These butter pecan cookies are loaded with butter and have a shortbread texture that makes the cookies melt in the mouth.
Why should you bake these cookies?
These butter pecan cookies are very easy to bake and they will impress the family and friends, equally. To bake the cookies you only need a few basic ingredients. These cookies will stay fresh for days and will feed a lot of people. These shortbread cookies are totally irresistible.
Table of Contents
Shortbread Texture
The cookies have a shortbread texture that melts in the mouth right away. The texture is tender, buttery and crumbly. Shortbread is made with traditional ratio of one part sugar to two parts butter. As a result, the cookies have high fat content that makes a soft buttery crumb.
Browning the Butter
Melt the butter over medium heat and keep stirring for 5-6 minutes. It will start turning brown and the milk solids will start settling down on the sides of the pan and the bottom. Remove the pan when the butter is golden brown. The butter can burn quickly so you need to be careful with it.
Toast the Pecans
To get a nuttier taste of the pecans, toast them before adding to the cookie dough. The pecans can be toasted in the oven or on the stove. Toast the pecans for about 6-8 minutes in a pan on the stove at medium heat. To toast the pecans in oven, preheat the oven at 350 and scatter the pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Keep them in the oven for about 5-10 minutes. Toss the pecans occasionally during this time. Remove the pecans and cool them completely. Chop them finely and set aside.
Ingredients Required
With four simple ingredients you can bake these cookies. You will need:
Butter
All-Purpose Flour
Sugar (Brown + Icing)
Pecans
Weigh the ingredients to get the perfect texture.
How to store
On the Counter: The baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days.
In the refrigerator: You can refrigerate the cookies for up to 10 days.
In the Freezer: To freeze the cookies, freeze each cookie separately on a baking tray for about an hour. Then wrap each cookie with plastic wrap, add a layer of foil and then place them in a Zip-loc bag. In this way the cookies with not stick with each other. They can stay in the freezer for up to three months. Thaw the cookies for 2-3 hours before serving.
Freeze the Cookie Dough: You can freeze the cookie dough up to three months as well. Defrost the dough while you preheat the oven, cut the cookies and bake.
Recipe
Recipe
Butter Pecan Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup butter (3 sticks) unsalted
- ¾ cup light brown sugar (150 grams/5.3 oz)
- ¾ cup icing sugar (75 grams/2.6 oz)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (390 grams/12 oz)
- 1 ½ cup pecans (190 grams/4.4 oz) finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon salt (1.5 grams)
Instructions
Butter:
- Put butter in a pan over medium heat and stir constantly for about 6 – 8 minutes until the butter begins to turn golden brown in color. When the butter starts changing the color, remove the pan from heat and pour it in a shallow dish. Place this dish in fridge and chill for 1 hour, just until the butter starts to solidify.
Toast Pecans:
- In the same pan, toast the pecans for 6 – 8 minutes on medium heat. Remove the pan and cool. Chop the pecans finely and set aside.
Butter Pecan Dough:
- Take out the butter and put it in a mixer bowl and start beating with an electric mixer until the butter is creamy and softer.Add sugars, one by one, beating it constantly until the color is pale. This will take about 8 - 10 minutes.
- Sift the flour and salt in a bowl and whisk it.
- Add the flour and beat at low speed until the whole mixture comes together. Fold in the pecans.
- Shape the dough in 2-inch width and 8-inch long logs. The dough will make 4 logs. Wrap each log tightly in plastic wrap, twist the sides of the log tightly and place the logs in fridge to chill. Keep in the fridge for 4 hours.
Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 and line the baking trays with silicone sheets or parchment paper.
- Work on one log at a time. Cut the log into ½ inch thick cookies. Put each round on the baking trays leaving a gap of 1-inch between each cookie. Bake the cookies until they turn light brown from the corner. It will take about 8 – 10 minutes.
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