Orange-Pecan Brown Sugar Cookies

Submitted by Val.

Source: "Big Fat Cookies"

2½ cups flour
¼ cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups butter, at room temperature
1½ cups packed dark brown sugar
4 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
2 tablespoons vanilla
2½ cups (10 ounces) finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheets with parchment. combine flour, cornstarch, and salt and set aside. Beat butter and brown sugar until smooth, about 1 minute. Add zest, vanilla, and 1 1/2 cups of the pecans until blended, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture on low, mixing just until incorporated. Using a 1/4 cup scoop, measure out portions of dough. Roll each one between the palms of your hands to make a smooth ball, flatten into a 3 1/2 inch circle, and place cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Sprinkle remaining pecans over the centers of the cookies, pressing them gently into the dough. Bake until the top feels firm when gently touched and the bottoms are lightly browned, about 20 minutes. the color change during baking is subtle -- the unbaked cookies are light brown and the baked cookies will be medium brown. the cookies will spread quite a bit and will be about 4 1/2 inches in diameter after baking. Cool 10 minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will become crisp after they cool. Dust the cooled cookies with powdered sugar, if desired.

Val's Notes: Delicious and buttery crisp with a bit of a chew in the middle (depending on how long you bake them). The orange flavor isn't too strong even though I used a bit more than was called for. It is a nice flavor though -- I wouldn't want to add much more.