Candied Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Welcome to 12 days of Christmas Cookies, my way of celebrating the holidays by sharing with you all 12 unique yet nostalgic cookie recipes to bake over the holidays. For day 11, I am sharing these Candied Pecan Shortbread Cookies! These are a classic, buttery shortbread cookie with homemade candied pecans for something extra special. These cookies are easy to make and even easier to enjoy!
12 Days of Christmas Cookies is inspired by nostalgic, holiday flavours but combined in a way that you hopefully haven’t seen before. Cookies are kind of my thing…. the limits of creativity feel endless when it comes to cookies and I am always so giddy about coming up with a new flavour combination, and so combing my favourite dessert with my favourite holiday just felt fitting! Between December 1st to the 12th you will see 12 completely different cookie recipes, ranging from easy, throw together recipes to recipes with a little more TLC, but something for bakers of every level. A lot of these cookies compliment each other if you want to throw them together in a cookie box to bring in to the office or gift to someone you love. They also all freeze really well if you are like me and would like to get a head start on your Christmas baking early in the month so that you have goodies to pull out on December 21st when you want something sweet but are overwhelmed with beautiful chaos!
All of the cookie recipes you see over the next 12 days are unique recipes that I have created, tested and retested for you to enjoy in your own kitchens. If you do decide to make any of these recipes, please do tag me on socials because I love to see what you come up with!
The Ingredients
For the Shortbread
- 1.5 cups butter, unsalted, cold
- 1.25 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp corn starch
For the Candied Pecans
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
The Instructions
For the Candied Pecans
- Start off by making the candied pecans so we can let them set and cool before adding them to the shortbread dough. To make the candied pecans, start by melting your butter in a pan on medium heat on the stove.
- Once the butter has melted, add in the chopped pecans and mix around to evenyl coat the pecans in butter. Next, sprinkle the brown sugar over the pecans and add the maple syrup. Continue to stir this on low-medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and transfer to a parchment lined plate. Spread the pecans out on the plate into a thin layer and let them cool!
For the Shortbread
- First step is to grab all of your ingredients and set them aside. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenhiet. Grab a large, parchment lined baking tray and your electric stand mixer if you have one. If not, a large bowl and a hand mixer will work too!
- This recipe works best using cold, cubed butter from the fridge for that melt in your mouth shortbread cookie. Add the cold, cubed butter to your mixing bowl with the powdered sugar and mix on medium heat and allow this to beat together for at least 5 minutes. This light, whipped texture is what we want for soft, buttery cookies! Scrape down the sides often.
- After about 5 minutes, add the vanilla, salt, cornstarch and flour in to the butter mixture. Allow this to mix for a minute or two until thoroughly combined.
- Next, add in your 1 cup of candied pecans and fold this in to the cookie dough using a spatula until evenly distributed.
- Roll out 1 tbsp sized balls of cookie dough and place on a baking sheet. Use a fork to press down the centre of these cookies and then bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before storing in an air tight container.
- The recipe makes 2 dozen cookies.
Ingredients
Method
- Start off by making the candied pecans so we can let them set and cool before adding them to the shortbread dough. To make the candied pecans, start by melting your butter in a pan on medium heat on the stove.
- Once the butter has melted, add in the chopped pecans and mix around to evenyl coat the pecans in butter. Next, sprinkle the brown sugar over the pecans and add the maple syrup. Continue to stir this on low-medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and transfer to a parchment lined plate. Spread the pecans out on the plate into a thin layer and let them cool!
- First step is to grab all of your ingredients and set them aside. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenhiet. Grab a large, parchment lined baking tray and your electric stand mixer if you have one. If not, a large bowl and a hand mixer will work too!
- This recipe works best using cold, cubed butter from the fridge for that melt in your mouth shortbread cookie. Add the cold, cubed butter to your mixing bowl with the powdered sugar and mix on medium heat and allow this to beat together for at least 5 minutes. This light, whipped texture is what we want for soft, buttery cookies! Scrape down the sides often.
- After about 5 minutes, add the vanilla, salt, cornstarch and flour in to the butter mixture. Allow this to mix for a minute or two until thoroughly combined.
- Next, add in your 1 cup of candied pecans and fold this in to the cookie dough using a spatula until evenly distributed.
- Roll out 1 tbsp sized balls of cookie dough and place on a baking sheet. Use a fork to press down the centre of these cookies and then bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before storing in an air tight container.
- The recipe makes 2 d