This recipe for Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies is from the late James Villas, who was the Food & Wine editor for Town & Country Magazine for over 30 years. Last time I checked Town & Country wasn't known for their recipes, but Villas was a prolific food writer nonetheless and wrote some good cookbooks including My Mother's Southern Desserts.
I haven’t cooked from a James Villas book in a while, but a couple of days ago KAnn sent me this Villas recipe. It’s a chocolate chip cookie made with brown sugar….and as The Sweet Potato Queens say “Do I really even need to tell you? Dark, of course!”
So this is an all dark brown sugar cookie and it’s a little different. It’s dense, firm, soft (not cakey) and rich in flavor. For the cookie in the photo, I used the new 72% cacao discs from Ghirardelli, but any type will do. Also, I think the pecans are mandatory. That’s just my opinion of course, but there’s something about the brown sugar, pecans and chocolate that all work together.
Also, the cookies in the photo are rather large. Villas designed the recipe for small cookies. I'll have to make these as small cookies again soon and post a photo.
James Villas Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
6 oz unsalted butter (12 tablespoons), room temperature (170 grams)
1 ¼ cups dark brown sugar, packed (250 grams)
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 ¾ cup all purpose flour (220 grams)
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups semisweet chips
1 ¼ cups pecan pieces, toasted
Cream butter and sugar with electric mixer until well blended. Add
milk, vanilla, and egg, beat till well blended.
Combine dry ingredients in a second bowl and add to creamed
mixture. Stir till just blended.
Add chips and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto foil lined baking sheets and bake at 375 degrees for about 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack.
About 6 dozen cookies (if you make them small).
Recipe
James Villas Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 6 oz unsalted butter 12 tablespoons, room temperature (170 grams)
- 1 ¼ cups dark brown sugar, packe (250 grams)
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour (220 grams)
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups semisweet chips
- 1 ¼ cups pecan pieces toasted
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar with electric mixer until well blended.
- Add milk, vanilla, and egg, beat till well blended.
- Combine dry ingredients in a second bowl and add to creamed mixture.
- Stir until blended.
- Add chips and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto foil lined baking sheets and bake at 375 degrees for about 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack.
katherine says
These are super! Love the texture and it's a nice change from a traditional choc chip cookie.
Anna says
Hi Derek,
I hope you like these! They're a little bit different than the usual chocolate chip cookie.
Derek says
I'm going to make this today for my kids! Thanks for the great recipe.
rose says
Made these yesterday, and they were great (especially warm).
I'll definitely make them again!
Dani says
these sounds wonderful. on my "to-bake" list :):):):)
KAnn says
Yours look just fabulous, Anna, and I am really pleased that you liked the recipe. I just love my Villas cookbooks...the three he wrote with his mother read just like novels to me with all the comments, advice and family anecdotes and photos. This recipe was from My Mother's Southern Kitchen but I love My Mother's Southern Desserts the most probably, too. I first tried this recipe four years ago for a large family gathering/reunion in Breckenridge. It just sounded good and they were!
Cathy - wheresmydamnanswer says
great timing as I wanted to make some CC cookies but planned to add walnuts - Switching gears to pecans!! Thanks 🙂
Katrina says
Oops, I know it's Baking Blonde, not blondie, sorry, just a typo.
Katrina says
I came home from church today, got out to sticks of butter to soften because I want to make ccc's, then fixed the kids lunch and sat down at my computer and find these! Yum. I'm telling you, great minds...Baking Blondie, too. Hmmm, which to try? I want them all! 😉
Lisa Ernst says
Chocolate pecan pie in cookie form -- now I'm definitely sold! Can't wait to try them.
Anna says
Lisa, I think you will like them. The pecans definitely make the cookie. As Rita mentioned, they are similar to chocolate pecan pie but in cookie form.
Veggiegirl, do you mean the one with Kelly Klein on it? I keep meaning to buy that one.
BB, looks like our cookies our similar but different. We were both on the same wavelength, though.
bakingblonde says
YUM!! I made cookies this weekend as well!
clumbsycookie says
They must taste like chocolate-peacan pie!
VeggieGirl says
I JUST finished reading the latest issue of Town & Country Magazine earlier this morning, no joke - quite ironic!
Dense, firm, soft, and rich?? I'll take a dozen, please!!
Lisa Ernst says
Great looking cookie! I haven't made a dark brown sugar cookie in a while, but this looks like just the one. With fresh fall pecans coming in soon, its the perfect time for these. Usually in the fall I'll order a bag of in shell pecans and shell as many as I need for a recipe. It is extra work, and I only do it in the fall, but to me the flavor of fresh shelled pecans far exceeds that of the store bought shelled variety.