A surprising ingredient sets them apart

They say we eat first with our eyes. I was reminded of that during my most recent visit to Omni PGA Frisco, when I sat in my fairway-view suite starring at the plate of Ranch House Cookies that had been left as a welcome treat. When it comes to identifying delicious food, the eyes almost never lie; and in this particular instance, my eyes were telling me that I was about to bite into the perfect cookie.

Turns out, they were right.

Soft and chewy, with just enough crispiness along the edges, these cookies ate as though they were fresh from the oven. Dark chocolate was juxtaposed by coconut. The softness of baked oats was contrasted by the crunch of chopped pecans. And a sprinkling of finishing salt punctuated the bite and tempered the sweetness perfectly. 

Immediately, I had questions — namely two. Is there a secret to this recipe? And, fingers crossed, could the resort share that recipe with me? The answer to the latter question was, surprisingly, yes (see below), while the former question revealed an unlikely ingredient hiding behind the curtain and pulling all the strings — a scant measure of ground cinnamon. As Executive Pastry Chef Leen Nunn explains, she includes half a teaspoon of cinnamon to add “warm and woody flavor,” but just a hint of it. “It’s meant to enhance the other flavors,” she says of the spice, “not overpower them.”

Chef Nunn was committed to having a chocolate chip cookie on the menu from the moment the resort opened. It’s a comfort food, after all, and something that can transform a hotel into a home away from home. What Nunn didn’t immediately have, however, was the roadmap to get there. She studied a slew of existing recipes, then got to work experimenting on her own. It took a dozen attempts, but she finally landed on the ideal formula.

Today, the cookies are a mainstay at the resort and sold in numerous locations across the property. In fact, Nunn says Omni PGA Frisco sell about 300 of them a month. If you can’t get to the resort to taste them, the recipe below allows you to bring them home … albeit with a little work involved. Nunn’s No. 1 piece of advice? Be patient, both when chilling the dough and also when allowing all the refrigerated ingredients to come to room temperature before you begin mixing. “Adding cold ingredients shocks the dough,” she says.

One more thing: Be careful not to overmix the dough when you’re folding in the chocolate chips. “If you overmix the dough,” Nunn says, “the chocolate chips will start to melt, blending in with the dough.”

Are there worse problems than chocolate dough? Yes, of course. But it won’t lead to the perfect cookie — and Chef Nunn has the research to prove it.

Omni PGA Frisco’s Ranch House Cookies

Courtesy of Executive Pastry Chef Leen Nunn
(Yields one dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1.5 cup (300g) brown sugar
1.5 cup (300g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons (10g) pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs (50g) room temperature
3.25 cups (450g) all-purpose flour
0.5 tablespoon (7g) baking soda
0.5 teaspoon (2g) baking powder
0.5 teaspoon (3g) ground cinnamon
0.5 teaspoon (3g) salt
2 cups (400g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
0.5 cup (100g) rolled oats
0.5 cup (100g) shredded coconuts, toasted
0.5 cup (100g) chopped pecans, toasted
0.25 cup (60g) mini marshmallows
1 tablespoon (15g) Maldon salt

Preparation:

Spread coconut and pecans on a baking sheet and toast in the oven at 325 degrees F for five minutes. Set aside and cool until room temperature.

In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and both sugars until well combined.

Beat in the eggs and vanilla until the mixture lightens (about 1 minute).

Mix in the dry ingredients until well combined.

Fold in the chocolate chips, rolled oats, mini marshmallows, and the toasted coconut and pecans, mixing carefully until well combined.

Working with one-half cup at a time, form the dough into balls, arrange them on cookie sheets, then transfer to the refrigerator and chill for two hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line the baking sheets with parchment paper, then evenly place the rolled cookie dough. Using the palm of your hand, gently press down on each ball until it’s about a half-inch thick. Sprinkle the tops of each cookie with Maldon salt, then bake for 10 to 13 minutes.

When fully baked, remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cookies rest on the pan for five minutes. Then transfer them to a cooling rack.