ingredients

3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
​1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/3 c. butter (2 sticks plus 5 Tbs.)
1 c. sugar plus extra for smashing cookies
1 tsp. vanilla
1 large egg
3/4 c. chopped pecans
​2 cups butterscotch chips

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Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment or "silpat" (silicon baking mats).
2. Combine flour, soda and salt; set aside.
3. Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla in a stand mixer with paddle attachment on medium high until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and beat on medium high speed for one more minute.
4. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, 1 c. at a time, until just combined. Stir in pecans and chips.
5. Using a small (1") cookie scoop or your hands, form balls 1" across and place on cookie sheets 2" apart.
6. Place 2-3 Tbs sugar on a plate or in a shallow bowl. Use a flat-bottomed glass to flatten cookies, dipping glass in sugar before flattening each cookie. The cookies will compress to about the height of a chip, which is perfect. Try to make them even thickness.
7. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until they begin to brown around the edges with a pale (but dry) center. Cool on pans for 5 minutes and then remove to cooling rack.
8. If you don't eat them all right away, store in an airtight container up to a week in the refrigerator or a month in the freezer.

Good to know

This is one of my very favorite cookies. Although the butterscotch chips make them sweet, the nuts add a savory heartiness that keeps the sweetness from being overpowering.

Cool the cookies completely before covering or storing; warm cookies stored in an airtight container can become soggy and tough.

It's an extra step, but if you want to take these cookies to the height of their tastiness, toast the nuts before adding. Instructions are at the bottom of the "Sweet and Salty Nuts" recipe, here.