Recipe: Orange Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

We can’t get enough of these monster cookies!

Gideon’s Bakehouse in Disney Springs is known for its giant, topping-loaded cookies. So, of course they had to join the Flavors of Florida party with their own chocolate, orange, and pecan cookie creation. Their version uses Florida-specific ingredients, like South Florida Pecan Pralines, but our version works in a pinch too. Plus, Gideon’s only allows two cookies per person, and our recipe will yield way more than that.

Orange Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields about 24 cookies

Ingredients:

Candied Orange Peel

• 2 Navel oranges

• 1 cup water

• ¾ cup granulated sugar

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Cookies

• 1 cup cold butter, cubed

• 1 cup brown sugar

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• 2 eggs

• 2 teaspoons vanilla

• 1 teaspoon orange extract or reserved candied orange syrup

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 ½ cups dark chocolate chips

• ½ cup candied pecans

• ½ cup candied orange peel

Instructions:

Candied Orange Peel

1. Cut the top and bottom off the orange. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the orange into thin strips. Cut the strips into bite-sized pieces.

2. Add the orange peels, water, ½ cup of sugar, and salt to a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Allow the orange peels to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. While the orange peels simmer, add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar to a bowl.

4. Once the orange peels are softened, but still have a vibrant color, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Let the orange peels sit in the orange syrup for 5 minutes.

5. Transfer the orange peels to a plate and reserve the orange syrup (unless you’re using orange extract). Allow the peels to cool for about 15 minutes.

6. Once cooled, toss the orange peels in the sugar and set aside.

Cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. In a stand mixer bowl — or large bowl with a hand mixer — combine the butter and sugars. Start beating on low and gradually increase the speed as the butter begins to soften. Continue beating until the mixture is a sandy consistency.

3. Add the eggs, vanilla, orange extract (or syrup), salt, and baking soda and beat until combined. Slowly add in the flour one cup at a time.

4. Stir in 1 ½ cups of dark chocolate chips. Place the remaining chocolate chips, candied pecans, and candied orange peel in a bowl.

5. Using a large tablespoon, scoop the dough and form it into large balls. Dip the cookie dough in the chocolate chip, candied pecan, and candied orange peel mixture — be sure to press the toppings into the dough so they stay. Coat three sides of the ball, but leave the bottom alone.

6. Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

Takeaway:

These cookies were surprisingly easy to make. Even making my own candied orange peel wasn’t terribly hard. My only complaint is that this dough is super sticky so it sticks more to your fingers than the toppings stick to it — that also means they look more like drop cookies than traditional circular cookies. However, I don’t really care about their appearance as long as they taste good, which they do.

Obviously, they aren’t as fully loaded as Disney’s version, but I’m no Gideon. With that being said, I loved all the flavors and they came together nicely. However, next time I make them I would add some pecans and candied orange peel directly to the dough — just like you do with the chocolate chips. That way the chocolate chips, pecans, and candied peel inside will compensate for the lack of topping. Overall, I’d definitely make these cookies again — and honestly I’ll probably use this cookie dough recipe for my chocolate chip cookies in the future. Now that you have a general ratio for the topping too, you could use this recipe to make any one of Gideon’s Bakehouse’s monster cookies.