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Home » Blog » Recipes

Pecan Praline Shortbread Sugar Cookies

Tyler April Townley — Leave a Comment

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Pecan praline shortbread sugar cookies arranges on a blue scalloped plate.
This recipe can be used for cut-out decorated cookies, or slice-and-bake tea cookies, topped with a pecan.

I was fortunate enough growing up to get to spend a lot of time with my Grandma and Grandpa. Grams was a very typical midwestern grandmother, and I loved her stories about the time she spent with her grandparents in Chicago when she was a child. Gramps was from Boston, but moved to California to live with his uncle and spent his youth as an actual cowboy on a ranch. 

Stacked pecan praline shortbread sugar cookies surrounded by pecan pralines

Both were self-sufficient, hard-working, homesteader types, who lived thru The Great Depression and taught me woodworking and carpentry skills, how to bake and cook, to sew and crochet, garden, preserve food, how to repair furniture and darn socks, and everything else, from changing a tire, to fixing a leaky faucet. 

A single pecan praline shortbread sugar cookie surrounded by pecans and pecan pralines.

I was born and raised in Southern California, but I’m often asked if I’m from the East Coast or Midwest, on account of my “accent.” And I’ve come to realize that it’s not so much an accent, as a combination of grandpa’s East Coast/cowboy bluntness, and grandma’s Midwestern nice. And also that I say things like “for cryin’ out loud” and “you betcha!” I always know I’m channeling Grams when my husband gives me a weird look because I’ve said something like “if it was a snake, it’d have bit me.”

Long story long, I also grew up eating hotdish, strawberry rhubarb pie, and gooey butter cake. And when we’d I’d go to Thrifty’s for an ice cream cone, my friends would get cookies and cream or cotton candy, I’d order pecan praline or rum raisin. So when I was perusing LorAnn Oil’s catalog, and saw they had a pecans & cream extract, I knew I had to come up with a pecan praline recipe. 

Add-ins

Always chop by hand or grind add-ins (chocolate chips, candy, nuts, cookies, or dried fruit) in a food processor to the consistency of coarse sand. Large add-ins will leave you with jagged edges when you cut out your cookies.

4 small bowls of ground chocolate chips, almonds, candy cane, and cookies.
From left to right: ground chocolate, nuts, candy cane, and biscoff cookies.

I always toast any nuts I use for baked good because it kicks the flavor up a notch. I swapped out granulated sugar for brown sugar for the molasses flavor, and whether you use light or dark brown sugar is up to your personal preference. There are also a lot of different pecan flavored extracts — pecan, pecan praline, butter pecan — that I’m sure would all be as delicious as the pecans & cream extract I used.

Are these technically shortbread or sugar cookies?

They’re kind of both. It’s fine to call these either “decorated sugar cookies” or “decorated shortbread cookies.” But I’m going to refer to any of my cookie recipes that can used as a base for cookie decorating as “shortbread sugar cookies.”

Shortbread Cookies

  • 2 parts flour to 1 part fat
  • No eggs
  • No leavening agent
  • Dense and crispy

Sugar Cookies

  • 3 parts flour to 2 parts fat
  • Contains eggs
  • Contains a leavening agent
  • Light and Chewy

All of my shortbread sugar cookie recipes don’t rise or spread, can be used for cookie decorating, have egg, but no leavening agent, and have a 2 ¼ parts flour to 1 part fat. Which makes them fall somewhere between a shortbread and a sugar cookie. They’re both shortbread and sugar cookies, and neither shortbread or sugar cookies, at the same time. They’re Shrodinger’s cookies!

All of my shortbread sugar cookie recipes can be used for slice-and-bake cookies as well!

If you would like more info on my preferred ingredient brands, tips and tricks, FAQs, and a little cookie science, I cover all of that in my No-Spread Lemon Shortbread Sugar Cookie Recipe.

Overhead view of ingredients for pecan praline shortbread sugar cookies.
Butter, vanilla extract, pecans & cream extract, egg, pecans, brown sugar, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and all-purpose flour.

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Pecan Praline Shortbread Sugar Cookies

No-spread pecan praline cookies that can be used for cut-out decorated cookies, or slice-and-bake cookies.
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Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cookies, cut out cookies, decorated cookie recipe, decorated cookies, pecan cookies, pecan shortbread, roll and cut cookies, shortbread, slice-and-bake, sugar cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Resting Time: 4 minutes
Total Time: 39 minutes
Servings: 15 cookies
Calories: 265kcal

Equipment

  • measuring cups and spoons
  • mixing bowls
  • whisk
  • spatula
  • cling wrap
  • food processor
  • stand mixer with paddle attachment
  • cookie cutters
  • cookie sheets
  • silicone baking mats
  • large knife
  • rolling pin

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric
  • 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar light or dark
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons pecans & cream extract or pecan extract/emulsion of your choice
  • ¾ cup toasted pecans finely ground
  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions

  • Grind pecans in food processor until texture of coarse sand.
  • Whisk dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch and ground pecans) together and set aside.
  • Cream butter and sugars with paddle attachment, on medium-low speed, until fluffy and pale in color (about 5 minutes).
  • Add egg and extracts, and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Scrape down the paddle with a spatula, and then continue to mix on low speed for another 30 seconds to ensure everything is fully incorporated.
  • Add dry ingredients, all at once, and mix on low speed just until dough starts to come together and no dry bits remain. Do not overmix.
  • Turn dough out onto cling wrap, tightly wrap, and refrigerate overnight (or for at least 4 hours).
  • Knead, roll, cut out cookies, and return to fridge or freezer until firm. Leave a couple inches between cookies.
  • Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, rotate pan, and bake for another 1-5 minutes until edges are starting to turn golden brown.
  • Remove from oven and allow to fully cool on cookie sheet before handling.

Notes

  • The reason for adding 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch to your dough is to prevent your cookies from shrinking or spreading during baking.
  • You want to grind pecans as fine as possible, comparable to the texture of almond meal or coarse sand. Larger pieces will leave you with jagged cookie edges.
  • If making slice-and-bake cookies, split dough in half, roll into logs, wrap tightly in cling wrap or parchment paper, and refrigerate before slicing and baking.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 265kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 63mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 399IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?I’d love to hear how it went! Rate & comment below!

Categories: Cookies, Recipes, Shortbread Sugar Cookies Tags: pecan shortbread cookies

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Tyler April Townley

Hi, I’m Tyler!

A professional pastry chef turned teacher of all things cookie decorating & more. I’ve made thousands of decorated cookies, cakes, & treats for happy clients over the years. Now I’m sharing my knowledge so you too can bake & decorate like a pro.

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Tyler April Townley

Hi, I’m Tyler!

A professional pastry chef turned teacher of all things cookie decorating & more. I’ve made thousands of decorated cookies, cakes, & treats for happy clients over the years. Now I’m sharing my knowledge so you too can bake & decorate like a pro.

Instagram Pinterest Facebook Twitter YouTube
About · Blog · Shop · Subscribe

Subscribe for Updates

Never miss a recipe or new online!

You can also follow on Instagram & Facebook!

Learn to Decorate Today!

  • Online Cookie Decorating Masterclass
    Online Cookie Decorating Masterclass
  • Products included in my Cookie Decorating Starter Kit
    Cookie Decorating Supply Starter Kit

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