These butter pecan shortbread cookies are crisp on the outside and perfectly soft on the inside with lots of buttery toasted pecan bits.
If you’re not stacking these little shortbread beauties up as tall as they can go, what are you even doing??
Butter pecan can be a controversial ice cream flavor, but if we’re talking about cookies I’m going to go ahead and say it’s always allowed.
Enter, these perfect little gems.
Naturally with lots of creamy vanilla glaze drizzled on top with more toasty pecan bits, please.
These Shortbread Cookies feature…
- A tender, buttery texture
- Lots of toasted pecans studded in every bite
- A sweet vanilla glaze drizzled on top
- A quick cookie dough that only takes minutes to make with minimal ingredients
Making the Shortbread Cookies
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Kosher salt
- Vanilla extract
- Ground cinnamon
- Chopped pecans
- All-purpose flour
- Powdered sugar
- 2% or skim milk
Storing Cookie Dough
One of the cool things about these cookies is that you can make the dough way in advance and bake them whenever is convenient for you.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator up to 6 days or freeze up to 1 month. Allow the dough to thaw completely in refrigerator before cutting the dough log into slices and proceeding with baking.
Tips for Perfect Shortbread
- Cream butter and sugar together – make sure your butter is softened to room-temperature and cream well with the sugar several minutes until completely smooth.
- Use stand mixer or mix dough by hand – this recipe is both mixer-friendly and old-fashioned-bowl-and-spoon friendly.
- Spoon and level flour – we use the spoon-and-level technique for measuring flour as this will prevent over-measuring your flour. Use a spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife.
- Chill dough – chilling the dough for about 2 hours before baking will prevent the cookies from excessive spreading.
- Cut cookies into uniform slices – cut the dough log into uniform 1-inch thick slices so cookies bake evenly.
- Allow cookie to cool before glazing – if you try to glaze the cookies while they’re still warm the glaze will melt off.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on these cookies.
- Use a different nut – try walnuts or almonds in place of the pecans.
- Add a different extract – add 1/2 teaspoon maple extract or almond extract in addition to the vanilla extract.
- Drizzle cookies with chocolate – try semisweet, milk, or white chocolate in place of the powdered sugar glaze.
Storing and Freezing Cookies
Allow cookies to cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 6 days. For best results, we recommend glazing cookies shortly before serving.
To freeze cookies, allow to cool completely, then wrap well and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw cookies completely at room temperature and store up to 4 days. We recommend freezing cookies un-glazed and then glazing once thawed.
No way around it, these little gems are going to quickly become a cookie jar staple in your house! No one can resist how delicate and buttery the texture is and the addition of toasty pecans just takes them over the top.
Be warned though, they look innocent, but they’re addictive!
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
Watch these cookies made step-by-step on Google web stories.
Try these other luxurious cookies next!
- Coconut Lemon Curd Thumbprint Cookies
- Citrus Browned Butter Shortbread Cookies
- Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
Butter Pecan Shortbread Cookies
This recipe may included paid links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
Shortbread
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted
- 1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
Vanilla Glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons 2% or skim milk
- Additional finely chopped pecans for garnish
Instructions
Shortbread
- Place butter and sugar in the bowl of a large stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment OR in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. Mix on medium speed or by hand until creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Fold salt, vanilla, cinnamon, pecans, and flour into butter mixture until dough is just combined (dough will be very stiff, fold and squish it together until cohesive)
- Form dough into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill dough in refrigerator at least 2 hours or up to 6 days.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Remove dough from refrigerator, cut into 1-inch thick slices, and arrange 2 inches apart on prepared sheet pan.
- Bake cookies at 350F 10-12 minutes until edges of cookies are a light golden brown. Allow cookies to cool on pan 10 minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Vanilla Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk powdered sugar, vanilla, and just enough milk to achieve a drizzling consistency. Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies and garnish with additional chopped pecans. Allow cookies to set 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe adjustments and photos on 11/16/23.
Alli says
You had me at butter pecan! Your cookies look so scrumptious! I’m pinning to save for later.
Sarah says
Thanks so much Alli!
Regina Partain says
Oh my! These look amazing. I also love Butter Pecan things, especially ice cream. I am going to share these on Pinterest.
Sarah says
B&P ice cream is definitely my favorite kind of ice cream flavor, Regina. Thanks for pinning!
Tina @ Tina's Chic Corner says
My husband is the same as you…loves anything butter pecan. I love anything shortbread so this is the perfect match for our household! Just started following you on twitter. 🙂
Sarah says
Awesome, Tina! LMK if you try this shortbread 😀 Thanks for the follow on Twitter!
Bert says
I also love, love, love, both buttered pecan and shortbread cookie recipes. These look amazing. But I am thrown by the coconut sugar. I have never heard of this. Would I find it at a health food store, or can I make it? Thanks for the recipe.
Sarah says
Hi there, Bert! Coconut sugar is a healthier alternative to regular sugar because of it’s minimal processing. You can find it at most health food stores. (I buy mine in the health food section at Woodmens) You could always buy it online as well. Results in this recipe would be the same if you subbed brown sugar for the coconut sugar. Hope this helps!
Shonda A. says
Can I use regular flour and plain sugar?
Sarah says
Hi Shonda, I haven’t tested this recipe with regular flour or just plain sugar, so I can’t promise that the results would be the same. However, you can certainly try it! Let me know how it turns out!