In 2006, Laurie won a blue ribbon at the Topsfield Fair with this recipe. The next year, she submitted 15 recipes and won 12 blue ribbons, all of which set her forth on her prize-winning path.
Yield:
about 6 dozen cookiesIngredients
1 cup pecans
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened, plus extra for baking sheets
1 cup butter-flavored vegetable shortening
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups light-brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3-1/2 cups whole rolled oats (such as Quaker Old-Fashioned Oats)
1 12-ounce bag milk-chocolate chips
2 cups crushed Skor candy bars (about 8 1.4-ounce bars)
Instructions
Heat oven to 350°. Grease 4 baking sheets. Toast pecans in the oven about 8 minutes, shaking the pan once halfway through. Set aside to cool. Break any large pecans into smaller pieces.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Cream together butter, shortening, and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla until combined. Add dry ingredients slowly to butter mixture and combine. Mix oats in thoroughly. With a spoon, add chocolate chips, Skor bits, and toasted pecans. (Don’t use a mixer, as it will crush them.) Mix well.
Using a medium-size ice-cream scoop (about 2 tablespoons), drop batter on prepared baking sheets, 12 cookies per sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes: 10 for chewy texture, 12 for crunchier. Remove from oven, and let cookies rest on baking sheets; then let cool completely on racks. Repeat with remaining batter.
