Glazed Pecan Shortbread Cookies (2024)

🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Basic Ingredients. Using only 5 ingredients for the basic shortbread cookie recipe, these are a dream to make and bake.
• Incredible flavour. Maple and toasted pecans within that buttery, crumbly shortbread is an absolute wonder in the flavour department. Nutty, sweet, buttery = perfection.
• Optional Extras. I've recommended maple glaze, candied pecans and candied bacon as extras to the shortbread cookie if you want to elevate the flavours.
• Perfect for gift giving. With the lead-up to the holiday season nearly here, these Maple Shortbread Cookies make the perfect gifts for family and friends.

🧾 Ingredients Needed

Made with only a handful of ingredients, you'll have the majority available in your pantry. Bonus!

Whilst the shortbread on its own is stand-alone great, I recommend the maple glaze, candied pecans and bacon too. It creates an amazing Pecan Shortbread Cookie flavour combination!

Pecan Shortbread Cookies

• Butter- I recommend unsalted butter, as when adding the candied pecans or bacon, the additional salt is enough. Ensure the butter is at room temperature so it can be creamed well.
• Sugar - Granulated or caster sugar is used. The recipe states granulated as its mainstream, but either can be used.
• Flour - Plain (all-purpose) flour creates the perfect structure for the cookies to maintain their shape.
• Pecans - I recommend toasting the pecans before adding them to the shortbread. This isn't a pre-requisite, but I find the toasty, nutty flavour shines through.
• Maple syrup - Just enough to add more flavour to the cookies; use proper maple syrup rather than the flavouring. Alternatively, add in vanilla extract.

Maple Glaze

• Powdered icing sugar- Sift well to remove any lumps
• Maple syrup - For the ultimate maple flavour, quite a bit of maple syrup of used to create a thick maple glaze.
• Butter - A small amount of butter added to the glaze creates a lovely gloss and helps the glaze set as the butter solidifies.

Candied Pecans and Bacon (optional)

• Maple syrup - Both the bacon and the pecans get coated in maple. I brush it onto the bacon with a pastry brush and then just toss the pecan halves.
• Bacon - My preference is to use smokey bacon rashes. (the thin strips as in my image) they go beautifully crispy in about 15 minutes.
• Pecans - No need to toast these pecans as they are going into the oven, and the heat, along with the maple syrup, will toast and caramelise them all at the same time.
• Flaked Sea Salt - For the ultimate sweet, salty, nutty combination, sprinkle a small amount onto the caramelised pecans when fresh from the oven. It's the best!

TIP: Air temp

It's important to note that dough that's too soft will be tricky to cut out. Factors like air temperature, how soft the butter was to start off with, and any over-measuring of flour all play into how soft the dough is.

If it's too soft to roll out, pop it in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to firm up a little (but not too much otherwise, the dough will crack when you try to roll it out).

TIP: Chill the dough

It's so important to chill the dough after cutting out the cookie shapes. Refrigerating allows the soft butter to re-solidify, the flour to hydrate, and the gluten to relax.

By doing this, the butter won't melt when it hits the hot oven, and the cookies will retain their shape. The result will be perfectly shaped buttery cookies.

4.80 from 29 votes

Metric - US Customary

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

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 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 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!

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.