Twice-Baked Pecan Shortbread
The mic drop of cookies?
Hello there! If I could have only one cookie, it would be shortbread. Shortbread at its most basic is the simple combination of sugar, butter, and flour in a 1:2:3 ratio (by weight). It can be tweaked a little, but there is no leavener and no eggs. Some people (including me) sometimes replace some of the flour with cornstarch or rice flour for an even “shorter” cookie. You can roll the dough and cut it out with a cookie cutter, which results in a crisper cookie. More traditionally, you can bake it in one big (thicker) piece, after scoring and poking holes in it for more even baking, and cut it afterward.
That’s what I’ve done with this recipe, using a 10-inch removable-bottom tart pan. You can also press it into a 9 by 9-inch pan, a quarter sheet (9 by 13-inches) pan, or a 9 by 13-inch baking pan, which will result in a thinner cookie that will take a little less time to bake (just err on the side of 60 minutes). You can also use a springform pan rather than the removable-bottom tart pan that I’m recommending, but it’s a little trickier to reach in to do the scoring part.
The other great thing about shortbread? Despite how utterly delicious it is plain, flavored perhaps only with vanilla, it’s a blank canvas for just about any flavor you can dream up. I’ve always loved adding nuts to shortbread. To me, they only enhance the shortbread’s flavor. Using some brown sugar adds another dimension of irresistible flavor. I wondered what it would be like to lightly toast the shortbread after the initial baking, just like biscotti, and, in my humble opinion, it is even better. I had some extremely dry and hard (and I thought unusable) vanilla beans in my pantry that I ground up and mixed with sugar. Coating the shortbread with this heady mixture before the second bake was an excellent idea. The aroma was intoxicating as they baked, and it infused its perfume into the cookies. You can also use vanilla pods that you’ve already scraped out for another use here. It’s a great way to utilize the whole vanilla bean. The pods still have plenty of flavor!
This is a cookie that can stand alone in a cookie box, especially in big, handsome wedges, so if you have time to bake only one cookie, let this be the one!
Kitchen Projects
I’m sharing this recipe with Nicola Lambof Kitchen Projects (a fellow Substacker) as well. You might recall we collaborated last summer when I published her Basque Cheesecake recipe, which would also be right at home on your holiday table. Not only will Nicola be sharing the recipe with her readers, she is going to be selling the cookie (“biscuit” in British English) at a popup she’s organizing in London at Kossoff’s bakery on Saturday, December 10th. The popup is a fundraiser for the Trussell Trust, a hunger relief organization in the UK. If you happen to be in London, make sure to stop by!
Gift Susanality (or Open Kitchen)!
Before we get to the recipe, a quick reminder that full-access subscriptions to Susanality are giftable. You can schedule the welcome email to land in the recipient’s inbox whichever day you choose. It makes a great clutter-free gift for the person who doesn’t need any more stuff. My latest cookbook, Open Kitchen, also makes a lovely gift for any consummate host or home cook. As of now (Thursday evening!), it’s also on sale on Amazon.
Twice-Baked Pecan Shortbread Wedges
Makes 16 pieces
These addictive shortbread wedges pick up extra flavor every step of the way. The sweet flavor of pecans permeates the dough, which has a little less sugar than what is traditional to compensate for the final step of rolling the cut cookies in vanilla-infused sugar. Then they go back to the oven to toast a little and become perfumed with vanilla. You could use any ground nut in place of pecans, or even store-bought hazelnut or almond flour. The vanilla sugar is a great use for any old, hardened vanilla beans you might have lurking in your pantry — just grind them finely in a spice grinder (trim off the hard stem end first).
1 cup/226 g unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup/110 g light brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons/75 g granulated sugar
1 cup/110 g finely ground pecans, plus 16 halves for garnish
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ cups/320 g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
For finishing the cookies:
1/4 cup/50 g granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground vanilla bean (ground in a spice grinder)
Combine butter and both kinds of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the ground pecans and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until well combined, scraping the bowl as needed.
Add the flour and salt all at once. Beat on low speed until the flour is moistened, then raise the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough comes together, about 1 minute. It might be crumbly at first but keep beating until it forms a dough.
Press the dough into a 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom (or a 10-inch springform pan) evening it out first with your fingertips to distribute evenly, and then with the palms of your hands to smooth the surface.
Use a bench scraper to score the dough into 4 equal pieces, then divide each quarter into two pieces, and so on, until you have 16 equal wedges scored off. Place a pecan half near the edge of the pan, pressing it in. Use the non-pointed end of a bamboo skewer to poke a line of holes down the center of each wedge.
After scoring the dough (a bench scraper works best), chill thoroughly before baking. I usually slide it into a 2 gallon zip-top bag and chill it overnight before baking. As you can see, my scoring isn’t perfect, but any imperfections bake out, and if the pieces aren’t exactly the same size, it’s fine! Chill until firm, at least one hour, or overnight. Heat oven to 300ºF. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake 60 to 70 minutes, until turning golden on the edges.
Meanwhile, mix the sugar with the ground vanilla bean and spread out on a small plate.
Cool the shortbread for 15 minutes or so, until cool enough to handle (leave the oven on). Use a long chef’s knife to cut along the score lines you made. Carefully roll each wedge in the sugar, brushing off excess with your hands, and arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet leaving a bit of space between them. Bake for 15 minutes longer. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
I have a 9 inch or 11 inch tart pan. Which one should I use?
Hi Susan -- please confirm -- do you grind up the entire vanilla bean pod? Thank you! Fabulous recipe which will be one of the three I am baking this weekend!