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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I made these this morning. They’re delicious, perfect with a cup of tea. Quick and easy to put together. I’ll be sure to add these to my list of favorites! Love your recipes!
Outstanding.
OMG!
I made these cookies yesterday, April 12, 2020… they were AMAZING! the recipe is simple, the cookies looked exactly like your picture & I am adding these to my cookie repertoire. I love to make cookies as gifts during the holidays and this will be one I will keep.
I bake cookies often, but this is the first time I have ever made a shortbread cookie, but I am so glad I found this recipe. I personally LOVE shortbread cookies, and prefer unflavored ones to flavored, and many from bakeries are outright disappointing, but these were simply outstanding. In my opinion, it is the Kosher salt that adds a nice contrast to the sweetness and richness of this cookie and elevates it to Phenom-Level. My friends will be begging me for these cookies & my hubby loved them, too. He has dunked them in both milk (last nite) and coffee this morning. I am not a cookie dunker, so prefer them un-dunked.
So far, I have made two of your recipes (just joined a couple of weeks ago, but Wow, so impressed with the quality). Thank you for sharing and to anyone not sure if you should make these– Do it!
One thing I did is I made some cookies on 1/2″ thick (or so) and some about 1/4″ or thinner. If you like a crunchier texture, make them thinner, or to make more cookies. Also, I tend to underbake most cookies I make a bit to allow them to be slightly chewy/soft in the center, but the ones I cooked longer (per instructions) were better because the sugar starts to caramelize a little bit which really makes them Extraordinarily divine. None of my cookies were burnt on bottom, just nice toasty brown (I used silicone mat on one cookie sheet & parchment paper on the other- no difference). I also doubled the recipe. I yielded just over 4 dozen cookies.
Go make these cookies! I think they could be used to get you a new love, job, raise, friend, anything!
These are absolutely delicious!!! My husband and adult son told me I should sell them. I made a couple of flops when making them as I thought I had burnt my pecans because I forgot about them in the oven and they were really dark but we tasted them and they didn’t taste burnt. Then, when I had them in the oven, my beeper went off but I was on a call (when you are working remotely and trying to bake too) so I couldn’t get to them for about 3 minutes after so thought they would end up in garbage but they were amazing. Tasted like a softer version of a biscotti. I did grind my pecans so didn’t have big chunks. I did not have any problems getting my dough in the square log but I did weigh all ingredients. Other than grinding the pecans to a coarse grind, I didn’t make changes to recipe. Absolutely a keeper!!!!
Loved loved loved.
Your recipes are consistently excellent.
I didn’t have enough walnuts or pecans so I added some chopped dried cherries to the dough. They turned out very well.
Nice to have a different sort of cookie recipe. Thanks
These are so delicious! I didn’t have Demerara sugar so substituted turbinado sugar and they turned out just fine. I’ll definitely add these to my cookie file! Thanks again Jenn!!
Ah-mazing cookies. So delicious I’m not sure if I’ll be sharing these with the fam- or anyone else for that matter.
One question though- In the photo it looks like you have used Turbinado sugar but the recipe calls for Demerara. I live in Canada so I’m wondering if maybe they’re referred to differently? I rolled one log in one sugar and the second log in the other sugar and prefer the yummy crunch of the turbinado, though the Demerara caramelized a teensy bit and has a lovely flavor as well. Another fantastic recipe! Thanks, Jenn.
Hi Alanna, So glad you enjoyed them! You’re correct, I did use turbinado. Both turbinado and demerara have large crystals, so I use them interchangeably. Did you notice a difference in crunch using the demerara?
I don’t have pecans. Can I use almonds?
Hi Ann, almonds should work here but you may want to chop them fairly finely; if not, it could be a bit hard to cut the log into slices (because almonds would be more challenging to cut through than pecans). Please LMK how they turn out!
Tried it with a hand mixer at higher speed: does not hold together UNLESS you add a bit more flour to the zillion little balls that formed in the bowl and, as Jenn said, also add a bit of flour on the board. Then form 4 square « rolls » and put away in fridge for at least 24 hours. Cut carefully: I had lots of crumbles and damages (baked these anyway on separate sheet). Final result: FABULOUS!!!
Thanks, Jenn!
Hi Jenn,
These were very easy and delicious. I changed the sugar to Turbinado. I made 2 batches. One using a silplat which came out golden and the other using parchment paper which was a little dark. The next time I will only use the Silplat and I made almost 20.
Can’t wait to make another batch.
Laura V