Salted Pecan Cookies with Chocolate Chips

Rich and decadent, these new plant-based chocolate chip cookies from the legendary Alice Medrich are laced with pure pecan butter, toasted pecan halves, and finished with flakes of Flor de Sal from Wellspent Market, sellers of high-quality pantry staples from around the world. Here’s a baking secret: cookies are extra good if you rest the dough for an hour or two before baking.

Makes three dozen 2 ½” cookies.

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup (28g) okara flour
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (145g) all-purpose flour  
• 1 ½ teaspoons (7.5ml) baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon (1.25ml) baking soda
• ½ teaspoon (2.5ml) sea salt
• 1 1/4 cups (250g) packed organic light brown sugar
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (85g) hot water
• ½ cup (100g) neutral tasting oil (such as grapeseed or sunflower)
• 1/3 cup (80g) unsweetened Perennial Pecan pecan butter (well stirred before measuring)
• 2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups (210g) vegan (or regular) chocolate chips
• 1 cup (100g) lightly toasted* and cooled pecan halves
• Flor de Sal for sprinkling

*To toast pecan halves, scatter them on a baking sheet and bake 7-9 minutes in preheated 325F oven. Cool before adding to cookie dough.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350F (non-convection) now (or later if you plan to rest the dough). Adjust oven temperature accordingly if your oven is convection.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk to blend okara and all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar with hot water. Add the oil, pecan butter, and vanilla and whisk until smooth and well blended. Add the flour mixture, chocolate chips, and nuts. Mix with a spatula just until all the dry ingredients are moistened. If possible, cover and set the dough aside to rest for at least 1 hour.
4. Place heaping teaspoons (28g) of dough 2 inches apart on lined pans. Use your fingers to flatten each lump of dough to a diameter of 2 ¼ inches. Top each cookies with a few tiny flakes of flor de sal. Bake 9-12 minutes in preheated oven until cookies are slightly golden brown with fine cracks on the surface. Rotate pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking time. Set pans on a rack to cool.