These vanilla chip cookies are the pandemic TLC you’ve been looking for

The headline for this recipe really should be, “Vanilla Chip Cookies are Perfect for Emotional Eating.”

While I’m hopeful the hard, but critically important conversations we’re having in our country right now will lead to progress, the COVID-19 pandemic, and being apart from my friends and normal routine, is making me anxious, stressed and scared (what other emotions could a 26-year-old in quarantine be feeling?).

As a result, I want to eat cookies.

Lots of cookies.

Not just any cookies, but these cookies.

Am I emotionally eating? Yes.

Is it healthy? Debatable.

Can you judge me for it? Absolutely not.

This is a family recipe from my Aunt Laura. My mom would always make them for my brother and I when we had bad days at school. Growing up, there wasn’t anything a warm cookie made with TLC couldn’t fix. Today, our collective problems are bigger, but these cookies still make me feel comforted and satisfy my ever-present sweet tooth and emotional eating habit.

Vanilla chips and pecan provide a nice change from chocolate (not that there’s ever anything wrong with chocolate, but sometimes you need something different, you know?). Don’t forget to chill the dough. It amplifies the sweet and nutty flavor and helps keep the shape of the cookie.

I also wanted to share a brilliant shortcut I discovered: I also made the dough in the food processor, which was SO EASY! It saved prep and cleanup time and eliminated the need for multiple dishes.

This no-frills recipe won’t end this pandemic, but they make me happy, and I hope they will cheer you up, too.

Vanilla Chip Pecan Cookies

Yield: Makes two dozen cookies.

• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
• ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 and ¼ cups flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• ½ cup chopped pecans

1. Heat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (I recently learned that baking with silicone can actually affect the way your cookies turn out, so try to use parchment if you have it).
2. In a food processor, cream the butter. Add sugars, egg and vanilla, mixing until well blended. Add the flour, baking soda and salt.
3. Remove the dough from the food processor and transfer into a bowl. Mix in vanilla chips and pecans.
4. Scoop dough (each about the size of a tablespoon), and line on the baking sheet.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "These vanilla chip cookies are the pandemic TLC you’ve been looking for."