Chocolate, Praliné and Pecan Cookie Tart
Chewy chocolate chip cookies or other big cookies with some toppings were not a very common product in France in the past. The more famous cookies in the French patisserie are delicate butter cookies called Sablé. These cookies come in different sizes, usually in a round shape and are very crunchy with a wonderful aroma of butter.
In recent years, foreign influences have entered the realm of French patisserie. A few years ago, shops began to open in Paris whose whole business is cookies that are very different from the delicate French Sablé.
These new creations are moist cookies, large, very soft and rich in various flavors and ingredients that have never entered cookies in France. Even the world’s leading pastry chefs have put the rich cookies into their Tea-time hours in luxury hotels in the city of lights.
This time I walked a few minutes to Merouan Bounekraf’s new boulangerie – patisserie, which opened in our neighborhood. Bounekraf is well-known in France after starring in the tenth season of the TOP CHEF tv show in 2019. Bounekraf is a kitchen chef but his sweet products are great and I like one of them especially.
So what’s better than a cookie? Cookie Tart! A cool idea that can be found at Bounekraf’s boutique in pistachio or pecan and chocolate flavors. In addition to the video we made for you, I asked him for the recipe so that you too can enjoy this great recipe.
The idea is a cookie rich in milk chocolate, chopped pecans and pecan praliné, wrapped in the sides of a crunchy pastry dough (sides only). For more golden sides it’s recommended to bake the dough strips a blind baking before baking the cookie inside. The cookies can be made in different sizes.
If you have leftovers from the pastry dough, you can cut it into different shapes, bake and eat as butter cookies.
Chocolate, Praliné and Pecan Cookie Tart
for 15 cookies, ring molds 7 cm, height 1.5 cm
Ingredients 
Pastry Dough:
100g butter, cubed
65g confectioner’s sugar, sifted
20g almond meal
pinch of salt
160g all-purpose flour, sifted
40g egg
Chocolate, Praliné and Pecan Cookie Dough:
100g butter, softened
75g light brown sugar
60g eggs (around 1 big egg)
140g flour, sifted
6g baking powder
80g milk chocolate, chopped
80g roasted pecans, chopped
50g pecan praliné paste
For decoration:
Praliné paste and chopped roasted pecans
Preparation
1. Pastry Dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and confectioner’s sugar, almond meal, salt and flour. Add egg and mix until the ingredients come together into a ball of dough.
2. Remove from the mixer bowl and knead briefly on your work surface until well combined.
3. Lightly sprinkle the top and bottom of the dough ball with flour, put it between two sheets of parchment paper, and lightly flatten it into a disk (don’t roll it out completely). Transfer the dough, with the paper, to the refrigerator and chill for 2 hours.
4. Remove from the fridge, and roll out the dough to a thickness of 3 mm. Cut 15 strips out of the dough, line the ring sides (only) with the dough, making sure that the sides are fully filled in and straight. Using a knife, gently trim the overhanging edges. Refrigerate for 1 more hour, meanwhile preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
5. Cookie Dough: In a medium bowl beat together butter and sugar until soft and creamy. Add egg and beat.
6. Add the flour and baking powder, mix until soft dough forms.
7. Fold in the chocolate chunks and pecans, add the praliné paste and mix.
8. Form around 15 balls of dough, 35g each.
9. Remove the rings from the fridge and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
10. Line a parchment paper over the rings, fill with dry beans or pie weights. Bake for around 12 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven, then carefully remove the weights and the parchment paper. Place in the center of each ring a cookie dough ball, bake for 10-12 minutes.
12. Remove from the oven, set aside to cool and garnish with praliné paste and pecans chunks.
Bon-Appétit
Sharon
