GIANT SALTED DARK CHOCOLATE, DATE AND PECAN COOKIES WITH GANACHE DRIZZLE IN COLLABORATION WITH KENWOOD

Recipe

These giant cookies are buttery vessels for crunchy pecans, caramel reminiscent dates and bittersweet dark chocolate, all finished off with little lashings of ganache. I always use Kenwood mixers to bake with, but here especially I find them super useful to make sure all of the gorgeous dates, pecans and chocolate chunks mix well into the batter and don't stick to the bottom. Bake them with a friend, or for a friend!

MAKES 10 COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

200g pecans
200g butter, softened
50g soft brown sugar
3 tbsp pure maple syrup
200g spelt or regular flour
1 tsp baking powder
generous pinch flaky sea salt + extra for sprinkling
100g pitted dates, roughly chopped
100g 70% dark chocolate buttons

FOR THE GANACHE

50ml cream
50g dark chocolate buttons (70% cocoa solids)

  1. By hand roughly chop 50g of the pecans, and put the remaining 150g in a food processor. Pulse until finely ground, but be careful it doesn’t become butter.
  2. In the bowl of your kMix using the folding tool, beat together the butter, sugar and maple syrup until smooth. Add in the ground pecans, flour, baking powder and salt. By hand, fold in the chopped dates, chocolate chips and roughly chopped pecans. The dough should hold together when pressed.
  3. Form the dough into a log (about 6cm wide) and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
  4. Preheat the oven to 180ºC fan bake. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
  5. Unwrap the cookie log and cut into about 3cm rounds. Place the cookies on the baking tray, at least 3cm apart to allow them to spread. Sprinkle each one with some more sea salt.
  6. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until golden. Leave them on the tray to cool.
  7. Meanwhile, make the ganache. Heat the cream in a saucepan until small bubbles start to appear on the surface. Take off the heat and drop in the chocolate. Stir until it is melted; the ganache should be thick, smooth and glossy.
  8. Once the cookies are cool, use a fork to drizzle ganache over them. Place the tray in the fridge for 20 minutes to allow the ganache to set.
  9. Store in an airtight container for up to 10 days.