Pecan Shortbread Cookies
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Rolled in coarse sugar, these sophisticated pecan shortbread cookies are long on buttery, nutty flavor.
If you’re a fan of my classic shortbread cookies, these buttery, sugar-crusted pecan shortbread cookies are a must-try. The recipe comes from my friend Lisa Kolb Ruland, a self-described recovering lawyer turned CIA-trained pastry chef. Lisa has worked in some of New York City’s top bakeshops, and she is also the voice behind the lovely blog Unpeeled, where she shares trusted recipes. Lisa describes these cookies as “sweet but not cloying, hearty and nutty but still delicate…a standout.” I have to agree—they are one of the most delicious cookies I have ever made. If you’re looking for something sophisticated to nibble on with coffee or tea, a gift-worthy treat to share with friends or neighbors, or just a fun baking project, these cookies fit the bill.
“The best batch of shortbread I’ve ever made…thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It is perfect!”
What You’ll Need To Make Pecan Shortbread Cookies
- Chopped Pecans: Add a nutty flavor and crunchy texture. Toasting them, as the recipe indicates, deepens their slightly sweet flavor.
- Butter: Provides richness and moisture to the cookies.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps achieve a tender dough.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor of the cookies with its aromatic richness.
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides structure to the cookies. Measure it by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off to ensure accuracy.
- Egg Yolk: Helps the sugar adhere to the dough and adds richness.
- Demerara or Turbinado Sugar: The large crystals create a sweet, crunchy coating on the cookies’ edges.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Begin by toasting the pecans in a 350°F-oven for about five minutes to bring out their flavor. Let the pecans cool on the baking sheet while you prepare the cookie dough.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt.
Beat until smooth and lightened a bit, two to three minutes.
Scrape the bowl with a spatula and add the flour.
Mix on low speed until just combined.
Add the toasted pecans.
Mix on low speed until evenly incorporated.
Turn the dough onto a clean countertop lightly dusted with flour. Dust the dough with a little flour as well.
Shape and roll into a squared log between 1-1/2 to 2 inches wide and 1-1/2 to 2 inches high, dusting with more flour as necessary. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or parchment paper and chill for at least one hour or overnight, until the dough has gotten very firm.
Once chilled, slice the chilled log into two halves. Brush the log with a beaten egg yolk.
Roll the logs in demerara sugar, pressing as necessary, until fully coated. If there are any areas of the log that are bare, sprinkle with the demerara sugar to cover.
Use a serrated knife to slice each log into about 12 individual cookies, each about 1/2-inch thick. Place the cookie slices onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each.
Bake until lightly golden, 18 to 20 minutes.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Make-Ahead, Freezing & Storage Instructions
The cookies will keep in a covered container at room temperature for up to a week. They can also be frozen. Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature. If you’d like to freeze the dough before baking, shape it into a squared log, then wrap it securely in plastic wrap and then a layer of foil; freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, remove the log from the freezer, thaw it until pliable, and then proceed with the recipe.
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Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Rolled in coarse sugar, these sophisticated pecan shortbread cookies are long on buttery, nutty flavor.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup chopped pecans
- 10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Scant ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with a knife, plus more for dusting
- 1 egg yolk, beaten
- ¼ cup demerara or turbinado sugar (Note: You'll use less than this, but you need extra to roll the dough in.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- Place the pecans on a baking sheet and toast for around five minutes, until fragrant. Cool on the baking sheet. (The nuts can be toasted and stored at room temperature.)
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth and lightened a bit, two to three minutes. Scrape the bowl with a spatula. Add the flour and mix on low just until fully combined. Add the pecans and mix until evenly combined.
- Turn the dough onto a clean countertop lightly dusted with flour. Dust the dough with a little flour. Shape and roll into a squared log between 1½ to 2 inches wide and 1½ to 2 inches high, dusting with more flour as necessary. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or parchment paper and chill for at least one hour or overnight, until the dough has gotten very firm.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set two oven racks in the centermost positions. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Lightly beat the egg yolk and ½ teaspoon of water in a small bowl and set aside. Pour the demerara sugar into a rimmed baking sheet or shallow casserole pan. Slice the chilled log in half to make it more manageable. Working with one log at a time, brush all sides of the log with the egg yolk mixture, then roll in the demerara sugar, pressing as necessary, until fully coated. If there are any areas of the log that are bare, sprinkle with the demerara sugar to cover.
- Use a serrated knife to slice each log into about 12 individual cookies, each about ½-inch thick. Place the cookie slices onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each. Bake, rotating from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until lightly golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. The cookies will keep in a covered container at room temperature for up to a week.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature. If you'd like to freeze the dough before baking, shape it into a squared log, then wrap it securely in plastic wrap and then a layer of foil; freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, remove the log from the freezer, thaw it until pliable, and then proceed with recipe.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 112
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 10 g
- Sugar: 4 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Sodium: 51 mg
- Cholesterol: 19 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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These are outstanding!
The best batch of shortbread I’ve ever made! I used dry-roasted sea-salt pecans and just roughly broke them up with my fingers. They turned out beautifully. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It is perfect!
Just curious but do I need to toast pecans whole or chopped? I was unsure if this mattered or not. Look forward to making these for my mom for Mother’s Day. Still loving your recipes after all these years!
You can go either way with the toasting. So glad you like the recipes and I hope your mom enjoys these! 🙂
When shaping into a log the batter was really sticking to my floured hands. Wonder if butter was too soft or mixed too long. Just put in the frig. Crossing fingers it worked.
These are amazing cookies. I made some to take to a dinner at our friend’s and both adults and kids loved them. They are perfect in terms of sweetness too. I may have won over some new onceuponachef fans!
I formed it into a log by placing it on plastic wrap and using the wrap to ‘handle’ the dough so I didn’t need to incorporate much extra flour. I also brushed the egg onto the dough while it was sitting on the plastic and then rolled it into the sugar.
Highly recommend!
Jen, thank you for introducing me to the marvels of this shortbread!
Definitely a keeper.
Even my nut-hating boys wolfed these down! Now I have to go hide the tin.
Since first making this recipe before Christmas, I’ve returned to it again and again. I’ve also improved my shaping and I cut them slightly thinner than the 1/2″ and adjust the bake time. We are pretty low salt these days, but I do think these cookies benefit from a bit of salt. So instead of adding salt, I use a slightly salted butter which we can buy in Oz and that’s enough for us. I also appreciate the metric measurements. Thanks, Jenn.
These shortbread cookies are the perfect alternative to Russian tea cakes and wedding cookies. It takes a fraction of the time to prepare and they are delicious. It tastes good right out of the freezer too. My aunt just asked for the recipe.
Thank you!
I just finished my holiday baking and made five different kinds of cookies including your pecan shortbread. Of all of them, these were definitely my favourite! I think what makes them stand apart is that they are not too sweet, are rich with the butter and toasted pecans, have a satisfying firm and crunchy bite, the contrast of the sugar edge and they look beautiful and “sophisticated” as you promised! They are the kind of cookie you can have with coffee or tea (or anytime) that tastes delicious but somehow seems not too sinful the way a sweeter or chocolate type cookie can. Before making them I read all the comments to ensure success. Some people found the dough dry and crumbly so I added an extra 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter to the batter and my dough came together perfectly. I also weighed the flour (using 195 grams) and sifted icing sugar (using 65 grams). I rolled the dough into a 2″ circular log ( I prefer the round shape) and froze the log for several days until I was ready to bake and then let it thaw in the fridge overnight. Instead of coating the whole log in egg wash and then the Demerara sugar and slicing, I first measured and cut half inch slices, then dipped the edges of each cookie individually into the egg wash and then the sugar. Doing it this way, it is easier and cleaner to reshape each cookie into a nice circle if I cut through a pecan and the cookie became misshapen and the sugar edge was more defined and clean. It only took a few extra minutes to do each cookie individually. Thank you so much for developing this wonderful recipe. It is going into my yearly holiday rotation! All the best and Happy Holidays! xxx
Have made these multiple times exactly as written. An exceptional cookie! Thanks!
Jenn
Can you tell me the length the log should be once formed?
Thanks,
Chris
Hi Chris, I’m not 100 percent sure how long it should be, but the important part is that thelog should be 1-1/2 to 2 inches wide and 1-1/2 to 2 inches high. Hope you enjoy!