Pecan Shortbread Recipe (2024)

Salted butter is key! The toasted nuts overpower the cardamom, so if you're looking to get more of the cardamom flavor, I'd increase to 1tsp at least. I made this in a 8x8 inch square pan and the cookies were nice and thick and held together perfectly. My new go-to shortbread recipe!

Yes on the salted butter. Didn’t have it, so added a healthy 3/4t of salt. Also amped up the cardamom, because I am a fan, and added some grated lemon rind. The tasters are raving. A keeper.

In her recipe for Buttery Almond Cookies, Melissa Clark has a tip to add 1/4 tsp of salt when the recipe calls for 1 cup of salted butter and you only have unsalted butter. This recipe uses 1 1/2 cups salted butter so I guess you would need 1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp of salt when using unsalted butter.

this stuff is addictive. Do not make it for yourself alone unless you have world class willpower.

These are absolutely delicious. I didn’t have enough butter so cut the recipe in half except for cardamom. Pressed into loaf pan line with parchment. Came out perfectly. Will definitely make again.

Just came across this recipe and will be trying it very soon. If you’ve made this, do you think it could be rolled into a log, chilled for slice and bake cookies rather than baking in a tin?

Made this today. We are are gluten free and eat a plant based diet. So, gluten free flour and vegan butter. Excellent. Next time I would up the cardamon and pecans.

Chilled butter or room temperature?

I tried this recipe for an upcoming face to face picnic gathering of friends, it's having been described as sturdy, and the cardamom seemed especially festive. Thanks to those who posted earlier, I added more cardamom, 2 tsp total and it was just right. The squares in the 8x8" pan were thick and did not crumble. They were very rich; for a daytime picnic I cut each of the 16 squares in half, making a tasty and interesting bite.

My fluted pan was 11" in diameter and quite shallow at 1" deep. It was filled to the brim with the raw dough but only puffed up slightly upon baking so didn't overflow (it needed the entire 45 minutes). Using a smaller pan would mean it would have to be deeper and might mean altering the baking time.I did double the cardamom to a full teaspoon and used 2 cups of chopped pecans (up from the 1 1/2 in the original recipe).

If using a fluted pan I feel you can go up to 10" with this recipe. My 9.5" pan is a little tight.

All recipes used to be made by hand, the mixer is a recent addition.

I've used coconut oil 1:1 to replace butter in other shortbread recipes like this (not this one specifically). It usually works fine, but the texture may be a little more delicate. In this recipe, you'd probably need to adjust for the missing salt, too.

Great recipe as is, the technique yielded the best crumb I’ve gotten from a shortbread recipe, but next time I’ll either up the cardamom to a tsp or else brown the butter and re-solidify in the fridge. Lol re: 8-10 servings, that’s sinful

Seconding the dough quantity comment. This is a LOT of dough, and some very tall, heavy shortbread

These were way too dense for my taste and very crumbly to cut. Made them in 8x8 pan, would have been better in a larger pan so they could be cut up into small squares without being taller than they are wide. Made exactly to recipe, flavor was bland. Don't think I'd make these again.

Did anyone making this according to the recipe have trouble with the shortbread crumbling when slicing? I left mine to cool (used a 9"x 9" pan) until just warm as the recipe instructs, and many of the slices crumbled. I want to make this for gifts, so I may try scoring it after it is halfway baked or else freeze the entire pan and slice it from frozen. Any tips are appreciated.

A waste of precious Georgia pecans. Made this exactly as written except with unsalted butter and the addition of salt to compensate. The mixture never "came together" in the stand mixer, but did hold together after pressing onto a 9x9 pan and baking for the prescribed time until browning slightly around the edges at 45 minutes. The flavor is all pecan and vanilla, pleasant but lacking the cardamom twist. The texture is underdone, despite preheating for an hour and removing at the appointed time.

Honestly, I didn’t think the shortbread was anything particularly special, and even 2 tap cardamom didn’t add much. I made it in a 9 inch fluted tin, and there was just way too much dough in there to bake well, even though I took out a sizable chunk, flattened it into a disk and baked it separately. I ended up taking it out of the oven at 45 minutes and cut about 2 inch slices from 4 sides, and baked the center square another 15 minutes; but the shortbread is too thick and just very ordinary.

I think the 9 x 9“ pan was way too small. The short bread came out the thickness of brownies and I prefer it half that thick. I also baked it with turbinado sugar on top to give it a bit more sweetness. It is very buttery and tasty, but too thick in my opinion.

Can you use pecan flour & if so use the equivalent 1 1/2 Cups called for in the recipe?

Marlene… I make a very similar recipe as a roll and slice. You can also roll the log in coarse sugar before you slice it to make them a bit festive.Have to try the cardamom!

Does anyone know why you you have to cube the butter if you are just going to cream it?As to the question of room temperature, butter or cold butter, wouldn’t it have to be cold butter - because how do you cube room temperature butter?

this stuff is addictive. Do not make it for yourself alone unless you have world class willpower.

Can the dough be cut and baked as cooked rather than in a cake/tart pan? How would you adjust the temp?

I baked this in the 8" springform pan I had and extended the time by 5 minutes. It could have used another 5. Once cooled and sliced, it's just a little claggy at the center, but delicious nonetheless.

I had just shelled some hickory nuts, and used them, untoasted. Delicious! They added that extra something.

I tried this recipe for an upcoming face to face picnic gathering of friends, it's having been described as sturdy, and the cardamom seemed especially festive. Thanks to those who posted earlier, I added more cardamom, 2 tsp total and it was just right. The squares in the 8x8" pan were thick and did not crumble. They were very rich; for a daytime picnic I cut each of the 16 squares in half, making a tasty and interesting bite.

Just came across this recipe and will be trying it very soon. If you’ve made this, do you think it could be rolled into a log, chilled for slice and bake cookies rather than baking in a tin?

What if I don’t have a mixer?