1/2 c Unsalted butter

1/4 c Granulated sugar

1 ts Vanilla

1 c Minus

1 tb All-purpose flour

1/8 ts Baking powder

1/2 c Chunky chocolate pieces;

-see note 1/4 c Pecan halves; salted,

-roasted Recipe by: St. Louis Post-Dispatch 12/11/95 Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Beat butter and sugar in bowl of heavy-duty electric mixer until light and creamy. Beat in vanilla. Add flour and baking powder; beat just until mixed. Stir in chocolate pieces and pecans. Dough will be firm. Shape into 6 or 7 lemon-sized balls. Arrange 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Using palm of hand, flatten each cookie to 1/2-inch thickness.

Bake cookies until faintly browned at edges, about 45 minutes. (The cookies are so big that they require a long baking time.) Remove from oven; Note: It's essential to use the best-quality chocolate available for these cookies. You can buy 1 (3-ounce) bar of semisweet chocolate and breaking it into bite-size pieces. Recipe from Bev Bennett, author of "Dinner for Two" (Barron's). -----