Brown Butter Pecan Cookies

Two of my friends were flying back from vacation and arriving during the snow storm we had the other day.  I knew they would have no food and I also knew their car would be snowed in in their garage so I made them something to eat at the end of their long trip.

 I didn't have much in my larder either but I managed to find enough ingredients to make them some chicken, corn and zucchini chowder.

 And I made them some cornmeal rolls which I sent along with my compound butter.

 They are dessert lovers so I made them these Brown Butter Pecan Cookies which are crunchy on the edges and chewy in the middle and have the wonderful flavor of brown butter. It was cold enough that I was able to leave this all on their porch waiting for them to arrive after many airport delays.

The Recipe:

Ingredients

For the Buttered Pecans:

1 and 1/2 cups pecan halves, finely chopped

1 and 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the Butter Pecan Cookies:

2 cup and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 sticks unsalted butter, melted until browned

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs, at room temperature

16 pecan halves, for decoration

Instructions

For the Buttered Pecans:

• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in chopped pecans and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Set aside until needed.

For the Butter Pecan Cookies:

• In a large bowl combine flour, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda; whisk well to combine then set aside until needed.
• Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Remove pan from heat and pour butter into a large, heatproof mixing bowl. Add in both sugars and whisk well to combine. Add in vanilla. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating until eggs are just combined.
• Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour, stirring until just combined. Fold in the buttered pecans.
• Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and up to 2 days. If you refrigerate for more than 2 hours, you'll need to let the dough sit at room temperature until it's scoopable.

To Bake:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Scoop 3 tablespoon sized rounds of dough onto the prepared sheet, leaving 2 inches in between each cookie for spreading. Firmly press a pecan half on top of each ball of cookie dough, if desired, then bake in preheated oven for 9 minutes, or until edges are set and the center is still a little jiggly. Allow cookies to cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining cookie dough. Sprinkle with white sugar as soon as you remove them from the oven.