These pecan shortbread cookies combine butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and pecans to make one extraordinarily flavorful cookie. Made in 1 bowl without eggs or leavening, this shortbread is soft yet dense with crisp crumbly edges. We’ll use the simple slice and bake method, which helps guarantee thick cookies. No rolling pin required!
Tell Me About Shortbread!
Traditional shortbread is made from one part sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour. Eggs and leavening are typically absent, so you enjoy that trademark dense/crumbly texture. Butter and sugar add flavor and keep the cookies soft. I have several shortbread variations on my website. However, I love using the slice and bake method for this style of cookie.
While rolling out and cutting into shapes allows for different designs and decorations like we do with lemon shortbread cookies, sometimes the dough is just easier to roll into a log and slice. Or try baking shortbread in a cake pan and cutting into triangles like my wedge-shaped shortbread cookies and salted chocolate pistachio shortbread.
I also have drop shortbread cookies on my website including cherry almond shortbread cookies and pistachio cookies.
This Pecan Shortbread Is:
- A 1-bowl cookie recipe
- Brown sugared & cinnamon spiced
- Extra soft in the centers
- Not dry; it’s very buttery
- Crisp/crumbly on the edges
- Thick thick thick
- Coated in toasted pecans and coarse sugar
- Easy slice-and-bake style
Slice and Bake Cookie Style
If you aren’t already, it’s time to fall in love with the slice and bake cookie.
The cookies are slice-and-bake style, which you know is my favorite. Make the cookie dough, roll into logs, chill the logs, slice the logs, bake the sliced cookies. This isn’t a new concept—I’ve shared a few other variations before including:
- Sprinkle Slice & Bake Cookies
- Santa’s Whiskers Cookies
- Pistachio Chocolate Chunk Slice & Bake Cookies
- Chocolate Orange Slice & Bake Cookies
- Toasted Hazelnut Slice & Bake Cookies
- Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies
I even published a chocolate version, a maple walnut version, and a vanilla spice version in Sally’s Cookie Addiction. Some of these flavors include an egg, so they don’t have the same deliciously dense/crumbly texture of today’s shortbread version.
How to Make Pecan Shortbread
Now that you know the style of cookie, let’s walk through the process.
- Make the cookie dough in 1 bowl. Beat butter and sugars together until very creamy. Beat in the vanilla, then add the dry ingredients. Cookie dough will be thick.
- Roll into logs. Divide the dough in half on a floured work surface. Do your best to roll each into logs. Why 2 logs? There’s too much dough for 1 log. Plus, two smaller logs chill quicker.
- Chill the logs. Wrap each in plastic wrap, then chill for 3-4 hours. All good cookies need to chill out in the refrigerator first!
- Roll the logs into chopped pecans. You can actually do this before or after chilling the logs. The pecans on the outer edges become nice and toasty. I actually add a little coarse sugar to the mix, so the edges are crunchy and sweet, too. YES!
- Slice & bake. Slice the logs into about 12 cookies, arrange on cookie sheets, and bake.
Here’s a photo of the creamed butter and sugars, as well as a photo of the finely chopped pecans. We want pecan pieces in each bite, so chop them up small as if you were making pecan sugar cookies.
Cookie dough is thick & buttery, and quite similar to the dough we need for snowball cookies or almond crescent cookies.
Chill the Cookie Dough as Logs
Chilling the dough is key to this pecan shortbread. Divide the cookie dough in half, then roll each half into a log. Chill these logs for at least 3-4 hours. Seems like awhile, but I actually prefer to chill them overnight—so this is a fantastic recipe to make ahead. If you skip the chilling, expect the Great Cookie Spread on your baking sheets.
Only 8 Ingredients in Pecan Shortbread
Have I mentioned you only need 8 basic ingredients? And isn’t it incredible how many different cookie recipes we can make from the same basic ingredients including butter, sugars, vanilla, flour, cinnamon, salt, and nuts? Just another reason why it’s ok to shout “I LOVE BAKING” from the rooftops.
I love how the cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla, and pecan flavors combine in 1 cookie. Sort of like my maple pecan sticky buns and maple brown sugar cookies, only without the maple. Or brown sugar cookies with added pecans. (But trust me, these flavorful cookies aren’t lacking anything!)
Pecan Shortbread
- Prep Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 2 dozen
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Made in 1 bowl without eggs or leavening, this pecan shortbread is soft yet dense with crisp crumbly edges. We’ll use the simple slice and bake method, which helps guarantee thick cookies. No rolling pin required!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (100g) finely chopped pecans
Rolling
- 1/4 cup (50g) coarse sugar (I prefer this coarse sugar)
- 1/4 cup (32g) finely chopped pecans
Instructions
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until combined and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract on high speed. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the flour, cinnamon, and salt, then beat on low speed until combined. Beat in the chopped pecans. The cookie dough may look like it won’t come together, but keep beating—I promise, it will! The cookie dough will be thick.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and, with floured hands, divide or cut into two. Shape each half into an 8-inch log, about 2.5 inches in diameter. The measurements don’t have to be exact. Tightly wrap the logs in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3-4 hours and up to 5 days. Chilling is mandatory for this cookie dough. I prefer to chill mine for 4 hours or even overnight—the colder the dough, the thicker the cookies.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- For Rolling: You can actually roll the logs before or after chilling them. Mix the coarse sugar and chopped pecans together on a large plate. One at a time, roll the log into the mixture. Press it down so the nuts and sugar stick to all sides.
- Slice each log into 12 equally thick cookies and place cookies on baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes or until brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Baked cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving. You can make/assemble the cookie dough logs and chill in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (see step 2). Cookie dough logs freeze well too, up to 3 months. Allow the logs to thaw overnight in the refrigerator then continue with step 3.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Coarse Sugar | Cooling Rack
- Pecans: I always use unsalted raw pecans. If you love salty sweet cookies, you can use salted/roasted pecans. Whichever you use, chop the pecans into very fine pieces. The smaller the pecan pieces, the more that can squeeze into each cookie and around the edges. It will be impossible to roll the logs into large chunks of pecans.
- Brown Sugar Shortbread: I used to have a recipe on the site for brown sugar shortbread. This recipe is very similar, but here is the ingredient list if you’d like to make that version instead: 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 cup (2 sticks; 230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature; 1 cup (200g) packed light brown sugar ; 1/3 cup (67g) packed dark brown sugar; 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; optional: 2/3 cup (135g) coarse sugar, for rolling
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hands down the most delicious pecan/shortbread!!!
I’m going to try another batch and use a cookie cutter to add some variety!
Thank you!
Hi there! Random question: are these considered pecan sandies? I’ve been wondering..
Yes! I would absolutely consider these pecan sandies. A “sandy/sandy cookie” or “sablé” in French is usually a type of slice-and-bake-style shortbread cookie.
I felt we produced a really nice bake on this. I would give myself a handshake if I could
These are perfect! I weighed all of the ingredients and refrigerated one roll of dough for 5 hours and the second for 2 days. I did not measure my rolls of dough and got 10 cookies from each one, so maybe mine were slightly larger than the recipe. I also creamed the butter and sugar in a food processor because I don’t have a hand mixer. They turned out amazing!! Thanks for the recipe!
I usually love your recipes. Mine came out too sweet and the pecans fell off the outside when I cut the cookies. Can sugar be reduced?
Hi Julie! Try chopping the pecans a bit smaller next time and really pressing them in the dough. Sugar is used for moisture and texture in baked goods as well as taste. You can certainly try reducing the sugar, but the resulting texture will be different than intended.
Thank you!
Just made these on the weekend and brought them into the office. I’m getting lots of compliments! I followed the recipe exact except for I toasted my whole pecans a bit in the oven before chopping them. I had no issues at all and I think mine look pretty much the same as the photo. If you love shortbread this is a really great variation. This recipe is a keeper for me!
My family really enjoyed these cookies! In fact, my husband said these are on his list of favorites!
I used Earth Balance vegan butter sticks, unsalted. I softened to room temp, but kept them cool to the touch. I also chilled the logs for about 6 hours. I think those 2 steps in the process are important for success. I also did not add sugar when coating the outside of the logs, as I really do not like coarse sugar.
I am not a baker, so if I had success with these, I think anyone can! Thanks for a new regular in our Christmas cookie rotation!
Hi Sally! I usually have great success with your recipes, but this one is not working out. My dough is not coming together at all. It did not thicken up and I mixed for several minutes. I was really looking forward to my first shortbread, but so far my dough is disappointing. Any suggestions on what went wrong?
Hi Cindy, make sure you are spooning and leveling the flour. Additionally, the butter may be too cold. If you try the recipe again, see if it can soften for a bit longer. If this happens again, adding a splash of milk will help bring the dough together. I hope this helps! Thank you for trying the recipe.
This is the first cookie recipe demo this site that has disappointed. Mine also spread and flattened out. If. We’re to try again, I think I might need to make adjustments for my altitude of 3700 feet. I also couldn’t get the sugar and nuts to stick to the log after chilling.
I make recipes from Sally’s blog often, and they never disappoint. This recipe is no different! The cookies turned out super delicious and I plan on making them again and again. Thanks Sally!
Hi there!
Will these freeze well after baking?
Absolutely! Baked cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving.
hi sally! rather than making into a log and slicing, would forming into balls and slightly flattening work, while still giving it it’s fridge time as you stated(and rolling in pecans) ? thanks 😉
Hi Sonny, That should be fine. Let us know if you give this recipe a try!
they worked and came out fabulous! my husband LOVED them, definitely one of his top 3 favorites!!!
I made an almond version of these, and they are delicious! We love your recipes, Sally! Thank you.
Hi I have a problem. I have made these cookies twice. The first time, they spread in the oven. The second time I weighed my flour, and not only did the spread, but they came out bubbly. Any idea what the problem is?
Hi Madeleine, is it possible your butter was a bit warmer than room temperature? That’s usually the culprit for spreading cookies — if you’re interested, we share more on what room temperature butter really means here. You might also try extending the chill time for your dough or placing the sliced cookies back in the fridge for a few minutes before putting them in the oven. Cold cookie dough is key to preventing spread. Hope these tips are helpful for next time!
Hi Sally. What is your opinion of confectionary vs granulated sugar for shortbread? I have seen recipes for both. Thanks
Hi Cynthia. We use granulated as it provides structure to the shortbread.
These sound absolutely incredible! I recently purchased some ground pecans (pecan flour) and I was curious if I could perhaps substitute this for some of the regular flour for a grainer texture (and perhaps even tastier) cookie? Would love to hear what you think before I make them this weekend 🙂
Thanks!
Hi Ashley! That sounds delicious. It wouldn’t be a 1:1 swap because the pecan flour will contain fats and be much more heavy. We can’t say for certain since we haven’t tested it, but would love to hear what you end up trying.
Hi Trina, I was in a hurry so I did put the dough in the freezer before I got your reply but only for 30 mins and then 30 mins in the fridge. The cookies weren’t perfect (they spread a bit) but they tasted just as good. Thanks for your reply.
These came out delicious. I didn’t have pecans so used almonds instead. Just wondering whether these can be chilled in the freezer to save time? if so how long would you recommend?
Hi Lorraine, so happy you loved them! Chilling in the freezer will chill the dough unevenly, we suggest sticking with the refrigerator for best results.
I chilled in the freezer for 1hr and they turned out amazing
These cookies were really, really good. We typically make the same several types of cookies every year and try out a couple of new types as well. I think these ones will make it into the regular mix! I thought the pecans were such a nice addition to a Christmas shortbread. The perfect mix of sweet and nutty! Loved by everyone!
Sally, thanks so much for putting this together – we loved it!
Soooo delicious! Thanks for the recipe Sally! If anyone wants to try these gluten free I can tell you they taste amazing, as I make everything gluten free, and they were a huge hit!
What did you use to make it gluten free, please? Thank you.
Hi Sally, I’m just getting ready to try this recipe and I’m very excited. My question is, have you tested it with gluten free one to one flour?
Hi Amy, we haven’t tested this recipe with a gluten free 1:1 flour, but let us know if you do!
Hi Sally,
One of my friends has stopped using sugar and I thought I would substitute it with date paste. Do you think that would work in this recipe?
Thank you so much
Hi Zita, unfortunately that wouldn’t be ideal in a shortbread/slice and bake style cookie recipe unless the recipe is specifically formulated for its addition.
Hi Sally,
I am planning to make this recipe as part of my hamper gifts for my friends. I live in the UK and we don’t really have any coarse sugar. What would you suggest using instead ?
Thank you:)
Wow, these cookies are fabulous – so good that they’ve quickly moved to the top of my husband’s favorite list! Made as directed, but next time will roll the logs into chopped pecans before chilling as it was harder for nuts to adhere with logs fresh out of the fridge. Will be making these again soon!
These turned out so good. I refrigerated overnight then sliced and baked. They were yummy. I made them with walnuts. I thought I had pecans but I was out.
These cookies are amazing. Followed directions, refrigerated overnight, rolled in chopped pecans and turbinado sugar. Had to bake a bit longer, but I think that’s my oven. They came out just like your pics! Thanks for a great recipe!
I made these and they are delicious! I wanted to leave a comment to counteract some of the mixed reviews. I followed the recipe as written, aside from toasting the pecans before mixing them into the dough. I also dipped them in chocolate, as you suggested. Delightful!
These cookies were really not good in spite of following the recipe exactly. They spread way too much. They were too hard, too sweet and nothing like at all shortbread. A real fail and a disappointment.
Hi Sally!
I’ve baked things from your blog before, but after yet another success I thought I had to leave a comment now!
These cookies are absolutely delicious and a dream to make! So easy, such great results! Will be making these again for sure! Thank you for your amazing recipes!
Margot (from Belgium)
These taste nice but are not shortbread. Short bread should be thick, buttery and a bit crumbly (I’m from the UK) . I followed the recipe exactly, my butter was room temperature, pecans were finely chopped, logs were chilled for 4 hours. They came out more like cookies with a slightly soft centre. They are extremely sweet too, the granulated sugar is not needed, the brown sugar is enough.
P. S. Big fan of some of your other recipes!