This recipe is the result of a long obsession with “The Cookie” from Metropolitan Market in Seattle. If you have ever been there, you know the one—it is served warm, it’s incredibly heavy, and it has layers of chocolate that seem endless. I spent about six years tweaking this at home to get the texture right. The biggest hurdle for me was accepting the oven temperature. Baking cookies at 410°F felt wrong and risky, but that high heat is exactly what creates the dark, caramelized shell while keeping the inside gooey.
A quick note on the nuts: do not skip toasting the pecans. I tried rushing it once and put raw pecans in the dough, and the flavor just fell flat. The toasted nuttiness is needed to stand up against the three cups of chocolate. It’s a rich cookie, definitely not an everyday snack, but perfect when you need something substantial with a glass of milk.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened at room temperature
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, tightly packed
- 1/2 cup fine granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (extract works, but paste adds nice specks)
- 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt (table salt for the dough)
- 1 cup Belgian dark chocolate callets (or high-quality disks)
- 1 cup bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped into chunks
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 cups pecans, chopped and toasted
- Maldon smoked sea salt for finishing
Instructions
- Toast the nuts: Preheat the oven to 410°F. Spread your chopped pecans on a baking sheet and toast them for about 8 minutes. Keep an eye on them; the difference between toasted and burnt is about 30 seconds in a hot oven. Let them cool before adding to the dough so they don’t melt the chocolate.
- Cream the butter and sugar: In a large bowl, mix the salted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. You don’t need to whip a lot of air into this; just mix until creamy and combined.
- Add wet ingredients: Add the eggs and vanilla bean paste. Mix until incorporated.
- Add dry ingredients: Dump in the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and the teaspoon of salt. Mix slowly. Stop when you still see a few white streaks of flour.
- The mix-ins: Pour in all three types of chocolate and the toasted pecans. Fold this in by hand. It is a lot of chunky ingredients for the amount of dough, so it takes a little muscle.
- Scoop and top: These are meant to be big. Use a large scoop or measure out about 1/4 cup of dough per cookie. Place them on a parchment-lined sheet. Sprinkle the tops with the smoked sea salt.
- Bake: Bake at 410°F for roughly 10 minutes. You want the outside to look golden and set.
- The slide method: When you pull them out, they will be very soft. Do not try to lift them. Grab the edge of the parchment paper and slide the whole paper off the hot pan onto a counter or rack. Let them sit until completely cool.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The Texture: The cornstarch and high heat create a unique contrast—crispy edges with a soft, almost doughy center.
- Chocolate Depth: Using three different types of chocolate (callets, chunks, and chips) ensures you get different melting points and pockets of chocolate in every bite.
- Salt Balance: The smoked sea salt on top cuts through the sweetness of the brown sugar and chocolate perfectly.
Chef’s Tips for Perfection
- Don’t fear the heat: 410°F sounds high for cookies, but it prevents the dough from spreading too thin and locks in the texture.
- Vanilla Bean Paste: If you can find it, use paste instead of liquid extract. It has a slightly thicker consistency and a more intense flavor that holds up well against the chocolate.
- Using Salted Butter: Most baking recipes call for unsalted, but this recipe leans into the savory-sweet profile. The salted butter helps balance the massive amount of chocolate.
Storage and Reheating
These cookies are huge, so you might not finish them all. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They actually stay soft for quite a while. If you want that “fresh out of the oven” experience later, pop one in the microwave for 10-15 seconds just to get the chocolate melty again.
Nutritional Notes
This is a heavy dessert. With two sticks of butter and three cups of chocolate, the calorie count is significant (likely over 400 per cookie). It is intended as a treat, not a light snack.
