Brushed with melted white chocolate and studded with toasted pecans, these sweet morsels—boasting the classic five spice blend of star anise, cloves, Chinese cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and fennel seeds—are ideal for afternoon tea and resemble little open books.
Chinese Five Spice–Pecan Cookies
Serves: approximately 30
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup finely chopped pecans
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Chinese five spice
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup white chocolate chips, divided
- Garnish: finely chopped toasted pecans
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and orange zest with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl. Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pecans, baking soda, five spice, and salt. With mixer at low speed, gradually beat flour mixture into butter mixture just until combined. (Dough will be crumbly.)
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and gently knead 5 to 7 times. Shape dough into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, using a rolling pin, roll out dough to a ¼-inch thickness. Using a fluted 1½-inch square cutter, cut 30 cookies from dough, rerolling scraps as necessary. Using an offset spatula, transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets. Freeze for 15 minutes.
- Bake until edges of cookies are lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Using an offset spatula, remove from baking sheets, and let cool completely on wire racks.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave ¼ cup chocolate chips on medium in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. Brush ⅖ of each cookie with melted chocolate, and place cookies on wax paper. Sprinkle chocolate with pecans, if desired. Let chocolate set completely. Repeat melting process with remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips. Repeat brushing process for uncoated side of cookies, leaving center ⅕ of each cookie plain. Sprinkle chocolate with pecans, if desired. Let chocolate set completely. Store in an airtight container with layers separated by wax paper and serve within 3 days.
