Delicate buttery pecan shortbread (Printable)

Buttery shortbread with chopped pecans, dusted in powdered sugar for a festive treat.

# What You Need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1/4 teaspoon salt

→ Nuts

03 - 1 cup finely chopped pecans

→ Creaming Mixture

04 - 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
05 - 1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus additional for rolling
06 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

# How-To Steps:

01 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and salt. Set aside.
03 - Using an electric mixer or whisk, beat the softened butter with 1/2 cup powdered sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
04 - Incorporate the vanilla extract into the creamed mixture and mix until combined.
05 - Gradually add the flour and salt mixture to the creamed butter and sugar, stirring gently just until combined.
06 - Carefully fold the finely chopped pecans into the dough until evenly distributed.
07 - Scoop tablespoon-sized portions of dough and roll into balls. Arrange them on the prepared baking sheets, spacing each about 1 inch apart.
08 - Bake in the preheated oven for 14 to 16 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly golden and the tops are set without significant browning.
09 - Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then while still warm, roll each cookie in additional powdered sugar to coat completely.
10 - Transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool fully. Once cooled, roll them again in powdered sugar for a classic snowy finish.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • They come together in under an hour with pantry staples, so you'll actually make them again and again.
  • The powdered sugar coating catches the light and makes them look far fancier than the effort required.
  • They stay soft and buttery for days if you don't eat them all first, which is the real challenge here.
02 -
  • Don't skip the five-minute rest after baking—pulling them straight into sugar while they're too hot makes the coating clump, and waiting too long means it won't stick at all.
  • Room temperature butter isn't just convenient, it's essential—I learned this the hard way when I tried to speed things up and ended up with cookies that spread into weird shapes.
03 -
  • Weigh your flour if you possibly can—volume measurements are forgiving, but weight removes all the guesswork and you'll get consistent results every single time.
  • If your pecans feel coarse after chopping, give them one or two more pulses in the food processor, but stop the moment they start to look like powder or they'll make the cookies greasy.
Go Back