Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies

I'm beginning to think that I was an American "Mom" from suburbia in my former reincarnation...I'm in a serious "cookie phase" even though it's nowhere near Christmas-time. On Sunday, I conjured up double chocolate pecan cookies, using the great peanut butter cookies recipe as a base.

Again, the wish to recycle something I had in my kitchen stock was the driving force. This time, it was a more or less untouched hot chocolate drink by Green&Black that I'd spent a fortune on in a posh chocolate store:

Needless to say, you can replace it for a cheaper kind of instant cocoa powder.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups flour (I used 1/4 cup of spelt flour this time)
3/4 cup instant hot chocolate powder
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
180 g butter, softened
1 heaped tablespoon peanut butter at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 cup chocolate chips (I used half milk and half dark chocolate)
1 cup of chopped pecans (it doesn't matter if you can only find salted ones, it adds a nice twist)

Preheat your oven to 180° . Combine the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside. Beat the butter, peanut butter and cocoa powders together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk. Add theflour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans. Drop teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets and bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Do not overbake. The cookies will still be very soft and appear underdone, but they are perfect like that. Let cool on the baking sheets for a minute or so and then move to a rack to let cool completely.

You can also use add macadamia, raisins or cranberries with or instead of your chocolate chips.