Dessert Cookies: Pecan Butterscotch Shortbread

By SharonE

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 tablespoons scotch
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted and cooled
• 3 ounces high-quality milk or white chocolate, finely chopped

Details

Servings 40

Preparation

Step 1

Sift the flour and cornstarch together.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter, sugars and salt together on medium-low speed until smooth, about 4 minutes; scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the scotch and vanilla and beat for 1 minute more. Stop the mixer, add the dry ingredients at once and pulse until the risk of flying flour has passed. Working on low speed, mix the dough until the flour and cornstarch are almost incorporated. Add the pecans and chocolate and mix in. The dough will be soft. If there are spots of dry ingredients in the bottom of the bowl, scrape them up and stir them into the dough.

Turn the dough out and gather it together. Divide in half and shape each half into a disk. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll the dough between pieces of parchment paper to a thickness of ¼ inch. Slide the parchment-sandwiched dough onto a baking sheet. Freeze for at least 1 hour, or refrigerate for 2 hours.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees. Butter or spray two muffin tins and have a 2-inch diameter cookie cutter at hand.

Working with one sheet of dough at a time, peel away both pieces of parchment paper and put the dough back on one piece of paper. Cut the dough and drop the rounds into the tins. The dough won't fill the molds now, but it will once baked. Save the scraps.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies are toasty brown and set around the edges. Transfer the tins to a cooling rack and allow the cookies to rest for at least 20 minutes or until they reach room temperature before unmolding.

Continue with the remainder of the dough, making certain that the muffin tins are cool. Gather the scraps together, re-roll, chill, cut and bake.