If It's Sunday, There Must Be Cookies!: Two Butter Pecan Shortbreads for the Price of One

Before I start: I have to acknowledge that I know today is Purim, and I know I should be making Hamantaschen. But the thought of rolling and cutting out all that dough for a cookie I don't even like was a little overwhelming on this lazy Sunday. I would also like to note that today is my grandpa's 94th birthday. Happy birthday, Pop-Pop!

So, I've made Butter Pecan Shortbread, two ways. Shortbread is super easy to make, not too sweet, and generally delicious. Plus, it comes from Scotland. I've been to Scotland (and eaten their haggis), and am of the opinion that pretty much everything from Scotland is fantastic (particularly their weddings, their castles, and their kilts).


Wedding, Castle & Kilt -- all in one photo! Trust me.

You can even make shortbread chocolate! Or dip it in chocolate! This makes it almost the perfect food! I didn't use chocolate today, because I was actually, strangely in the mood for something un-chocolatey. I may or may not have overindulged in Cadbury Mini Eggs this weekend.

Anyway. Today is all about shortbread and pecans. I love it when I get to make something with chopped nuts, because I get to use my Big Choppy Knife. Perhaps I enjoy the choppy knife a little too much; when I pulled it out, my husband took one look and warned me, "Be careful."

Shortbread couldn't be more simple: flour, sugar, butter (mostly butter). It's the high fat content that makes it such a crumbly dough. I've added chopped pecans and vanilla to the Butter Pecan Shortbread:

But its high fat content also allows it to be squished together very easily. You can press it into shape with little effort.

Note the foil-lined pan. Aluminum Foil: keeping pans clean & shiny since 1913.

There's no need to make it really really flat & smooth (in my opinion). Keep it rustic, like the cracked desert floor. If there were giant pecans in the desert.
This shortbread got a little extra sprinkle of chopped pecans, plus some coarse sanding sugar.
It didn't stick that well, so I'm not really sure that the point was. But it's pretty until you move it!

Before baking.

And after baking. [It's not really striped; that's the sun shining through my mini-blinds!]

After letting it cool for about 10 minutes, you can lift the entire thing out of the pan by its glorious aluminum foil handles! (But don't move the pan with your bare hands yet. It's still really hot and you will burn you thumbs... I imagine.)

Look, Ma! No pan!


Ready for slicin'.

It's better to cut while still fairly warm, because it's only going to get more crumbly. Remember, it's mostly butter.

Pretty good. But let's try one more...

Maple Butter Pecan Shortbread

Same basic crumbly dough, sans vanilla and pecans:

Now with even more butter!

Press into pan; poke with fork! (I did re-use my aluminum foil. It's heavy-duty.)

I've got a fork, and I know how to use it.

Golden brown

While that was baking, I mixed up a little topping. Some brown sugar, an egg, and some maple syrup. Luckily, I have family in Vermont and I never want for maple syrup!