1/2cupsalted butter, at room temperature *see Note 1
2 1/2Tablespoonsgranulated white sugar
1teaspoonwater
1teaspoonvanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste
1cupall purpose flour
1/2cuppecans, toasted, cooled and finely chopped
For rolling after baking:
1cupconfectioners'/icing sugar
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Instructions
Toast the pecan (see Recipe Notes below for how to toast nuts), let cool completely, then finely chop. Set aside.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter with the sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes at medium speed. Add the water and vanilla and mix in. Add the flour all at once and mix on low speed until the mixture comes together as a moist dough. Stir in the (cooled) finely chopped nuts.
Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop a portion and dough and roll into about 1-inch balls. Continue shaping balls with the remain dough, placing onto a baking sheet. (*I like to roll all the dough and pack then onto a smaller baking sheet that will fit nicely into my fridge. When ready to bake, I transfer them to another baking sheet, spacing them apart and baking in a couple of batches).
Before refrigerating, you can flatten the balls slightly to make more of a "button-shaped" cookie or leave them as balls, if you prefer.
Place baking sheet into the fridge uncovered and chill 15-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325F. (regular bake setting/not fan assisted)
Bake in preheated oven, with balls spaced about 2 inches part, for about 20 minutes. Bake in batches, if necessary, leaving remaining dough in the refrigerator while you bake the first batch.
Remove from oven and let stand about 1 minutes. Roll warm cookies in icing/confectioners' sugar while still very warm and place onto a wire rack to cool further. Once cooled to just slightly warm, roll again in powdered sugar to thoroughly coat.
Allow to cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
1. You can use unsalted butter here. Simply add a 1/4 teaspoon salt to the dough.How to toast pecans: Microwave - scatter nuts (before chopping) onto a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high in 30 second spurts, stirring between, until nuts are fragrant. Remove from microwave and transfer nuts to a cool plate to cool (to avoid further cooking from the hot plate).Stove-top - Scatter nuts into a non-stick skillet. Place on the stove-top over medium heat and cook, stirring, until fragrant.Oven - Preheat oven to 350F. Scatter nuts onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place into over for 6-8 minutes, watching carefully and stirring once or twice, until fragrant.If you prefer a softer, "melting" type of shortbread, replace the 2 1/2 Tbsp of white granulated sugar with 2 Tbsp of icing/confectioners' sugar and reduce the water measurement by half (so instead of 1 tsp use 1/2 tsp for the 1X recipe).Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card, for more tips on making this recipe.