar, you can try light brown sugar in its place. The cream of tartar simply adds a bit of acidity to balance the sweetness. If you don’t have it, the cookies will still work; they’ll just taste a bit sweeter.

---
INGREDIENTS:
---