Brown Sugar Pecan Shortbread

My birthday gift to you: For the month of July, I’m sharing some favorite cookie recipes. I love baking, and I especially love baking cookies. These are some of my favorites.

Sometimes you need a cookie that seems a bit more high-brow (even though it is a snap to pull together). These are just those cookies. Perfect with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine or bourbon. Great for guests or just for your morning treat.

You can use pecans, as directed, or any other favorite nut. Just make sure they are ground quite fine.

Brown Sugar Pecan Shortbread

Yield: 32 cookies

Ingredients

2/3 cup finely chopped pecans, lightly toasted (you can sub in your favorite nut such as hazelnuts or walnuts)

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

8 ounces unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil; set aside. Note: make sure you are using a baking sheet that has a rim around it.

In a large food processor, process nuts, flour, brown sugar, confectioners' sugar and salt until uniform. Scatter the butter over the mixture and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 18 - 20 1-second pulses. Butter should be evenly distributed. Do not over process.

Dump the mixture onto the baking sheet. Using the back of a 1-cup measuring cup, press the mixture over the pan, spreading evenly, and smooth it to create a flat even layer. Use the back of a knife to score the dough into 32 squares.

Bake the shortbread 16 - 18 minutes or until deep, butty brown and fragrant. Once baked, remove the pan from the oven and using a sharp knife, following the marks, cut completely through the marks to make individual cookies. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Carefully, pop the cookies out of the pan, and cool completely on a wire rack. You might have to use a knife for the first few, and then a metal spatula for the remaining cookies).

Enjoy!