BUTTER PECAN COOKIES

These Butter Pecan Cookies are full of crunch, soft, chewy and buttery! They get even better the second day too, making them a great cookie to make ahead!

So yesterday we officially closed on our new house! Buying and selling a house is SUCH a process, it was a huge relief to at least be done with the buying part. Now we are packing the last few things and slowly getting moved. We’ve got movers coming Monday to move all the big stuff, but we can hardly contain ourselves – we have been moving some boxes on our own as well.

Plus I’m pretty sure that both the hubs and I are nesting. I don’t know if guys can nest or not (technically they lack all the hormones and stuff), but we’ve been collecting baby stuff for a little bit now and it’s all been in boxes. We’ve been dying to get it all out, so the first things we moved over were the boxes of baby things. The first furniture that went up were the cribs. 🙂

Now we are ready for twins. Ha!

But really, I’m looking forward to finally being able to get ready for these babies. I’m getting bigger and bigger now so I’m slowing down more and more. With all this belly, breathing has become quite the task these days. I’ve been “yelled” at by the hubs and those helping us move quite a few times in recent weeks and I’m sure i’ll happen plenty more this weekend as we try to move and get settled. Everyone wants me to relax and let them do the work, but that doesn’t come naturally to me. 🙂

Dessert, however, comes quite naturally. Eating it, in particular. In fact, while I watched the hubs move some things into the house yesterday I snacked on a cookie. 🙂 Not these, but some others I’ll be sharing soon. For today, let’s talk about these Butter Pecan Cookies. They are SO good!

To start, we’ve got toasted pecans. Toasting them ahead of time softens them up a bit and brings out their flavor. Definitely don’t skip this step.

Next is the cookie dough. One of the lovely things about cookies is that they are relatively quick and easy to make (compared to certain cakes, that is 🙂 ). This cookie dough comes together quite quickly and I’m a fan. Begin by creaming the butter and sugar. Next you’ll want a little vanilla extract and an egg. Then some flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt. See? Easy!

The cornstarch may seem a little unusual, but just like it acts as a thickener in things like sauces, it has a similar function here. It “thickens” up the cookie dough so that it doesn’t spread as much when baked, giving you a thicker and chewier cookie. You get the effect of adding more flour (the cookies spreading less) without drying out your cookie. Love it! Such a great little trick.

The final cookie is soft, chewy and full of buttery pecan flavor! And these definitely get even better after they sit overnight. The flavors depend even more, so these are great to make ahead for the holidays or a cookie exchange – or even for mailing overnight. Yay for Christmas and all the cookies!

INGREDIENTS:

BUTTER PECANS

• 3/4 cup (123g) finely chopped pecans
• 2 tbsp salted butter, melted

COOKIES

• 3/4 cup (168g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (168g) packed light brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 cups (260g) all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. Combine the melted butter and pecans in a medium sized bowl and toss to coat.

3. Spread the pecans evenly onto the cookie sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes, or until toasted.

4. Set pecans aside to cool.

5. To make the cookie dough, cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.

6. Add the vanilla extract and egg and mix until well combined.

7. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until well combined.

8. Stir in the cooled pecans.

9. Make balls of cookie dough about 2 tablespoons in size.

10. Place the balls of cookie dough onto the lined cookie sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes. Cookies will spread a bit and may look a little undercooked when you remove them, but they’ll continue to cook and firm as they cool.

11. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

12. Once cooled, store cookies in an air tight container for 3-5 days. Cookies are even better the second day after making them.

Source: www.lifeloveandsugar.com