Dark Chocolate Beet & Toasted Pecan Cookies

Original Recipe Provided by Susan Sink, The Tarheel Foodie

Yields about 50 cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 – 1 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup virgin coconut oil (liquid form, but not hot)
1 egg at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (you can substitute vanilla powder)
3/4 cup of roasted beet puree
1/4 cup buttermilk (no gum gar in the ingredient list)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose organic flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Valrhona brand is what Iuse)
1/2 teaspoon Himalayan Sea Salt (pairs well with beets)
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup toasted chopped pecans
1 cup dark chocolate chips

 

Directions:
Sift the flower, salt, baking soda and cocoa powder together in a bowl and set aside.

Cream both sugars into the butter until it’s well incorporated.

Add the liquid coconut oil in a steady stream with the mixer on low and continue to cream it until it seems light and fluffy.

Add the egg and blend well.

Add the vanilla extract, roasted beet puree, buttermilk and apple cider vinegar. Blend well on medium speed. Beets stain so use caution with the speed of your blender.

On low to medium speed, add the dry mixture and incorporate it into the dough.

Increase the speed for about 20-30 seconds to medium/high right at the end to incorporate a little air so the cookies have a light texture, but don’t over blend.

By hand, fold in the chopped pecans and chocolate chips. Use more or less depending on your preference.

Using a couple of spoons, drop about two tablespoons of dough for each cookie onto a cookie sheet that has been line with parchment paper. This will keep them from burning or getting hard on the bottom.

Bake at 350F for about 11-12 minutes. If you eliminate the nuts and chocolate chips, cut back the bake time to 10 minutes.

Cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack or they will stick to the rack.

When you store these, use parchment paper between the layers or they will stick to each other
because of the high moisture content. They break very easily, so be gentle.