Savannah Chocolate Chewies

While I've been trying my hardest to do nothing but keep my fanny parked on the couch and rest, Tom has been whirling around the apartment cooking up a storm and "nesting". Thank goodness HE'S nesting because I don't seem to have officially started yet. is that normal? On New Year's eve, after a phone call from a friend asking how to brine a roast, Tom, with mouth watering, ran out and bought a pork shoulder and brined it for us, which resulted in a fabulous New Year's day dinner of roasted pork shoulder, (the meat was so tender and succulent), scalloped potatoes and steamed broccoli. Steamed broccoli, so simple to prepare, eaten with just a tiny bit of butter and the barest squeeze of lemon has got to be one of the most fabulous things to eat, period. I decided I don't eat enough of it, so, in 2004, I vow to put more broccoli on my plate and certainly more in my stomach! Dessert was a batch of snickerdoodle cookies that I helped with by waddling into the kitchen now and again and asking if they were done yet. Yum!

Tom was using a recipe for snickerdoodles from The All American Cookie Book by Nancy Baggett, a book he gave me for Christmas a few years back and one that he and I have both grown to love. Flipping through the book while Tom baked, I came across the recipe for "Savannah Chocolate Chewies" and remembered that Tom had made them once before. They were incredible tasting. Chewy yet somehow crisp discs, intense chocolate flavor, chock full of pecans and very satisfying for the sweet tooth that's craving both chocolate and nuts. Baggett notes that these were a very popular cookie from Gottlieb's Bakery, a bakery that was founded in Savannah, Georgia in 1884 but sadly, has since gone out of business. I remember the first time Tom made the cookies, he had lived in Savannah for a while and remembered going to Gottlieb's for those very cookies, he was saddened when he read that Gottlieb's had closed it's doors, so he whipped up a batch of the cookies as an experiment to see if they were in fact the same cookie he remembered. He was quite pleased to discover that not only where they easy to make but they were indeed the very same ones he used to buy from Gottlieb's many years ago.

The day after New Year’s Day, Tom decided to bake a batch of these chewy crisp goodies for some friends that were stopping by for a visit. We had no pecans but did have 2 bags of walnuts that we never got around to using for other things so, we decided that since pecans and walnuts look so similar, that walnuts would be a good substitution. The cookies turned out really well, although the walnut taste was a bit more overpowering than the more subtle pecan, they were still quite yummy. We both agreed that in future batches, pecans are really the nut to use, a must actually, they add a lovely nutty flavor without trying to compete with the other flavors of the cookie, we think walnuts are just too strong for this type of cookie.

adapted from The All American Cookie Book by Nancy Baggett;

Savannah Chocolate Chewies

• 2 cups (about 8 ounces) chopped pecans
• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened American-style cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose white flour
• generous pinch of salt
• 3 large egg whites
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ounce bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, grated

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.

Toast the pecans for between 5 and 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until fragrant and slightly brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

In a large bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, flour and salt. With an elextric mixer on low speed, beat the egg whites one at a time into the powdered-sugar mixture. Add the vanilla and beat for 1 1/2 minutes on high speed, scraping down the sides several times. Fold in the pecans and the chocolate until evenly incorporated.

Drop the dough onto the baking sheets by heaping tablespoons, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, in the middle of the oven for 15 to 18 minutes, or until dry on the surface but soft in the centers when pressed. Reverse the sheet from front to back halfway through baking to ensure even browning. Slide the cookies, still attached to the parchment onto a wire rack. Let cool completely, then carefully peel the cookies from the parchment. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container up to three days or in the freezer for 1 month. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Written by Deb on January 3, 2004 01:54 PM