I got this amazing cookbook, “Thomas Keller – Bouchon Bakery”, from my niece Lisa, at Christmas. She is as much a foodie as I am but I think a bit more adventurous. She has an “it’s food, don’t fear it” approach to making anything she tries and I must say, unbiased of course, she’s pretty good at it. One of the recipes in this book immediately appealed to me. Two reasons, it’s simple, it’s easy to make and the end result is deliciously utterly satisfying, the second, these were his mum’s favourite cookies and what a great tribute to his mum, they are, a beautiful story accompanies this recipe.
Pecan Sandies
250 g All Purpose Flour
80 g Pecans, chopped
170 g Unsalted Butter, room temperature
90 g Powdered Sugar (I used Icing Sugar)
Mise en Place
Preheat your oven to 350F if conventional and 325F if convection
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat
Measure the ingredients
Chop the pecans and add them to the flour
Method
Using the paddle attachment, mix the butter on medium low speed until smooth
Add the sugar and mix for 2 minutes until fluffy – scrape down the sides of the bowl to incorporate all
Mix the pecans with the flour – add to the butter mixture
Mix for 30 seconds until just combined
Scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate any dry ingredients that have settled there
From this point on, I used a purple handled ice cream scoop to ensure my dough balls were the same size – place a scoop of the dough in the palm of your hand and form, then roll into a ball
Flatten the ball into a disc using the bottom of a glass – combine the cookie dough
Bake for 15 – 18 minutes in a convection (mine were done at 15), or 22 – 25 minutes in conventional
I got 30 cookies, about 2” round, ¼” thick
The recipe also offered the option of dusting the baked cooled cookies with icing sugar
I thought they were awesome enough and a wonderful tribute to his mum! I can only imagine how good Mr. Keller’s must be as mine were outstanding – this coming from someone who is not generally a cookie person (yes we actually exist).
The Bouchon Bakery book has some amazing, easy to follow recipes and some insights (like the one above about his mum) that helped him along in his career.
As always – Enjoy!