With the holiday baking season in full force, I am no different than most of you, in the kitchen baking up a lot of cookies. It is snowing outside and I just made a batch of this pecan shortbread recipe. It is rare that I bake something and write about it at the same time, but here I am writing this on my kitchen table as I am inhaling the addictive sugar and butter smells coming out of the oven.
If you are a lover of sandies shortbread cookies that we all grew up eating, you will probably love this shortbread recipe (made with pecans instead of walnuts). This recipe might be a little different than your grandma’s recipe in that it is minimally sweetened.
Unlike it is in most nut shortbread cookie recipes, in this version, the sweetness doesn’t take over the whole cookie. Instead, the flavors coming from butter, sugar, and pecans are equally balanced for the optimal shortbread cookie goodness.
Intrigued? Let’s break it down.
What is the difference between granulated sugar and cane sugar?
As the name suggests, these cookies are naturally sweetened. While there are several natural sweeteners out there, like coconut sugar, date sugar, maple syrup, raw, etc., in this recipe I used natural cane sugar (this brand in particular – affiliate link).
If you are like me, new to baking with unrefined sugars, allow me to explain. The main difference between natural cane sugar (also called Sucanat) and granulated white sugar is the way that they were produced. While producing granulated sugar requires heavy-duty and mechanical processing with many steps, producing natural cane sugar requires far fewer steps and no chemicals to get from plant to packaging.
Now you may ask, is baking with natural cane sugar a healthier choice? Even though the answer is yes, I prefer to be cautious, as it is a proven fact that too much of any kind of sweetener, regardless of how natural it is, does not promote health. With that being said, I think a small switch from granulated sugar to natural sweeteners like natural cane sugar, dates, maple syrup, honey or coconut sugar might be a healthier choice. Plus, as in every dessert, you should consume it in moderation.
This recipe is created by the talented cooks of America’s Test Kitchen and published on their cookbook Naturally Sweet (affiliate link). If you want to read more about natural sweeteners, how they are processed, and foolproof healthier sweets recipes, it is a cookbook that I recommend. I have been baking from it for many years and have always had amazing results.
How to make pecan shortbread cookies:
The recipe for shortbread cookies with pecans has 6 folds.
First, start with grinding natural cane sugar (aka Sucanat) in a spice or coffee grinder. This is an important step as unlike granulated sugar, Sucanat’s granules are irregular in size due to the way they were produced. Grinding it ensures that all the granules are in equal size, and as a result, the sugar gets distributed evenly within the cookie dough. If you skip this step, your cookies might end up being less sweet.
If you do not have a spice grinder, you can also use your food processor. It might take a few extra minutes to reach the ideal powdery “fine” texture we want, but it is totally doable. Once the cane sugar is ground set it aside.
Second, prep your wet ingredients; egg yolks, water, vanilla extract, and melted butter (that is cooled), by mixing them in a small bowl.
Third, reserve 30 pecans for decoration and grind the rest of them in your food processor. We want them finely ground. Add in the flour, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Process until combined.
Fourth, pour the wet ingredients through the tube as the machine is running to thoroughly mix the dough. It is a good idea to stop the machine and scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula a few times to ensure a cohesive and smooth dough.
Next, transfer the dough on to a clean kitchen counter. Bring it together and divide it in half. Using your hands turn each half into a log that is about 6-inches long and 2 inches thick.
A Quick note for the home baker:
Don’t be alarmed if the cookie dough has a powdery texture, at least in the beginning. When I first tried this nut shortbread recipe, at this stage, I thought I did something wrong.
However, as you bring the dough together, it will start getting together easily with the help of your body heat. Since this was the one and only “tricky” part of this recipe, I thought it would be nice to show it to you in a quick video so be sure to watch it. It is located inside the recipe card below.
Finally, wrap each log tightly with plastic wrap, place in a glass or a jar, and chill for at least two hours, or even better, overnight. When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 325 F degrees, slice each log into ¼ inch thick slices. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange cookies on the sheet making sure that there is at least ¾ inch distance in between each cookie.
As a finishing touch, place a pecan on each shortbread cookie for a special touch. Bake for 16-19 minutes or until the edges of the cookies starts to turn golden brown.
If you decide to bake both logs, I recommend using two separate baking sheets.
A Few tips for this the best healthy shortbread cookie recipe:
- Make a few batches and store in the freezer: This is a great cookie recipe to freeze and forget. I make a few batches and store them in the freezer. When ready to bake, take them out of the freezer 30 minutes before baking, slice, and bake.
- How long do these pecan nut cookies last? As long as they are stored in an airtight container (i.e. cookie jar with a tight lid), they should still be fresh up to 3 days.
Other naturally sweetened cookies you might like:
Want more recipes where you can use unrefined sugar for baking cookies? Here are a few of my favorites:
- Paleo Gingerbread Cookies with Almond Flour
- Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies – Vegan
- Coconut Sugar Cookies
- Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Also try this Keto Orange Cookies or Olive Oil Sugar Cookies for a holiday-inspired cookie
- Can’t get enough? Check out all our easy cookie recipes.
Naturally Sweetened Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (4 oz.) natural cane sugar
- 1 cup pecans, divided
- 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons water, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 8 tablespoons of butter, melted and cooled
- 2 ¼ cups (11 ¼ oz) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 large egg white mixed with 2 tablespoons of water
Instructions
- Using a spice/coffee grinder, ground the natural cane sugar in 3 batches until it is fine and powdery. Set aside.
- Reserve 30 of the whole pecan-halves to use as garnishing. It should be ½ cup in total.
- Whisk together egg yolks, water, vanilla extract, and butter in a small mixing bowl until combined. Set aside.
- Place the rest of the pecans (approximately ½ cup) in the bowl of a food processor and process until coarsely ground. Add in the flour, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Process until combined.
- While the food processor is still running, add the butter mixture through the tube. Process until thoroughly combined. You may have to stop the food processor a few times and scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula.
- Transfer the dough onto a clean work surface and knead until smooth. It might be a little powdery, but it will come together as you knead with the body heat from your hands.
- Using a knife, divide the dough into two equal pieces.
- Roll each dough into a 6-inch log that is about 2-inches thick. Wrap each log tightly using stretch film and place upright in tall glasses. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours up to 2 days.
- When ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 325 F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Working with one log of dough at a time, slice into ¼-inch thick cookies, turning log every few slices to prevent sides from flattening. Space them ¾-inch apart from each other on prepared sheets.
- Brush cookies with the egg white-water mixture, then gently press the reserved pecan halves into center of each cookie.
- Bake one sheet at a time, until the edges of cookies are beginning to brown and set, 16-19 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking. Let the cool before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I loved these!! They were really delish!
Thank Toni. I am glad you liked them.
I love that these yummy cookies use natural sweetener! They are so delicious!
YAY! Thanks Wilhelmina.
These turned out great! Iโm excited to add these to this years Christmas platter!
Yay! Take a picture so that I can see. Thanks Laura.
Love how easy and quick these are to make! Shortbread cookies are my favorite!
I know, right? ๐ So happy to hear that you liked them Ashley. Thanks for coming by.
Yuuuuuuuummm! These are incredible. We love these cookies!
YAY! SO happy to hear that Lauren. Thanks for coming by.
I made these cookies for a picnic!! They are absolutely delicious, not too sweet but oh so satisfying. I followed the recipe to a dot, and it was super easy and quick!
You did a beautiful job with the video, Aysegul. So much to say about this lovely post. Although I have a bag sitting in my pantry, I’ve not used Sucanat a whole lot in my baking. (Will definitely keep your tip about the coffee grinder in mind!) Also, you have forever changed my shortbread cookie baking with showing me how to refrigerate the log upright in a jar! I’ve always wondered how to get those perfectly round cookies. ๐ Perfect for the holiday season.
YAY! I am so glad that you found it useful. The videos take a long time to make but they are undoubtedly more helpful.
Sending lots of hugs and love to your way my friend.
Beautiful, my friend! These cookies look incredible, and your video was stunning. You are such an inspiring food blogger, photographer and stylist!
Aww thank you SOOO much for your kind words Beeta. I am so glad you liked it. Cheers!
Aysegul, I love these cookies, they look really delicious! And well done, you got really good at making videos, I’m sure it took a lot of work to get there and you can be proud of yourself! ๐
Aww thank you Lili.. Thank you so much for your kind words.
Video making is whole different ball game. It takes a lot of time between shooting and editing. It is especially difficult if you are a one-man show like me. However, I decided that I am going to let go of the idea that it has to be perfect.
The video for these cookies has major white balance issues, but I did my best to correct them as much as I can. Though it is not my favorite thing to post something that is not white balanced, I am hoping that my readers will pardon the imperfections and benefit from it.
๐
Are you planning to start making videos?
When I look at your videos, I don’t even see those imperfections really! I follow the action and think to myself how good you became in doing this! ๐ I am so focused now on my photography, networking and trying to get published that I’m kind of ignoring the whole “videos are becoming more and more popular” thing. ๐ I am also a bit scared of it I admit as I am so not technical person but at the same time realize that most probably sooner or later I will have to jump on that train as well…