Toasty Pecan Drop Cookies

These drop cookies sit in the chewy-brownie family, with German sweet chocolate melted into the batter and a generous scattering of finely chopped pecans running through every bite. A whisper of cinnamon ties everything together. The result reads almost like a flourless chocolate cookie, with crackled tops and dense, fudgy centers.

The minimal flour (just a quarter cup for the whole batch) is what gives these cookies their brownie-like density. The chocolate and eggs do most of the structural work; the flour is just enough to bind. Don’t add more thinking it’ll “fix” the runny look of the batter; the cookies set up properly during baking.

German sweet chocolate (the brand is Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate, named for sam German, not the country) is sweeter and milder than semi-sweet. This is the chocolate you’d use for German chocolate cake, and it gives these cookies a softer, more caramel-like profile than dark chocolate would.

Beating the eggs with sugar until thickened is the move that separates good versions from great. Two tablespoons at a time is fussy but worth it; the sugar gradually dissolves and the eggs whip up pale and voluminous, which translates to crackled, glossy cookie tops.

Pro Tips

• Toast the pecans before chopping. The recipe name implies it, the directions don’t quite say it, but it’s essential. Five minutes in a 350°F (175°C) oven brings out their flavor dramatically.
• Let the melted chocolate cool to lukewarm before adding to the eggs. Hot chocolate scrambles the eggs and ruins the batter.
• Pull cookies when they look set but the centers still appear slightly underdone. They firm up on the hot sheet.
• Cool slightly on the sheet before transferring; these are fragile while warm.

Variations

• Use walnuts or hazelnuts in place of pecans for different nut character.
• Add a half cup of chocolate chips for double-chocolate intensity.
• Substitute dark or semi-sweet chocolate for a more bitter, grown-up cookie.