Your new favorite Christmas cookie – a maple pecan meltaway! This shortbread is sweetened with maple syrup and flavored with pecans – simple and melt in your mouth good!
As I’m typing this, it’s Wednesday and I am sitting in bed at the hospital.
I don’t want to bore you with the details, but I’m here because my platelets dropped crazy low and caused weird red spots and unexplained bruises all over my body. So now I’m just hanging out, taking some forced rest time, watching lots of Great British Bake and planning out content for 2019.
Oh and the docs are pumping me full of drugs to get my platelet count up so I can go home and get back to normal life.
The good news is that I am wearing my own clothes, and can eat real food, and Pat has been bringing me anything I want!
Last night he went home and brought back some of these Maple Pecan Meltaways!
THANK GOODNESS we didn’t gobble them all up this weekend.
Maple Pecan Meltaways are a super simple, 5-ingredient, shortbread cookie, that is not too sweet and melts in your mouth.
I made this recipe both by rolling out the dough and cutting with cookie cutters and by forming the dough into a log and slicing into rounds. Either works! Just make sure to check out the notes in the recipe for each method.
In order to keep the cookie shape, it is very important to chill the dough.
Like all shortbread cookies, the key to the cookies keeping their shape is chilling the dough. After mixing, the dough will be pretty sticky and wet so it’s important to wrap in plastic wrap (either in a disc or log, depending on cutting method) and chill for an hour in the fridge. And then after the cookies are cut, the dough needs to chill for another 15 minutes before being baked! The two sets of chilling will keep the butter cool and will help the cookies keep their shape in the oven.
I seriously adore these maple pecan meltaways. They’re:
- super easy to make
- only require 5 ingredients
- taste better as time goes on – HELLO make ahead goodness!
- and are just slightly sweet!
I know you are going to adore these maple pecan meltaways as much as I do!! When you make these for the holidays this year, post a picture on social media and use the hashtag #imhungrybynature so that I can see!
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Maple Pecan Meltaways
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 18 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
Description
Your new favorite Christmas cookie – a maple pecan meltaway! This shortbread is sweetened with maple syrup and flavored with pecans – simple and melt in your mouth good!
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 cups grass-fed butter, softened
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or in a stand up mixer, mix together the butter and maple syrup until completely incorporated.
- Add the almond flour, pecans, and salt. Mix well.
- Shape into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for an hour.*
- Remove from plastic wrap and slice dough into rounds to a thickness of 1/4 inch.**
- Place cookies on silpat lined baking sheets, separated by approximately 1 inch.
- Placed cookie sheets back into the fridge.***
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake for 13-17 minutes or until edges just begin to brown.
- Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool for another 10-15 minutes.
- While the cookies are still warm, add the powdered sugar into a plastic ziplock bag. Place the cookies into the bag in batches and toss to coat in the powdered sugar, removing when covered on all sides. Continue until all cookies are coated.
- Allow cookies to cool the rest of they way and store in an airtight container.
- Cookies are best a few days after they are made, so you can totally make these ahead of time!
Notes
*If you want to eventually use cookie cutters to cut out the dough, shape it into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap before chilling in the fridge.
**For the cookie cutter method, place dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll out to 1/4 inch thickness with your rolling pin. Using your favorite cookie cutter, cut dough and place on a silpat lined baking sheet.
***Chilling the dough after it has been cut is crucial to harden the butter and retain the cookie shape when baking.
Keywords: cookie, shortbread, Christmas cookie, holiday
And don’t forget to pin this recipe for later!
I hope you are feeling better and on the mend. About three years ago, my son’s sudden drop in platelets ended up getting him a diagnosis of ITP (immune thrombocytopenia or ideopathic thrombocytopenia), an autoimmune condition that caused his platelets to drop. I don’t know if that’s what you’re also looking at, but if so, I very highly recommend getting in touch with the international ITP support group, PDSA (Platelet Disorder Support Association). They have been absolute angels throughout our time with this disease. There are message boards and Facebook groups, information about research studies and new treatments, and great connections to wonderful doctors who specialize in the condition. Please also feel free to email me–I’d be happy to answer any questions I am able to.
I’m sure this is a frightening time for you–I’m glad you’ve got Bake Off to keep you occupied, but I hope you are able to stabilize your platelet count and head home soon. Sending good thoughts your way.
Hi Jen,
Thank you so much for your message. I am feeling a bit better and my platelets are on the rise (91 this morning!), but the docs did tell me that I likely have ITP. I will definitely be looking into PDSA, their support groups, and all that they have to offer. THANK YOU for your willingness to help and your kind words – they do not go unnoticed.
xoxoxoxo
Thanks for the recipe. Have you tried freezing them?
You’re welcome Shirley! I haven’t, but you totally could. I would make the dough it advance, roll it into a log (as the recipe states), and pop it in your freezer. Then when you’re ready to bake, move the dough to the fridge to thaw. And continue on with the recipe as it’s listed!