
Ingredients
500 g flour
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp Le Guérandais coarse grey Guérande sea salt
8 salt caramels
300 g unsalted butter
300 g brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 vanilla pods (or 1 tsp powdered vanilla)
150 g pecans
Le Guérandais “fleur de sel” Guérande sea salt

Preparation :
Makes 50 x 4-cm diameter cookies
preparation time 45 mins
rest time 24 hrs
cooking time 10-12 mins
The day before, sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and coarse grey sea salt in a bowl. Set aside.
Dice the caramels into small, 3-mm wide cubes and coat them with 1 tsp of flour. Cut the vanilla pods in half and scrape the black seeds. Using a food processor or spatula, blend together the sugar and butter until light and creamy. Add the eggs one-by-one then the vanilla seeds, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Gradually reduce the speed of the whisk and add the flour mixture. Blitz for a further 5 to 10 secs. Stir in the caramel chunks and the pecans with a spatula. Divide the dough in four and roll into four long 4-cm thick sausages. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 24-36 hrs. You can even leave it 72 hrs.
The following day, preheat the oven to 180 °C (gas mark 6). Cover a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Cut 4-mm thick slices from one sausage and place them on the tray. Sprinkle lightly with “fleur de sel” sea salt and bake for 10-12 mins, until the cookies are golden.
Leave to cool on a rack. Repeat for the remaining dough.
The «fleur de sel» sea salt literally transforms the taste of these cookies. Don’t be too impatient! If you leave the dough in the refrigerator for 24 hrs, it really brings out the caramel flavour of the cookie - well worth waiting for!
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