Mise en Place the Noodle Dough

• What is mise en place and how could it benefit you? See The Finer Cookie’s post How to Mise en Place.
• Separate eggs yolks and place them in a bowl of a stand mixer. Reserve the egg whites in a liquid measuring cup. Read more on how to separate eggs here.
• Combine egg yolks, sugar, and oil in a bowl with a dough whisk or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the beater attachment.

• Measure the flour in a small bowl and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 300F/150C.
• Line three baking trays with parchment paper or a baking liner.
• Chop the pecans and spread them onto a prepared baking tray.
• Toast the pecans in the 300F oven for 30 minutes or until toasty and dry. Set aside to cool completely.

Assemble the Noodle Dough

• Very gradually, add the flour to the liquid ingredients and beat until the dry ingredients are moistened and a dough ball forms.
• Pinch the dough. If it holds together easily, then dump the dough onto your counter and knead it until smooth and elastic. If the dough isn’t supple and won’t roll easily, then add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until the dough is no longer dry.

Notes on the Noodle Dough

• Egg yolks will create a very dry and crispy noodle when baked. The noodle will also stay crispy in the meringue batter and in the baked cookie. The oil will make the dough supple and easy to roll.

Roll and Cut the Noodles

• Roll out the noodle dough into a square or round, about 1/8″ thick. Rolling thinner than this will change the texture of the finished cookie. The dough could feel a bit oily. Sprinkle a little flour to prevent sticking.

• Roll the dough into a tight cylinder.

• With a chef’s knife, cut the dough crosswise into very thin slices, as thin as possible.

• Toss the threads to open them up and spread them on your prepared baking tray.

Bake the noodles at 300F for 20-25 minutes

• In a 300F oven, bake the tray of noodles for about 20-25 minutes. You are looking for a dry, well toasted noodle.
• Remove the noodles to a dry kitchen towel to absorb any remaining moisture.
• Let the noodles cool completely.

Mise en Place the Pecan Meringue

• Lower the oven temperature to 250F.
• Combine the brown and white sugars and break up any lumps you find. Set aside.
• Warm the egg whites to be slightly warmer than your finger. You can do this in the microwave on very low heat for 30-45 seconds at a time.
• Combine the dry noodles and pecans and set aside.

• Place a wide mouth bowl to the side. Also get a large spatula and set it with this bowl.

Whip the Meringue

• Whisk the egg whites until very soft peaks. Click here to learn more about how to whip meringue.
• Add the sugar gradually and continue to whip until you get a firm mixture. The meringue will be glossy and will look a little like marshmallow.

• Scrape out the meringue into your large, dry bowl and add the noodles and pecans to the meringue.

• Gently fold the ingredients together. It might seem that there are too many noodles and pecans for the meringue, but this is correct. The meringue will stretch and hold the cookie together.
• Continue to fold just until combined.

Bake the Noodle Cookies at 250F for about 1 hour

• Scoop out the cookie batter using two large tablespoons. You should have three trays of 9 cookies.

• If your oven only accommodates two trays, leave the batter at room temperature until you’re ready to bake the third tray. You’ll be pleased to know that the crispy noodles won’t go soggy while waiting.
• Bake at 250F for about 1 hour until golden and crisp.