I have cookie envy.

I have suffered from this neurosis for years. I thought my only recourse was to suffer silently and wait for any opportunity to get on the I-5 and drive the 191.44 miles north to The Harris Ranch Restaurant in Coalinga, CA.

Which may sound a little extreme. But I have done it before.

What sort of cookie deserves this sort of mecca?

Well, a delicious cookie of course, with the unassuming name of The Harris Ranch Pecan Drop Cookie. But the name is the only thing uninspired about this culinary marvel.

Let’s start with texture. They are crackly on the edges. There are lots of bits of crunchy pecans to provide a counterpoint to my favorite thing about this cookie. And that is the sticky chewy interior.

This thing tastes like a very, very, very good pecan pie; but somehow better than a pecan pie. It’s oh so buttery, but contains no butter.

This cookie is so good that it will change your life. It is the sole reason I don’t bake cookies at home very often. I mean what’s the point if the benchmark waits nearly 200 miles north, mocking whatever paltry replacement comes out of my oven.