Pecan Shortbread

For Christmas my Grandma and Aunt gave me a beautiful bag of fresh pecans, and I was dying to use them.

I discovered this recipe from my new Barefoot Contessa cookbook and had to give it a try.  What a lovely addition to our New Year’s Eve spread!

I love the nutty, buttery, fresh flavor of the pecans and I can imagine how blissful this would taste with a cup of coffee.

Yummm … I may have to try that with the leftovers …

Here it is (I made a 1/2 batch, which made 12 generous cookies):

Ingredients:

3/4 pound unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon pure almond extract

3 1/2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups small diced pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Mix together the butter and sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla and almond extracts.  Sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter/sugar mixture. Add the pecans and mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut into 2 1/2-inch squares (or cut into any shape you like). Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature and serve.



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