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Chewy, crunchy, pecan pie-like, dazzling delicious, California cookies are pure gold.
Like so many things, if there’s a story attached, there’s just more to enjoy; don’t you agree? This recipe came to me with a story and we’ve been adding chapters of our own. Although these cookies need no embellishments, I have to get these into your own hands for you to bake and for you to add a chapter of your own, too! There’s just something original and special about this recipe.
(This is also a gluten, oil and fat free recipe — no flour, oil or butter!)
Click below for this recipe …
Years ago, this recipe was given to me by my friend
Oona, who not only shared the recipe with me, but, infused it with a personal story of her mother-daughter road trips and a shared ritual to find these cookies every time she and her mother drove between San Francisco to LA when she was growing up. I love the story and understood why, immediately, after my first bite.
We fell head over heels for these nutty, chewy cookies immediately, but, let’s just say that pecans in Sweden sell for nearly the price of real gold and, due to this, we’ve always only enjoyed them sparingly. Last summer, we took a US road trip from the north through the south which included combing backroads of Georgia in search of pecans (accompanied by peach picnics, naturally!) I gladly volunteered some luggage space to accommodate our pecan load and, oh, happy day – what a year of Pecan Drops we’ve had!
This summer, brought a family road trip of our own between Los Angeles and San Francisco. We didn’t find the original there , but returning to Sweden and collecting myself again after our travels, these are the first treat I can think of baking! I hope that you, too, enjoy this recipe. Happy Baking!
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Harris Ranch’s Pecan Drops
Makes 3 dozen cookies
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 pounds coarsely chopped pecan pieces (This is approximately 3 1/8 cups chopped pecans)
1/2 cup egg whites (3 to 4 large egg whites)
Preheat over to 350 degrees/180 C.
Using an electric mixer, combine the brown sugar, salt, vanilla and pecan pieces. Beat on low speed to incorporate the ingredients, then slowly add the egg whites. Increase the speed to medium-low and beat for 4 to 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Cover your baking sheet with baking paper (or silpat) and Drop tablespoon sized drops of cookie dough onto your baking sheet. Press each ball of dough with the back of a spoon to form a cookie 3 1/2 inches in diameter and about 1/8-inch thick.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Keep an eye on these to make sure that they don’t over bake. Remove from oven and immediately remove the cookies from the baking sheet to a cooling rack. The cookies will be soft but will firm up as they cool.
These cookies are crisp when fresh out of the oven. If you can wait one day, they become softer and deliciously chewy!
