Alabama Fudge-Pecan Chewies

appleydapply's Note:

Fudge-y, chewy, and delicious. From Southern Living.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 50 cookies

• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
• ¼ cup butter or ¼ cup margarine
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 50 pecan halves (approximately, it depends on how "heaping" your teaspoon is)

Directions:

1. Add condensed milk, chocolate, and butter to a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate and butter melt.
2. Remove from heat and stir in flour, chopped pecans, and vanilla.
3. You can let the mixture cool slightly if you wish, but don't let it get too cool as it will be harder to get a nice-looking cookie - they'll have jagged edges if the mixture has started to set and doesn't "flow" slightly.
4. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. You can fit a lot of these on a cookie sheet, as they hardly spread at all. Press a pecan half into the center of each cookie.
5. Bake sheets one at a time on a rack placed in the center of the oven. Bake at 350° for 7 minutes. (Do not overbake.) Let sit for one minute on the cookie sheet to set up a bit, then immediately transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.