Pecan, Oat, and Dark Chocolate-Chunk Cookies

So I have a friend and a co-worker who is gluten-free and dairy-free, which sometimes inspires me to save recipes that I would normally overlook, and make things that I usually wouldn't make. Like these cookies, which I ripped out of a Martha Stewart Living magazine thinking, "Meh. Olive oil? Hmm... Maybe I'll try it." And so when it was time to make something for a pool party, I thought, why not?

Pecan, Oat, and Dark Chocolate-Chunk Cookies

Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Makes: 20

4 cups pecans, chopped
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (1 cup)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Working in batches, pulse pecans in a food processor just until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl; stir in oats, baking powder, salt, and cornstarch. Make a well in center of mixture; add oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Fold in chocolate.
2. Scoop quarter-cups of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Flatten each slightly with palm of your hand to 1/2 inch thick.
3. Bake, rotating sheets once, until cookies are light golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

My Notes:

1. I didn't work in batches. I didn't pre-chop the pecan halves. I just dumped it all in to the food processor and let it rip. I probably could have let the pecans grind down a little finer, but oh well.

2. I used a mix of pure maple syrup and agave because I didn't have enough of the maple syrup. Worked out fine.

3. These were very crumbly before baking. I found the best way to get them onto the cookie pan was to fill a 1/4 cup measuring cup, pack it in there with the spatula, overturn it onto the baking sheet, then flatten the mound slightly with the back of the measuring cup.

4. After baking, you really have to let them cool before picking them up because otherwise they crumble. They do hold together once cool, but they are pretty fragile and will crumble if you are too rough when you handle it.

5. Overall, my impression of this recipe is that's it's really a recipe for granola, but the recipe creator decided to throw in a little extra cornstarch and call them cookies. Because they are definitely a mouthful and very chewy-- soft granola is the best way I can think to describe it. I love that-- others, perhaps expecting a more "melt in your mouth" cookie experience, would be disappointed.