How to make my Maple Pecan and Milk Chocoloate Cookies 

Set your oven to 180° Celsius or 350° Farenheit. The key to a good cookie is a hot oven. You want to get the cookies in while it’s hot, and cook them forjust a few minutes so that you keep that gooey, soft and chewy texture that we all love. Cooking for too long (as you wait for the oven to heat) is a sure-fire way to over-baked and tough cookies.

Next we’re caramelising our pecans. This is a good step! The aromas that are going to fill your kitchen are truly divine. So start off by getting your pecans spread over a baking tray and coating with your maple syrup. Make sure that all your pecans are coated and get them into the oven. You only want them roasting for a few minutes – 10 minutes max! Keep an eye on them, and if they start burning take them out immediately and set to the side to cool. I also like to turn them halfway through cooking to ensure an even bake.

While they bake, you can use this time to chop up your chocolate. Of course, if you choose to use chocolate chips, you can skip this step. I’m very much a chunky-chocolate chip cookie kind of gal though. Whenever I’m making cookies, I’m buying a bar and very roughly chopping it up so I get those gorgeous big chunks of chocolatey goodness in each bite.

Next up, we’re combining our dry ingredients. That’s the flour, bicarb (baking soda to my American friends) and salt. I like to use a balloon whisk to combine these to ensure it’s all thoroughly blended together.

In a new bowl, you’ll want to melt your butter – either on the hob or in your microwave (although if you use the microwave, be sure to keep an eye on it). Combine your melted butter with the brown sugar, caster sugar, plain yogurt, and vanilla. Give these a good whisk until you get a beautiful, smooth golden brown mixture.

To the wet ingredients, you can now add your dry ingredients (the flour, bicarb, and salt mixture). Fold this in, being careful not to over mix. Again – no one wants a tough cookie.

Next up we’re adding in the pecans and chocolate. You can chop the pecans slightly so they’re in slightly smaller pieces, similar to your chocolate chunks. I like to keep a handful of each to the side to sprinkle on top before baking. Once they’re in the mix, fold these in too. Again, don’t overmix.

We’re now going to place the batter in the fridge, covered with some cling film. Cold batter is crucial for the perfect cookie texture, flavour and shape. It’s all boring science stuff but essentially you want your fat (the butter) to solidify in order to keep that ideal cookie shape and enrich the taste. Just trust me, okay? Chill for a minimum of 30 minutes.

At around 30-45 minutes later, collect your dough from the fridge and get that scoop ready! Using an ice cream scoop is a great way to ensure that your cookies come out of equal size and proportions – which means an even bake. But fear not, if you don’t have a scoop, you can use a regular teaspoon. If you’re extra fancy you can weigh your dough! But I’ll admit I’ve never done this (life’s too short). Aim for around 6 cookies per tray. This allows them the space to spread if they so wish.

Just before popping in the oven, grab those extra chocolate and pecan chunks and sprinkle them over the top of your cookies. This is optional, of course, but it just adds a little je ne sais quoi if you ask me.

Pop your trays in the oven and set your timer for 11 minutes. It’s an exact science – again – trust me!

When the timer sounds, grab your trays out of the oven and leave them to cool slightly. Now they may not look done, but they will slightly harden as they cool. Just slightly undercooked is the secret to a soft and chewy cookie.

Ingredients used

Pecans – It’s totally up to you if you want to experiment with different nuts, but I can’t deny that pecans are the perfect nut to use for this recipe. The way they caramelise with the maple syrup, the way they pair so perfectly with the milk chocolate. Just try it and tell me I’m wrong!

Maple syrup – oh how I love maple syrup. I love that deep earthy sweetness you get from it. Not to mention it actually has some health benefits (in moderation of course). However, if you don’t have maple syrup you can supplement a vegan honey or agave here. I do recommend maple syrup for the best flavour though.

Chocolate – now here you can really use whatever you like. My go-to chocolate tends to be Nomo, but I’m also a big fan of the vegan galaxy chocolate. It doesn’t matter too much what you use though. This recipe works particularly well with milk, but you can certainly experiment with dark, white, salted caramel or whatever takes your fancy!

Plain flour – It’s here to provide the structure. Not too much else!

Bicarbonate of soda – this is here to allow the cookies to form the perfect shape, to spread, flatten and even find that perfect golden brown colour.

Vegan baking butter – a good vegan baking butter is Stork – so good most people use it without ever knowing it’s vegan! I always recommend using a baking butter over a margarine or any other plant-based spread. You want a high fat content to get that signature indulgent cookie taste.

Brown sugar – brown sugar is great for adding moisture to the mix for that signature chewy soft cookie texture. This is thanks to the molasses content, that we not nly owe the extra moisture, but for that beautiful golden brown colour we know and love.

Caster sugar – Caster sugar provides a finer grain than granulated white sugar, which is great for baking as it dissolves into a much smoother texture for your cookies. When picking a caster sugar, it’s always worth checking for the label confirming that the product is suitable for vegetarians / vegans. Generally in the UK, it’s quite safe to assume that the sugar is animal product free, however there are still some production lines that use bone char. It’s good to be aware.

Plain soy yogurt – As you might have guessed, in this recipe the yogurt is in replacement of eggs, to add moisture without making the batter too runny (you may get this affect with using plant milk for example). It really is the key to soft chewy cookies. You can even experiment with flavours here. If I’m in a pinch and don’t have any vanilla extract, vanilla yogurt works perfectly well here. Why not go crazy and try some other flavours too!

Vanilla extract – The vanilla brings the sweetness and flavour enhancer to the cookie dough here. It is by no means a compulsory ingredient, but a little can go a long way to making a sweet and delicious dough.

Sea salt – Again, this one is an optional ingredient but I really find it brings the balance to the flavours, enhancing the flavour but balancing the sweetness.