makes
24
prep
25 minutes
cook
10 minutes
difficulty
Easy
makes
24
serves
preparation
25
minutes
cooking
10
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
It’s for this reason that they’ve never become a feature in the shops, particularly in the summer, where they’d bend and break after an hour or two piled up in a bowl. There are worse things to happen, though, than to be told you need to eat a whole batch of cookies within a day or so of them being baked.
Ingredients
- 110 g unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed
- 110 g caster sugar
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 125 g plain flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 20 g Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- 100 g chocolate chips (70 per cent cocoa solids), or 100 g dark cooking chocolate, cut into 0.5cm pieces
- 50 g mashed banana (about ½ small banana)
- 170 g pecan halves, finely chopped
- 100 g icing sugar, for dusting
Cooling time: 3 hours
Instructions
Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment in place. Beat on a medium-high speed until light and fluffy, then gradually add the egg and continue to beat until incorporated. Sift the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt into a bowl, then add to the butter and sugar. Mix on a low speed for about 15 seconds, then add the chocolate and banana. Beat until combined, then transfer to the fridge for 2 hours to firm up.
When firm, use your hands to form the dough into 3cm round balls, about 20 g each: you might need to wash your hands once or twice when making them, if they get too sticky. Place the pecans in a medium bowl and drop the balls into the nuts as you form them, rolling them around so that they are completely coated and pressing the nuts in so that they stick.
Line a baking tray with baking parchment, place the cookies on the tray – there is no need to space them apart at this stage – and transfer to the fridge for at least an hour.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C Fan/Gas Mark 5. Line two baking trays with baking parchment.
Place the icing sugar in a bowl and roll the cookies in the icing sugar, pressing it in as you go so that it sticks well. Place on the lined baking trays, spaced 2–3cm apart, and flatten the cookies to 1cm thick.
Bake for 10 minutes. They will be soft to the touch when they come out of the oven, so allow them to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before gently transferring to a wire rack. These can be served warm, when they will be a little gooey in the centre, or set aside until completely cool.
Recipe from Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi & Helen Goh, photography by PEDEN + MUNK, (Ebury, $55). Read our and enter now to win a copy of the book .
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
It’s for this reason that they’ve never become a feature in the shops, particularly in the summer, where they’d bend and break after an hour or two piled up in a bowl. There are worse things to happen, though, than to be told you need to eat a whole batch of cookies within a day or so of them being baked.
