Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Malted Dark Chocolate Pecan Cookies

There's really nothing more comforting, as a kid or an adult, than a cookie.  I have fond memories of my mother baking peanut butter, snickerdoodle, and chocolate chip, among others, for our lunches or afternoon snack.   I also remember the "store-bought" ginger snaps that my grandparents kept in their cookie jar for us to have when we stopped in before our walk up the path to our home as we told them about our day.  And, when our daughters went to Mount Holyoke, I remember them telling me about the tradition of M & C's (milk and cookies) before retiring to their beds at night.

When I was in England, crisp cookies are called "biscuits."  The cookie has existed for as long as baking as been documented--back to the 7th century AD Persia, just shortly after sugar became common in the area.  They spread through England with the Muslim conquest of Spain and by the 14th century, they were common in all levels of society throughout Europe.  However, cookies came to America through the Dutch in New Amsterdam in the late 1620s.  The Dutch word, "kookie" was Anglicized to cookie by 1703.  Modern cookies, with butter and sugar creamed together was not common until the 18th century.  The chocolate chip cookie, which accounts for more than half of the cookies baked at home, was invented in 1930 at the Toll House Inn by Ruth Graves in Wakefield, Massachusetts.  I tweaked her recipe today and added Malted Milk Powder.

Malted Milk Powder is made from a mixture of malted barley, wheat flour, and evaporated whole milk.  Diastatic malt has enzymes that break down starch into sugar and this is what I used to add to my bread dough to help the dough rise and create a certain crust.  Today, it added a crispness to these cookies and I think, made them perfect dunkers!

Malted Dark Chocolate Pecan Cookies
(For my friends in Europe, especially England--I've converted measurements to grams as well)

14T (1 3/4 sticks) (200g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup (175g) firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup (165g) granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 yolk
2 tsp. Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. water
2 cups (300g) King Arthur all-purpose flour (plain flour)
3/4 cup (90g) Malted Milk Powder
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
1 1/4 cups (200g) bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup (120g) pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 325F-degrees (163C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the melted butter and sugars together thoroughly.  Add the egg plus the yolk and mix together.  Add the vanilla extract and water, then cream once more.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low, when almost incorporated, add the chocolate chips and pecans.  Mix to combine thoroughly.

Using a 1/4 cup scoop (or 1/4 cup measurement), measure out dough and place on the lined baking sheets, pressing down slightly on the mound of dough.

Leave space around the cookies to spread slightly.  I was able to get 6 large cookies per baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes; I baked both sheets at once, rotating them on the oven shelf to ensure even baking and golden brown in color.
Remove cookies from the oven and allow to set on the sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Enjoy and Happy Spring from North Carolina!


My trip to Birmingham, England was memorable and even though I didn't get out while during the trade show, I certainly got to meet a lot of new friends.  Here's our booth:



We laughed that my sweater matched the carpet between the booths!


21 comments:

  1. You are so cute! What a smile! Okay, these cookies sound great as all your recipes do. I'd buy them, but I never purchase such "exotic" ingredients to bake them myself. Ha!

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    1. You are so funny--I'm sending you a dry mix and all you have to do is add the vanilla, water, and eggs! XOXO

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  2. Did I miss the malted milk powder?? I don't see it in the recipe?

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    1. Thank you--that's what I get when I make up recipes and don't write them down!! Enjoy:-D

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  3. That's a lovely photo of you, Susan. Pecan and chocolate...an irresistible combination. These cookies look super yum!

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    1. I know you'll do your magic with flours to make them even healthier!

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  4. They look scrumptious, and thank you for the conversion too! I'm always switching back and forth, cups, metric, Imperial! My head spins at times.
    You look lovely, and so well co~ordinated to the carpet too, they must have done that on purpose!
    ~~~Deb in Wales xo

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    1. You're welcome. I learned on metric and should give it at all times since I do weigh my ingredients because it's more accurate. I'm thinking they saw my sweater and said, "yep, that's the colour we should use!" ;-D

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  5. I was asking myself if malted milk powder was the same as Ovaltine...so after a little checking on Amazon, I ordered the powder from Hooiser Hill Farms. Since I have Prime, it will be delivered by Thursday...just in time to try the recipe over the week end. Adorable photo of you !!

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    1. It was a fun time...and I couldn't believe they chose orange carpet!!

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  6. There is nothing better than home made cookies!

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  7. Very cute picture of you. The cookies look delicious, I need more people in the house so I can bake more:0) I need to check out the malt powder, so I can make these cookies and adding it to bread.
    Your booth looks so interesting and fun, would love to hear sometime all about your business.
    I think you would enjoy and Instant Pot, makes a really delicious cheese cake! Some day I will figure out how to add the reply to my comment section:0)
    Enjoy your week friend XO
    Cheryl

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    1. My daughter has one and raves about it. I love Lemon (or any citrus) curd and your recipe looks so easy!

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  8. I do love a good cookie and of course milk! You look so cute and I'm glad your trip went well. Hugs.

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    1. Me too! I especially love cookies for breakfast:-D

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  9. Is the malted milk powder the same powder that I've seen on the shelf at the grocery store where the Nestle Quik, etc powders are shelved?

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  10. Oh those cookies sound so yummy I will need to look into getting the malted milk powder never have heard of it. Love the picture of you it is so cute!

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  11. They're baking...look so fine; smell so good. The grands are coming tomorrow, but I think these will be cookies for the adults for a change. 😊 The malted milk powder takes them right over the top. Glad that I didn't know that the cookie mix was coming...it made a wonderful surprise. (I should check back more often.) Thanks so much!

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  12. These sound so good, Susan! You look adorable in your sweater that matched the carpet.

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  13. I love chocolate! You really cannot have enough of it. I drink it in my coffee, eat it for dessert, and have even dipped chicken in it. It sounds weird but trust me, it’s so good. It is better for your health that milk chocolate or white chocolate, which technically is not chocolate at all. I don't like it either.

    Verna Hopkins @ Promosaurus Promotional Products

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