Pecan Shortbread for Your Sweetheart or for YOU ♥

Yes, a simple cookie can be romantic! Nothing fancy, but so delightful. Yes, I do dream about flaky, tender, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread.  I lover you, shortbread! You make me smile.

To pay homage to my delicious shortbread,  I used the most romantic, Valentine-hued piece of art in our home as a backdrop.  I think I see a woman with red hair walking out of a bakery carrying an armful of shortbread...am I right?

The piece was painted by Wisconsin Artist, the late Lester O. Schwartz, of Green Lake, Wisconsin. Purchased in the 1990's when he was still alive. I love you, Lester Schwartz! You make me smile.

If you love shortbread as much as I do, and you want to do something nice for your sweetheart, your family, or yourself, you will love this recipe.

Whatever makes you smile, whether it's a simple cookie,  make it for Valentine's Day!

Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Printable Recipe

Note:  Buy the best butter you can afford.  Organic Valley, Cabot or Vermont Creamery are good choices.

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter at room temperature (or use salted butter and add less salt below)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted before measuring
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped

Sanding sugar, or ground pecans, if desired for decoration.

Preheat oven to 350F. Place whole pecans on a small baking pan and toast in the oven for approximately 6-7 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool for 30 minutes. Place pecans in a food process along with 1 tablespoon flour and pulse until finely ground.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the butter on medium speed until it is smooth and creamy. Add both sugars and salt and continue to mix until smooth but not fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the pecans and mix together briefly. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in 2 egg yolks, one at a time, mixing until well blended.

Turn off the mixer and add the flour. Cover the mixer with a towel and pulse slowly about 5 times so that the flour doesn't fly out. Remove the towel and mix for about 30 seconds more, or until the flour is just blended in and the dough looks uniformly moist. Use a spatula to work in any flour remaining on the bottom of the bowl. Work the dough as little as possible. You want a soft, moist, clumpy dough.

Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Gather it into a ball and cut it in half.  Roll each piece into a smooth log about 9 inches long, adding just enough flour to keep it from sticking to the work surface.  Wrap the logs well with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.  Overnight will yield the best results.

When ready to bake, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat 350F degrees. Line two baking sheets with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

Place one log of chilled dough on a work surface or piece of waxed paper and sprinkle the roll in sanding sugar (or ground pecans), pressing in all around. Trim the ends of the roll if they are uneven and slice the log into 1/3-inch-thick cookies.

Place the cookies on a baking sheet at least an inch apart and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes (depending on your oven), rotating the baking sheet halfway through. The cookies should be light brown on the bottom, lightly golden around the edges and pale on top. Let the cookies rest about five minutes before removing from the baking sheet.

Repeat with the remaining log of dough on the second baking sheet, or, if using the same baking sheet allow it to cool completely.

The dough may be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking, from My Home to Yours.

Snowed In? Make Snowy Owl Cookies!

Happy New Year!  May it be a happy and healthy New Year for you all.

Here, the scene outside remains the same as in the first photo of my last post with the addition of about 5 more inches of snow today with the potential for another 5 inches tonight into tomorrow! I know the Northeast part of the country is bracing for a huge snow storm.  What a winter so far!

If you get stuck indoors, have little ones or grandchildren to entertain or just want to have a fun baking experience, try these Snowy Owl Cookies! 

My blog friend, Debbie, at Mountain Breaths (who loves owls!) mentioned to me that she had seen these adorable cookies  here. Betsy's are so much nicer than mine. I made mine as part of my Christmas cookie baking but I think they would be a fun to make any time during the winter.. They would be a hoot for a Harry Potter birthday party or for anyone who loves owls, snowy or otherwise :)

I used a classic shortbread cookie recipe but you can also make these using your favorite sugar cookie cut out recipe.

You'll need some round cookie cutters.  I used a 2-1/2" round cutter for the body and one about 1" for the eyes. Since I didn't have a 1" cutter I used the base of a clean travel lotion jar. Mini M and Ms were used for the eyes.  For the beaks, rather than using whole almonds,  I VERY carefully split the whole almonds in half lengthwise with a butchers knife.  Use a fork to make the imprint of the owl's feet and a butter knife to etch the wings.  Bake according to the directions.  Allow them to cool for 5 minutes and then sift powdered sugar over the top.  I used a slightly damp cotton swab to wipe the powdered sugar off the eyes and beaks. 

There are lots of other ideas for owl cookies on Pinterest! 

Classic Shortbread

Recipe adapted from Fine Cooking

Printable Recipe

1/2 lb butter, softened to room temperature (I use unsalted butter and a pinch of sea salt)
1/2 cup sugar (I like to use superfine sugar)
2 cups all purpose flour - plus more for rolling and kneading

Place the softened butter in a stand mixer.  On low speed, add the sugar a little at a time until thoroughly combined with no gritty feel. Add flour a bit at a time until all is absorbed. This should yield a soft, workable dough.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth without cracks appearing. Roll out to about 1/3 to 1/2 inch thickness and cut into shapes. Gather and re-roll scraps. If dough gets too soft, refrigerate for a while.

Place shapes on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicone mat.  Chill for about 20 minutes before baking.  (It's chilly enough here for me to put them in a protected place outside).

Preheat oven to 325 and bake for 12-15 minutes depending on the thickness of the shapes and your oven.  They should be just slightly brown around the edges. 

Cool and store in a tightly covered container. May be frozen.

Maida Heatter's Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Chocolate is never far from my mind - a craving, desire, a love. Whenever I think of a dessert, the first flavors that immediately pop into my head are either chocolate or lemon...sometimes both ;)

Shortbread is high on the list of cookie favorites and this past weekend I needed a cookie fix.

I love Dorie Greenspans World Peace cookies and have made them often. I wanted to try something a little different and decided on Maida Heatter's Chocolate Shortbread cookies.

It was a wonderful cookie but World Peace cookies by Dorie Greenspan still rule the world, in my opinion. I think it's the addition of chopped bittersweet chocolate that gives me that intense chocolate flavor that I need.

I used basic cocoa when I made the recipe, but should I make them again, I would buy a better cocoa to pump up the chocolate flavor. Please don't misunderstand, these were wonderful, shortbread-y cookies and if you don't need the intense chocolate flavor that I crave, you may love these. Everyone I served them to enjoyed them!



Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Adapted from a Maida Heatter Recipe
Printable Recipe

Makes 25 to 30 cookies.

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted then measured by scoop and level process
1/2 cup very best quality unsweetened cocoa powder you can find
1 cup confectioners'(powdered) sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

Cream butter. Add vanilla, sugar and salt and beat to mix. Add the flour and cocoa, and mix only until the dough holds together. Form the mixture into a ball, and flatten slightly.

Flour a pastry cloth or work surface and rub a little flour onto a rolling pin as well. Place the dough on the surface, turning it to coat both sides with flour. With the rolling pin, roll the dough into a square, 1/2 inch thick, using your hands to help shape it. A uniform thickness is important. Cut the dough into 1-1/2 inch squares. Using a fork, pierce the cookies 2-3 times.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Shortbread Cookies ~ A Few of My Favorite Things

"Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes...
 Silver white winters that melt into springs -
 These are a few of my favorite things!"

Here is one of my favorite things... Shortbread cookies!


Shortbread Recipe

1 cup soft salted butter
1/2 cup Baker’s Sugar (superfine)
2 cups all purpose white flour (I substitute ½ cup of rice flour and 1-1/2 cups AP flour for a flakier texture which I prefer)

Cream the butter until very light and fluffy. Cream in the sugar a little at a time until the sugar dissolves (this takes a while).

Mix in about 1-1/2 cups flour gently by hand. Turn out on a lightly floured board and knead in only as much flour as is needed to make soft shape-able dough that holds together well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out about 1/3 inch thick and cut into shapes with a knife or cookie cutters, or pat into a 1/3 inch thick round (or rectangle) pan by hand (I use a 9x9x2 pan), prick with a fork every 1-2".

Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 300 degrees for 30 to 50 minutes, (depending on the size you are making...cut-outs will take less time, pan shortbread will take more time) until pale golden brown all over. I like to sift more superfine sugar over the top when they come out of the oven. Let sit for a few minutes before removing to a cooling rack. If you are making pan shortbread, cut into small squares with a very sharp knife right away, then allow to cool.