Pecan Shortbread with Maple Glaze Recipe
Buttery, melt in your mouth pecan shortbread topped with a sweet maple glaze and then sprinkled with salty sweet candied peacons or if you fancy it, some candied bacon.
Servings: 12 large cookies
Calories: 174kcal
Equipment
- Baking Tray
Ingredients
Shortbread
- 125 g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 180 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- 60 g caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 40 g pecans toasted (recommended) and finely chopped
Candied bacon and pecans (optional)
- 4 bacon rashes
- 40 g pecans
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon flaked sea salt
Maple glaze
- 110 g powdered icing sugar (confectioners' sugar)
- 120 ml maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
Shortbread
- Cream together the butter, sugar and maple syrup. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and sugar and cream the two on medium speed until pale and light. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add in the maple syrup and mix again.
- Add in flour and pecans and beat them together. Add the flour and pecans into the creamed butter, and, at low speed, mix until combined. The dough will look quite raggedy.
- Form a dough and roll out. With your hands, squeeze the cookie dough together making a ball. Press it into a rough disc. Then on a lightly floured surface roll it out to a ½ cm thick. Note: if the dough is too soft at this point then wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes or longer until it firms up slightly and makes it easier to roll out. Keep an eye on it as if the dough is too hard, it will crack when you try to roll it out.
- Cut out cookie shapes and chill. Once the dough is rolled out, use a cookie cutter (I used a leaf shape) to stamp out the cookies. Lay them onto the prepared baking tray. Bring together any scraps, re-roll and stamp out more cookies. If the dough starts to dry out when re-rolling- add a couple of drops of water.Refrigerate stamped cookies for 30 minutes minimum or until the cutouts have hardened.
- Bake. Preheat the oven to 170°C (335°F). Remove the cookies from the fridge, bake for 10-12 mins or until golden around the edges. Cool on the tray for ten minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Keep the oven on and turn it up to 180°C (350°F).
Candied bacon and pecans (optional)
- Prepare bacon and bake. Brush the bacon rashes with maple syrup then lay them on a lined baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes before turning and baking for a further 5 minutes until golden and crispy. Remove from the oven and lay on paper towel until cool. Chop into fine bits.
- Prepare pecans and bake. In a bowl toss the pecans in maple syrup then lay out on a lined baking tray. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking tray. Chop into small pieces and toss through a pinch of flaked sea salt.
Maple glaze
- Mix ingredients together. Add the icing sugar, maple syrup and melted butter to a medium-sized bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined and smooth. If the glaze is too thin, then add a tablespoon at a time of icing sugar until it reaches the right consistency. If it’s too thick, add a teaspoon of maple syrup until the correct consistency is reached.
- Dip cookies into glaze and decorate. Dip the face of the cookies into the glaze and gently lift, letting the excess glaze drip off and place on a wire rack.Sprinkle with candied bacon or candied pecan and leave to set for 15 minutes. Or enjoy straight away!
Notes
Step-by-Step Photos: My blog post includes helpful step-by-step photos to help guide you through making this recipe.
Yield: This makes 12 large cookies or approx 20 medium cookies. The number of cookies also depends on how thick/thin you roll the dough out to.
To store: Glazed Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Cookies decorated with candied bacon must be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To freeze: Undecorated shortbread can be stored in a freezer-safe container and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight at room temperature.
Toasted Pecans: Lay pecans out on a lined baking tray and bake in a 180°C (350°F) pre-heated oven for 7-10 minutes until browned and fragrant. Finely chop once cooled.
TIP 1: Re-roll the dough to stamp out more cookies.
Tip 2: Flour your cookie cutters to stop the dough sticking to them.
Tip 3: Refrigerate the stamped cookies before baking.
TIP 4: Keep an eye on the bake time. Each oven runs at a slightly different temperature.
Nutrition
Calories: 174kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 32mg | Potassium: 46mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 194IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg