Look, I know this recipe looks daunting. It’s probably the most complicated and specific cookie recipe you will every find.

To quote Alton Brown, “Your patience will be rewarded”. I guarantee you’ll never have a cookie so chewy, so addictively rich and complex in flavor. Once you’ve mastered this recipe, you won’t want to make any other kind of cookie again.

Note: cooking time can vary greatly depending on the type of baking sheet you use. I use cheap, thin single ply pans. Because these transfer the heat quickly, the cookies brown quickly and therefore the cooking time is less. This is actually desirable because they have a nice brown bottom and chewy center. If you are using a more heavy duty pan, you may need to adjust the cooking time.

Yield: about 24 small cookies

Tools

Large mixing bowl
Medium mixing bowl
Medium saucepan
Whisk
Chef Knife
Spatula
Baking sheet (or two)

Ingredients

1 3/4 (8 3/4 oz.) cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
14 tbsp. unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed (5 1/4 oz.) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz.) fine granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
4 oz. Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate baking bar
4 oz. Ghirardelli white chocolate baking bar
1/2 cup shelled pecans

Directions

Toast pecans at 300 degrees for 30 minutes, let cool and chop into very small pieces, set aside. Chop semisweet and white chocolate into small pieces (about 1/3 inch), set aside.

Combine flour and baking soda in medium mixing bowl. Whisk to combine and remove lumps, set aside.

In large mixing bowl, add brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt.

In medium saucepan, melt 10 tbsp. of butter over medium heat. Stir continuously until butter is golden brown. You’ll know it’s almost done when the butter begins to foam. Be careful not to burn, there is a very small window between ‘not done yet’ and ‘burnt’. Remove pan from heat and add remaining 4 tbsp of un-melted butter, swirl until melted.

Pour butter into large mixing bowl with sugar mixture. Whisk until combined. Add eggs, egg yolk and vanilla. Whisk until combined and smooth. Let stand for a few minutes and stir again. Repeat this process several timed until the butter has cooled and the fat has re-solidified. You’ll know it’s ready when the color turns lighter and the mixture gets slightly thicker.

Add flour mixture and gently fold with spatula until just combined. Add chopped chocolate and pecans and mix until evenly distributed.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Form dough into small balls, about 2 tbsp each (1 1/2 in. diameter), and place onto baking sheet. You should be able to fit about 12 cookies onto a sheet.

Once oven is heated, transfer baking sheet and cook for 6 1/2 – 7 minutes, or until you can barely start to see brown around the bottom edges of the cookies. The tops of the cookies will still look doughy, this is ok!

Remove baking sheet and set on a wire rack to cool.