Maple Pecan Shortbread

Nov 17, 2009, Updated Nov 08, 2015

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These maple pecan shortbread cookies are perfect for fall. Full of maple flavor and pecans all rolled into a butter shortbread cookie.

I have only recently started to like the flavor of pecans. I know it’s weird but I just have never been a fan of nuts. To this day I still dislike walnuts…yuck! Luckily since I now enjoy pecans I enjoyed these delicious cookies. They had a hint of maple flavor and the perfect cookie crunch. I froze a little bag of these cookies and they froze beautifully. My plan is to make them again and freeze them for my Christmas cookie trays.

The only thing I changed about this recipe was leaving out the maple flavoring. I did not have any in the house and was not about to run out and try and find some. I used a little more maple syrup instead and made sure to use Grade B. It has more maple flavor than Grade A…in my opinion 🙂 Enjoy!

These maple pecan shortbread cookies are perfect for fall. Full of maple flavor and pecans all rolled into a butter shortbread cookie.

Maple Pecan Sandies

These maple pecan shortbread cookies are perfect for fall. Full of maple flavor and pecans all rolled into a butter shortbread cookie.

Ingredients:

2-1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pecan halves, finally chopped
24 whole pecan halves
2 sticks unslated butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon pure maple extract
1 large egg, light beaten
Turbinado sugar - for sprinkling

Source: Martha Stewart

Directions:

Into a medium bowl, sift flours and salt. Whisk in 1/2 cup chopped pecans, set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until smooth and light, about one minute. Add the maple syrup, egg yolk, and extract; beat on medium speed until well combined. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture, beating until just combined. Dough should be smooth and pliable. Flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic; chill until firm, 1-1/2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out rounds using a two-inch cookie cutter; place one inch apart on prepared baking sheet. Brush tops with beaten egg; sprinkle centers with remaining 1/4 cup pecans. Sprinkle the entire surface with turbinado sugar.

Bake cookies, rotating baking sheet halfway through, until golden around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in airtight containers at room temperature up to four days.