A cherished and easy shortbread cookie, these Cocoa Nib Pecan Shortbread Cookies make a generous homemade gift or a festive treat. Like my Bourbon Vanilla Bean Cookies, these are make ahead easy and have a long storage life which makes these cookies SO convenient. This recipe is vegetarian, but easily egg free or vegan. [ See VIDEO Below in Recipe Card ]
This recipe was first posted 11/2016. It was updated 12/2020 to include how to make these cookies dairy free or vegan 12/2020.
Cookie Season!
It’s cookie season and y’all know what that means: cookies on the brain 24/7! Around here, it’s shortbread.
OMGeee. They’re my absolute favorite. But I gotta pace myself, else I won’t even be able to fit into my stretchy pants!
But this is just one of the many that I call favorite. There are SO many!
A Shortbread Love Affair
I’ve written about my love affair with shortbread when I shared these tasty treats on the blog:
- Hazelnut Shortbread with Ganache Sandwich Cookies
- Bourbon Vanilla Bean Shortbread Cookies
- Dark Chocolate Cocoa Nib Shortbread Cookies
- Vegan Dark Chocolate Shortbread
Shortbread is like a blank canvas to create with the flavors you love. I’ve even seen shortbread go savory!
The varieties are endless.
Why?
Shortbread cookies are easy to make, are make ahead ready, freezer friendly and, shortbread has a long shelf life!
Highlighting Simple Ingredients
Shortbread is not typically overly sweet. Rather, the proportion of ingredients allow key flavors to shine, rather than being doused in so much sugar you can hardly taste the butter or inclusions.
These Pecan Shortbread Cookies have a shortish ingredient list. Here’s what you’ll need to whip these up (see recipe card below for full details):
- Pecans – pecan halves. Buy from the bulk bins for best value.
- Butter – your favorite high quality butter, organic if possible, unsalted.
- Cane Sugar – this is organic granulated sugar.
- Bourbon – just a touch for flavor but water can be subbed if desired.
- Vanilla Extract – or you can use vanilla bean paste.
- Cocoa Nibs – raw chocolate bits with rich dark chocolate flavor. Look for them in the bulk bins of your health food store.
- All Purpose Flour – I like organic, Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose flour
- White Whole Wheat Flour – this flour adds a bit more texture and earthy flavor to these cookies, however, you can sub it for more all purpose flour.
- Egg White – this is brushed on the “log” so that the turbanodo/finishing sugar sticks to the out edges of the cookie. For an egg free cookie, omit this ingredient.
- Turbanado/raw Sugar – this is used to sprinkle on the outer edges of the cookie after brushing on the egg wash. It is optional.
Recipe Inspiration
The idea for this recipe came from Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet. I strayed from her recipe only slightly by replacing part of the all purpose flour with white whole wheat flour, baking the cookies longer and using a tried and true method of chilling and finishing the cookies in raw sugar. Something ingrained from my former days in pastry school.
For fullest flavor development, make these cookies at least one day before you need them, rest the dough in the fridge overnight, then slice and bake the following day. The cocoa nibs infuse these cookies with their bittersweet notes and, even better, their flavor improves over time.
A Few Recipe Notes
- Plan ahead: These cookies need to rest at least two hours in the fridge prior to cutting and baking. However, they can be made up to two days ahead and refrigerated or up to a month and frozen!
- Make ahead: Shortbread has a long shelf stable life, so they make perfect make ahead cookies to ship to friends and family near and far! They stay fresh for up to two weeks when stored properly.
- Egg free? Yes Please! Simply leave the sugar coating off the edges of the cookie and bake as directed.
- Vegan Cookies? Yes Please! I’ve tested this recipe with Earth Balance buttery sticks with delicious results. The only change is to add just a pinch of salt, omit the egg wash and raw sugar and bake for 19-23 minutes as they tend to darken more quickly.
- An external oven thermometer will ensure the oven is at the proper temperature. Proper oven temperature is important in baking for optimal outcome.
More Shortbread Recipes to Love
- Italian Wedding Cookies
- Hazelnut Shortbread with Salted Ganache Sandwich Cookies
- Bourbon Vanilla Bean Shortbread Cookies
- Vegan Dark Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
- Dark Chocolate Cocoa Nib Shortbread Cookies
Cocoa Nibby Pecan Shortbread Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 C (112g) Pecan Halves
- 2 Sticks (16 Tbs/226g) Unsalted Butter room temperature
- 3/4 C (170g) Cane Sugar
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
- 1 Tbs Bourbon *see note
- 2 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/3 C (40g) Cocoa Nibs
- 1 C (170g) All Purpose Flour
- 1 C (170g) White Whole Wheat Flour aka Ivory Wheat Flour or sub All Purpose Flour
- 1 Egg White optional
- Turbinado or Raw Sugar for sprinkling if using the egg white.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F (163C). Spread the pecans on a cookie sheet and toast for about 8 minutes or until fragrant. Allow to cool, then chop into small pieces.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, cane sugar, sea salt and vanilla bean extract. Mix on medium for about 2 minutes or until smooth (not fluffy), stopping to scrape bowl at least once. Add the bourbon and mix again on medium for about 30 seconds, or until incorporated. Scrape down bowl. Add the cocoa nibs and pecans and mix on low until just incorporated. Scrape down bowl. Add the flour all at once, pulse to start, then mix on medium until the dough forms somewhat of a ball on the paddle and has pulled away from sides of the bowl.
- On a floured work surface, dump out dough and divide in half. Shape each clump into a log, 2" (5cm) thick, gently rolling and adding flour as needed so it wont stick to you or the work surface. You'll want to make sure a hollow doesn't develop in the center of the log as this will create a hole in the middle of the cookie. It this occurs, rest the dough for about 10 minutes, then use your rolling pin to beat and condition the dough, then reroll pinching where needed to avoid the dreaded hollow log! Once the log is shaped, wrap each log in plastic wrap. Carefully place in refrigerator on a flat surface for at least two hours or up to two days.
- At this point the dough can be frozen for up to two months. Be sure to double wrap the logs if freezing.
- Remove the log(s) from the refrigerator, unwrap the log. Using a pastry brush, brush a thin layer of egg white all over the surface of the dough. Sprinkle the log with turbinado or raw sugar, rolling it as needed to cover the surface areas.
- Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. Using a serrated knife, cut the cookies 1/4" (6mm) thick, without sawing but rather with a firm cut down. Place on sheet pan with at least 1" (2 1/2 cm) between cookies. Place back in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes (do not skip this step or the cookies will spread). Preheat oven to 325F (160C).
- Bake cookies for 23-26 minutes or until golden, starting to check on them at about 20 minutes due to oven variations. They'll be darker on the bottom than the top when done. Remove from oven and using an offset spatula, carefully transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. They'll crisp up as they cool.
- Store in a covered container at room temperature for up to two weeks.
Video
Notes
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
