Bite Size Dove Chocolate & Pecan Cookies

Bite Size Dove Chocolate & Pecan Cookies

The beauty of this recipe is not so much in the ingredients and baking--it's in the way the cookies are formed. I love baking, clearly, and when I transitioned from full-time mom/part-time teacher to full-time teacher/full-time mom several years ago, I realized I needed a more efficient way to make my cookie dough. 

I mean, I always try to prepare my cookie dough so I can freeze part of it for later use, but the scooping, freezing, and bagging still took longer than I wanted it to. I think I realized that I could do what Pillsbury had started doing with their dough: lay it out in a slab and cut it into squares. You may not end up with a perfectly round cookie, but I care more about easy access to freshly baked cookies than I do about perfect symmetry.

All that being said, these cookies do taste fantastic. I mean, Dove Dark Chocolate makes any cookie better. The browning of the butter is a tip I learned from my new favorite celebrity chef, Claire Saffitz, who seems to advocate for browning butter for most recipes calling for butter. Check her out. Her recipes are awesome, and she is absolutely delightful.

So there. Go make some cookies and be happy. 

Bite Size Dove Chocolate & Pecan Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups toasted pecans, chopped
• 1 bag Dove Dark Chocolate Promises, unwrapped & chopped (or 9-12 oz other dark chocolate or chocolate chips

Instructions:

• Optional: Place half of the butter in a heat-proof bowl, and set aside. Brown the other half of the butter and pour over the butter waiting in the bowl. (For instructions on browning butter, watch this video, starting around 6:58. And watch the whole video for the best oatmeal cookie recipe.)
• While butter cools, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and both sugars in a medium sized bowl. Stir with a whisk and use your clean fingers to break up any chunks of brown sugar. Set aside.
• Once butter is close to room temperature, place in the bowl of standing mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment) along with the eggs and vanilla. Mix until emulsified and smooth. This takes a few minutes.
• Pour in the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Lift up the paddle and stir in any dry bits that remain in the bottom of the bowl.
• Pour in the chopped chocolate and pecans. Mix on low until combined. If this is taking too long, just stir by hand. You do not want to over-mix your cookie dough.
• Line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment. Pour the cookie dough into the lined pan, and use a spoon or silicone spatula to start pressing the dough evenly into the pan. Finish pressing the dough into the pan by covering with a sheet of wax paper and pressing with your flat hands. 
• Freeze the dough for at least 2 hours. If you think you need to leave it in the freezer over night, cover wrap before freezing.
• Once frozen, use a sharp knife to cut the dough into little cubes.
• Bake as many cubes as you'd like at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-9 minutes for softer cookies, 10-12 minutes for crisp cookies.
• Place remaining dough cubes into a large zip top bag and keep frozen until you want more cookies.

Makes somewhere between 160 and 190 little cookies