Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Butter Pecan Cookies {A Birthday Gift}

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My mother-in-law loves pecans, so every year on her birthday I try to come up with a pecan-based dessert as part of her gift. Las year I made "The Best Ever Pecan Squares",which were delicious, but this year I wanted to change it up and try a cookie.

These Butter Pecan Cookies are fantastic and definitely addictive! They're stuffed full of pecans and have that trademark rich buttery flavor. Of course I kept a few out of the batch to enjoy and they're perfect with a cup of tea.

Now that we're all back to a normal equilibrium after all the holiday indulging, don't you think its time for a little treat?

Butter Pecan Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar, for rolling

Directions
In a 300F degree oven, toast the chopped pecans on a large parchment paper or silicone mat-lined baking sheet for 15 minutes. Stir twice during this time. Turn oven off and set pecans aside to cool.

Beat the butter for 1 minute on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy using the paddle attachment on your stand mixer. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat on medium high speed until fluffy and light in color. Add in the eggs and vanilla and continue to beat the mixture on high speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt together before slowly mixing the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. Add the toasted chopped pecans, mix on low for about 5-10 seconds until evenly disbursed. Cover dough tightly plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours in the fridge.

Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats or use stoneware baking sheets (that's what I always use).

Once chilled, the dough will be slightly crumbly, but will come together if you work the dough with your hands as you roll into individual balls. Scoop and roll balls of dough, about 1 Tablespoon of dough each, into balls. 

Roll the cookie dough balls into the granulated sugar and bake the cookies for 10 minutes, until slightly golden brown around the edges. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. If the cookies are too puffy, try gently pressing down on them with the back of a spoon. They will slightly deflate as you let them cool. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Recipe barely adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction


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