There are cookies… and then there are COOKIES. Imagine the Cookie Monster screaming COOKIES. Those COOKIES ;) I’m talking about cookies that everyone knows from American bakeries. Big, chunky, and sugary cookies that look more like little rocks, not like small and tender butter biscuits. These delicious (NY Style) Pumpkin Pie Spice Pecan White Chocolate Cookies are a perfect example of this type of cookie. Big, mighty and extremely tasty!
If you’re interested in baking in general and in baking cookies specifically and haven’t been living under a rock for the last few years, I am pretty sure you have heard of Levain Cookies. Levain Bakery is a bakery (D’oh!) in New York that claims to sell the most popular cookies in NY. If you believe social media and all the hype around those cookies, they might be on to something ;P
Unfortunately, I haven’t yet had the opportunity to try all the cookies New York has to offer. On my trips to NY, I’ve eaten quite a few cookies, but I still can’t get a complete picture, cause’ I haven’t tried all there is. Bummer. Levain Bakery cookies are delicious – no doubt about it. I would not bake cookies like that myself if they weren’t good. But are they the most popular cookies in New York? I don’t know. Maybe. They are definitely among the most expensive cookies. You currently have to pay 29 dollars (plus tax & shipping) if you want to have four of them sent to you – in the US only, of course. Not to Germany ;P
Anyway. We’re not fighting about popularity here – how these cookies taste, is much more important. That’s undoubtedly the case with these autumn-inspired cookies here with pumpkin pie spice, pecans, and white chocolate.
The cookies are perfect for autumn. Even though pumpkin pie spice is sometimes used way too much in September and October (yes, Starbucks!), the spice combination is generally not wrong. I really like it. But it doesn’t have to be used everywhere. You can surely enjoy a pumpkin spice latte or a cookie, but your home doesn’t have to smell like cinnamon for weeks on end because every candle, soap, or shampoo has been enhanced with that artificial cinnamon scent. It can be a lot ;P
If pumpkin pie spice is added to a bake, pumpkin purée is often thrown in the mix as well. I deliberately didn’t use it here. You could certainly have used it instead of eggs, for example, but I have the feeling that some people are simply put off by pumpkin in sweet treats. You also have to find pumpkin purée in a supermarket (still not that easy in Germany) or prepare it yourself. It’s not particularly difficult, but it is extra work when making it at home. You already have to wait a night before you can bake the cookies… there is no need to »artificially« prolong the waiting time with homemade pumpkin purée ;P
If you like your cookies big and chunky, you should also take a look at these fellas here – my Hazelnut Biscoff Chocolate Chip Cookies are just as massive as the cookies here. Equally delicious and no less sweet ;P If you want to try cookies from another US bakery chain that are hyped just as much on social media as the Levain cookies, you have to check out my Crumbl Style Churro Cookies. They are similar in size, only the Crumbl cookies usually have something added on top… to bring in some extra calories ;P
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(6 cookies)
1/2 cup (120g) cold butter, in small pieces
1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
3.5 oz. (100g) white chocolate, chopped
8.5 oz. (240g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
1.8 oz. (50g) pecans, chopped
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
(6 Cookies)
120g Butter (kalt), in kleinen Stücken
100g brauner Zucker
50g Zucker
100g weiße Schokolade, grob gehackt
240g Dinkelmehl (Type 630)
1 TL Backpulver
2 TL Kürbiskuchengewürz
1/2 TL Salz
50g Pekannüsse, gehackt
1 Ei (L)
1/2 TL Vanille Extrakt
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Add the cold butter and both sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low until the butter and sugar have merged into different-sized streusels – you don’t want them to fully combine. Add the chopped white chocolate and mix in briefly. Mix the flour with baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Add to the bowl and mix to combine. You want the mix (once again) to look like streusels instead of a proper cookie dough. Add the chopped pecans and mix in briefly. Mix the egg with vanilla extract in a small bowl, then add to the bowl of the stand mixer and mix everything until the streusels start sticking together. You want a very rough looking dough.
2. Divide the dough into six portions and press them into balls. Transfer the balls to a freezer-safe container or freezer bag and place them in the freezer overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 180° (350°F) fan-forced. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Place the frozen dough balls with enough space in between on the baking sheet and bake the cookies for about 18-19 minutes – they should look nicely browned all around. Take them out of the oven and let them cool down on the baking sheet for a moment. If the cookies look a bit deformed, you can bring them in shape right after baking. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool down completely.
1. Die kalte Butter und beide Zuckersorten in die Schüssel einer Küchenmaschine geben. Auf niedriger Stufe mixen, bis sich aus Butter und Zucker Streuseln gebildet. Die Zutaten sollten sich hier nur bedingt verbinden. Die gehackte weiße Schokolade dazugeben und kurz unter mixen. Mehl, Backpulver, Kürbiskuchengewürz und Salz vermischen und zur Schüssel dazugeben. Auch hier nur auf niedriger Stufe mixen – hier soll noch kein richtiger Teig entstehen. Die Mischung sollte eher nach Streuseln aussehen. Die gehackten Pekannüsse dazugeben und kurz untermengen. Das Ei mit dem Vanille Extrakt verquirlen, dann zur Schüssel dazugeben und verrühren, bis die Streusel anfangen zusammenzuhalten – der Teig sollte recht grob und bröckelig aussehen, aber zusammenhalten, wenn man ihn in den Fingern zusammendrückt.
2. Den Teig in sechs Portionen aufteilen und zu Kugeln formen. Die Kugeln in einen Gefrierbeutel oder eine Tupper (die in den Gefrierschrank kann) packen und über Nacht in den Gefrierschrank stellen.
3. Den Ofen auf 180° (350°F) Umluft vorheizen. Ein Backblech mit Backpapier auslegen. Die gefrorenen Teigkugeln mit genügend Abstand zueinander auf das Backblech setzen und die Cookies dann für etwa 18-19 Minuten backen – die Cookies dürfen etwas Farbe bekommen haben. Aus dem Ofen holen und kurz auf dem Backblech abkühlen lassen. Sollten die Cookies deformiert aussehen, kann man sie jetzt noch etwas in Form bringen, dann auf ein Kuchengitter setzen und komplett auskühlen lassen.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Print
(NY Style) Pumpkin Pie Spice Pecan White Chocolate Cookies
- Prep Time: 00:10
- Cook Time: 00:19
- Total Time: 08:00
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Cuisine: United States
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Delicious and chunky (NY style) Pumpkin Pie Spice Pecan White Chocolate Cookies – the perfect cookies for the cold and rainy season ;)
Ingredients
1/2 cup (120g) cold butter, in small pieces
1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
3.5 oz. (100g) white chocolate, chopped
8.5 oz. (240g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
1.8 oz. (50g) pecans, chopped
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Add the cold butter and both sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low until the butter and sugar have merged into different-sized streusels – you don’t want them to fully combine. Add the chopped white chocolate and mix in briefly. Mix the flour with baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Add to the bowl and mix to combine. You want the mix (once again) to look like streusels instead of a proper cookie dough. Add the chopped pecans and mix in briefly. Mix the egg with vanilla extract in a small bowl, then add to the bowl of the stand mixer and mix everything until the streusels start sticking together. You want a very rough looking dough.
2. Divide the dough into six portions and press them into balls. Transfer the balls to a freezer-safe container or freezer bag and place them in the freezer overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 180° (350°F) fan-forced. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Place the frozen dough balls with enough space in between on the baking sheet and bake the cookies for about 18-19 minutes – they should look nicely browned all around. Take them out of the oven and let them cool down on the baking sheet for a moment. If the cookies look a bit deformed, you can bring them in shape right after baking. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool down completely.
Notes
Get your bake on!
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
