Pecan Chocolate Cobbler

Pecan pie is a dessert that is a staple of many fall dinner parties and celebrations, but fall isn’t the only time of year that I bake desserts using pecans. This Pecan Chocolate Cobbler is a wonderful way to enjoy pecans any time of the year! While most cobblers feature fresh fruit, this one has a filling that is made with chocolate and toasted pecans, giving it a rich flavor with plenty of crunch and just the right amount of sweetness from the cobbler topping.

This cobbler is assembled a bit like a pudding cake, in that the dish is assembled in layers and hot water is poured over the top of the entire dessert before it goes into the oven. After all, pecans don’t give off any liquid while they bake – unlike the fresh fruits usually found in a cobbler – so, you have to add in some additional liquid to create a saucy filling around the nuts!

The filling itself is made up of a generous amount of toasted pecans and chocolate chips. The chocolate chips will melt into the sauce, giving the dessert its deep chocolate flavor, but the pecans will keep their lovely, toasted texture throughout the bake. I like to use toasted pecans for this recipe and I generally start with large pecan halves, giving them just a coarse chop for variety before adding them to the pan. I find that larger pieces of pecans work a bit better in the finished dessert, although if you only have pre-chopped pecans, the dish will still work.

The topping is a simple cake batter that is lightly flavored with vanilla extract. In the fall and winter, sometimes I’ll add cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter to give the cobbler some extra warmth, but the vanilla works beautifully with the pecans and chocolate, allowing them to really be the stars of the dish.

After baking, allow the cobbler to cool to room temperature to give the filling a chance to thicken up before you serve it. If desired, the cobbler can be reheated in the microwave. I serve mine warm, with small with scoops of vanilla or butter pecan ice cream!

Pecan Chocolate Cobbler
1/2 cup butter, cut into 8-10 pieces
1 cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups very coarsely chopped toasted pecans
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups hot water

Preheat oven to 350F.
Place butter in a 9×13-inch baking pan and place in the oven for 5-6 minutes, until butter is completely melted.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add in milk and vanilla, then stir until batter comes together. Set aside.
Remove the pan with the melted butter from the oven. Evenly sprinkle pecans and chocolate chips over the base of the butter-filled pan. Spoon batter evenly over the pecans and chocolate, then sprinkle the batter evenly with brown sugar and pour hot water over the whole dish.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until cobbler topping is golden brown.
Allow cobbler to cool to room temperature before serving to give the sauce a chance to thicken up.

Serves 8-10