Disholicious

I love baking cookies. They’re simple, usually quick, they smell amazing while they’re baking, and they go down so easily. Every time I bake a batch of cookies in this house, they’re gone in a short amount of time. They might last a day? Sometimes most of them are gone before they have the chance to cool down. Especially if they have chocolate in them.

These whole wheat dark chocolate pecan cookies are great because they have chocolate AND pecans. They’re small cookies, but that just means you can eat more, plus they’re made with organic whole wheat flour so that basically makes them healthier, right? Though in all seriousness, they’re a great little cookie and the chocolate/pecan combination really works well together.

Also, the addition of a little bit of coffee powder to the dough adds another dimension. If you’re ever baking with chocolate, adding a little bit of coffee powder actually brings out the chocolate in a great way. It’s one of those things that’s always a good idea to add to chocolate baked goods, even if the recipe doesn’t call for it. So, get in that kitchen and bake up some of these cookies. You’ll be happy you did.

WHOLE WHEAT DARK CHOCOLATE PECAN COOKIES

Makes: 32 cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 1/3 cups organic whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 to 2 tsp coffee powder

2/3 cup chopped pecans

4 oz dark chocolate chunks

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add egg and beat until it is well incorporated.

Combine flour, baking powder, and coffee powder; add gradually to the butter mixture.

Using a wooden spoon, mix in pecans and chocolate chunks.

Roll the dough into small balls about the size of an in-shell pecan and space them an inch apart on the baking sheet. Push them down slightly with the bottom of a glass, but not too hard. These cookies don’t really spread out during baking. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies should be a light golden color.

Remove cookies to a rack and let cool.