Oatmeal Pecan Maple Thins (and Throwdown with Bobby Flay)

Maple sugaring season is in full flow. Warming temperatures have started the sap flowing through area maples. As I learned last February, the collected sap is boiled multiple times until it reaches the amber sweetness we love. (If you want to learn more about maple sugaring in the Boston area, Mass Audubon is offering several maple sugaring programs at various sites in the next couple of weeks. Check their website for more details.) 

A perfect time to bake a maple syrup treat, and what better treat than this buttery, crisp cookie from local bakery, Bread and Chocolate. I'm particularly excited to try this recipe because tonight on the Food Network, Bread and Chocolate owner Eunice Feller goes head to head...or pie to pie...with Bobby Flay. Boston cream pie versus Boston cream pie. An epic throwdown of Massachusetts' official dessert. Tune in, my friends. The episode airs today, March 9, at 8:30 ET/PT. Check your local listings for details. If you're in the area, stop by either of Bread and Chocolate's two locations in Newtonville and the Newton Highlands. My particular favorites are the twice baked brioche and almond croissants. Yum!

Oatmeal Pecan Maple Thins
From Bread and Chocolate
Servings: 24 cookies

1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 baking soda
1 and 1/2 cup quick oats
1 cup pecans, chopped fine

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Mix maple syrup, sugar, and egg with an electric mixer on medium until well blended. Add melted butter. Beat at medium speed until all the wet ingredients are well incorporated into a nice emulsion. Add flour, salt, baking soda, and quick oats. Mix. Fold chopped pecans into the batter by hand. No worries. This dough will be a little wet.

Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto lined cookie sheets. Leave plenty of room around the cookies because they will spread during baking. Bake at 350ºF for 15-20 minutes. Rotate sheets and change shelves halfway through the baking time. Watch the cookies after 15 minutes. You want them to be browning and crisp, but not burned. Remove from oven. Cool on the cookie sheets, and then transfer to wire racks.

Eunice Feller suggests that these cookies are great for ice cream sandwiches or as a base for cheesecake. For a fantastic plated dessert, place one cookie on a plate. Add a scoop of ice cream. Drizzle maple syrup over everything, and top with some more chopped pecans. Easy and elegant.