Butter Pecan Shortbread is a classic buttery shortbread loaded up with crunchy pecans and plenty of brown sugar…the flavor will make you swoon!
butter pecan shortbread is a pecan lover’s dream
Trust me here readers…if this sounds at all good to you, please try it, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Melt in your mouth shortbread is fabulous enough on its own, but when you combine it with toasted pecans, brown sugar, Have a warm square for breakfast with your coffee, take a piece or two to work, make a batch as an offering to a neighbor, or bring a pan to the book group, you won’t regret it!
gather your ingredients
- butter ~ an all important ingredient in shortbread and butter pecan. I use unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt going into the bars. If all you have is salted butter, just leave out the extra salt in the recipe.
- pecans ~ I use halves and toast them first. Why halves? Because they’re higher quality and fresher than bits and pieces. I toast them before chopping because that brings out phenomenal flavor.
- brown sugar ~ essential for the butterscotch-y flavor
- molasses ~ my secret ingredient!
- flour ~ all purpose
- cornstarch ~ cornstarch is a classic ingredient in shortbread that lightens and tenderizes the bars.
- almond extract ~ I have not found a pecan or a butter pecan flavoring that works for me, so I use almond extract. The flavor is perfect in these bars.
- butter extract ~ this was an experiment and I think it made a difference in the flavor so I do recommend it. The one I used is from McCormick.
- salt ~ super important to bring all these rich flavors together.
shortbread faqs
Yes, use a good quality vegan butter in place of dairy butter.
Use a good quality gf baking mix like King Arthur Flour’s, or Bob’s Red Mill brand.
Yes, lots of different nuts will work, use what you like (hazelnuts would be delicious.) Don’t forget to toast them first!
It freezes especially well due to the low moisture content. Just allow it to cool completely before wrapping in plastic, and then again in foil. Label and plan to use within 6 months.
Yes, use your favorite sugar substitute. It works best if you have a granulated variety made for baking.
Yes, white granulated sugar will work, but you’ll lose some of that lovely flavor. Did you know you can make your own brown sugar super quick and easy? Check it out here.
Yes, you can roll the dough out and make cut out cookies, or form the dough into a log, chill it, and slice and bake. Depending on size, they’ll bake for 13-18 minutes.
tips for making butter pecan shortbread
- Be SURE to toast the nuts before adding them to your dough. It makes a big difference.
- The extracts are important in this recipe because while toasted pecans have great flavor, the nuts alone are not enough to give you that great butter pecan vibe.
- I used a combination of almond extract and butter extract, but you can experiment with butter pecan flavor extract You can find it here. Note: I have found that butter pecan extract has an artificial flavor so I don’t use it.
- If you like your shortbread on the soft side, take it out right at the suggested time, and if you love it a little more crunchy, cook a bit longer.
- If you’d like to remove the shortbread for neater cutting like I did, line your pan with parchment, leaving the ends long on two sides so you can lift it out of the pan after it has cooled. Note: Don’t try to lift it out while it is still warm, the shortbread may crack.
“These are perfect — buttery and nutty, just right! Sooo good with a cup of coffee and I’m sure just as good with hot chocolate.”
Patti
The list of shortbread recipes on my blog is always growing!
- If you love citrus, try my Lemon Sugar Shortbread, it’s made with a special lemon infused sugar.
- Peanut butter fans need to try my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies.
- For another nutty recipe, check out my Pistachio Shortbread Cookies or my Chocolate Walnut Shortbread Cookies.
Butter Pecan Shortbread
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar.
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp butter extract, optional
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 5 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cup toasted pecans, rough chopped
Instructions
- Set the oven to 350F
- Lightly spray a 9×9 square baking dish. I like to line mine with parchment paper so I can easily lift the shortbread out for slicing, but this is optional.
- Whisk the melted butter with the sugar and molasses in a large mixing bowl. Make sure to work out any lumps in the sugar.
- Blend in the extracts, and then stir in the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir just until the dough starts to come together.
- Fold in the nuts so they are evenly distributed and there is no dry flour left.
- Crumble the dough evenly across the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Pat the dough down with your hands, nudging it out so it fills the pan and is all even. You don't want a mound of dough in the middle, you want to flatten it out from side to side, evenly. I like to use an offset spatula to smooth the surface of the dough. If you like you can sink a few extra pecan halves into the top of the dough for a pretty look.
- Bake for about 25 minutes. The top will still look pale, but the dough will be just beginning to turn golden around the edges.
- Cool on a rack for about 15 minutes before cutting into squares.
Notes
- To toast pecan halves, lay them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast for about 10-15 minutes at 350F. Give the pan a shake once or twice during cooking. Let the nuts cool before chopping.
- Recipe was revised and updated in 2021.
Nutrition
Do you think I could use 2 cups oat flour? I have to have gluten free and making my own oat flour from oatmeal is so much cheaper than buying gluten free flours.
I’ve made my shortbread with a gluten free baking mix, but I’ve never tried it with just oat flour, it might be worth experimenting with Laura. I’m just wondering if the shortbread would have enough structure to hold together with only the oat flour.
What is oat flour and where can I find it? Or can I substitute ap flour?
Oat flour is sold in large supermarkets, specialty stores, and online. Bob’s Red Mill sells it, for instance, but it’s so easy to make yourself, just put rolled oats in a food processor or good blender and grind them. The flavor and texture is worth it! You can also just use regular flour, that works too.
Can you use a different flour besides oat flour? Whole wheat, maybe?
You can make this with all plain flour, or try some whole wheat, that’s fine Kathy.
Just made these. They are fabulous! I’ve made a lot of shortbread and w can’t stop eating them. Great with a glass of sweet white wine…
Wish I could join you 🙂
Can I double this recipe? I need to make a 9×13 size.
That should work fine Jolene.
I’ve never heard of using cornstarch in Shortbread? What is it’s purpose?
Cornstarch makes the dough more tender because it has no gluten. You can definitely leave it out and substitute with more flour if you like. Some people love the texture that cornstarch gives, and some prefer it without.
Do you know how well this will travel? I’ll be visiting my sister out of state for thanksgiving this year and would love to bring this to her as a hostess gift. It would be nice with coffee at breakfast!
Shortbread in general travels well, but because it’s crumbly I would make sure to pack it really well, and don’t put it in your checked luggage 😉
Do you think I could substitute the butter with Earth Balance to make these vegan? I know that butter is a “required” ingredient for shortbread but just curious about the Earth Balance.
I haven’t tried it personally, and if you google the question the overwhelming answer is no, so I wouldn’t chance it, Diane, sorry!
I know I’m late to the party, but on the off chance you see this, yes, you can sub Earth Balance. I make vegan shortbread all the time. I haven’t tried this particular recipe, but I’ve subbed it in plenty of others and no one can tell the difference. 🙂
I don’t see why not Aimee. Please let us know how it turns out.
I love black walnuts. Do you think I could substitute them for the pecans and would I have to change the recipe in any way? The black walnuts seem to be a stronger flavored nut than others
If you love them I think they would be amazing in this recipe, just use them in the same amounts! let us know how it goes, I think it sounds wonderful.
Hi Sue, have you tried substituting Almond flour for the 1.5 cups flour required in the recipe? Also, if I use Almond flour would I be able to eliminate the oat flour and increase the almond flour?
I don’t mind baking as is, I thought I would do some experimenting…love shortbread…thank you
I plan to experiment with that myself, Alice, but I can’t say for sure as I haven’t tried it yet. I do know that a good gluten free flour mix will work, I’ve done that with Bob’s Red Mill’s gf baking blend. I’m devising an almond shortbread for the fall in which I’ll try the almond flour…
Hi Sue, I made this recipe tonight and they are delicious! However they came out rather crumbly and tended to fall apart. I did use a glass pan and wonder if that caused them to overbake. I did reduce the time by a few minutes though because I know that glass is hotter. I used half salted butter. Could that cause the crumbling? I also wondered if maybe I should have mixed the dough a bit more. Would that help them hold together better? I’ll try them again with some tweaks ’til I get it right. I love shortbread!
Hi Jane! The glass pan does cook more quickly, so that could be part of it. You might try cooking it for a slightly shorter time…shortbread is forgiving…it will be delicious even when slightly under-cooked. And yes, definitely make sure you mix the dough thoroughly before patting it into the pan. Good luck with your next batch! I’m here if you have more questions…