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!
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.