Sunday, November 22, 2009

Toffee Pecan Shortbread Cookies Recipe

These. cookies. are. delicious.  End of Story.  You must have these Toffee Pecan Shortbread Cookies on your holiday trays, or just make them because you need something yummy to eat!  You know the classic Snowball Cookies, aka—Mexican Wedding Cookies and Russian Teacake Cookies?  That’s pretty much these but kicked up a notch with toffee pieces.  Delicious!  I have also made these with just toffee pieces and mini chocolate chips.  Also de-lish.  But I forgot to photograph them and I gave them all away.  Well, okay, I tasted one, too.  ;)

I found the recipe/idea for these cookies at Susan’s Farmgirl Fare.  I never realized Susan is just a hop, skip and a jump from me here, but I’ve been enjoying her photographic blog for a while now and she always has yummy food and recipes to share.  Susan adapted this recipe for somewhere else, you can check out her link and see her shortbread cookies, too. 

After making some just like hers, with the toffee and mini chocolate chips (and forgetting to photograph them), I decided to try them with toffee and pecans. 

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Hi, there, very yummy cookies!

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I must tell you, these were very good with the mini chocolate chips, but I made some for my mom, who doesn’t eat chocolate and shipped them to her.  And I meant to take half the dough with the toffee and pecans and add some chocolate chips, but alas, I forgot to do that.  So I decided to dip some of the cookies in melted chocolate.  They looked great and tasted even better! 

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I dipped a bunch of them half way in the melted chocolate (I used some of the Scharffen Berger chocolate they gave us at the Food BlogHer Conference in San Francisco in September—hello—amazing chocolate!)  When I started running out of enough chocolate to keep dipping them, I drizzled a few with the remaining melted chocolate.  Now I love a darn good chocolate chip cookie, you all know that, but these just might be right up there as one of my favorite cookies.  And they are quite dangerous to have around!  I love giving these away, saves me from having to do two hours on the treadmill every day instead of just one.  Sigh.

You want the recipe?  Okay, okay.  Calm down.  Here it is.

Toffee Pecan Shortbread Cookies, adapted by Katrina Smith

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup pecans, finely chopped and every so slightly toasted

3/4 cup English toffee bits, such as Heath

1 oz. good quality chocolate, melted (optional) or add mini chocolate chips to the dough

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Set aside.

Cream the butter and powdered sugar together until smooth, 1-2 minutes.  Beat in the vanilla, then add the flour and salt just until combined.  Stir in the pecans, toffee (and chocolate chips, if adding). 

Form into small balls (1/2 oz. each) and place on baking sheet.  (They don’t spread too much, so you can do at least 20 per sheet.)  I flattened them slightly with a flat glass lightly coated with powdered sugar, but you don’t have to do that.

Bake until the edges are just starting to brown, 12 to 15 minutes.  (I baked mine 13:30 minutes.)  Cool on wire rack.  Melt chocolate in microwave safe glass dish in 15-20 second intervals, stirring in between each time, until smooth.  Dip half of cooled cookies in chocolate.  Set on waxed paper lined plate.  Cool until chocolate is hardened. (I got 43 half ounce cookies.)

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You know you want some of these!  Oh and a very famous chef, Paige Vandegrift, (hehe) told me she likes to grind the pecans with the flour in a food processor to give them an even finer texture making them even more light and more tender and I can’t wait to try that sometime!

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95 comments:

Chocolaty Lifestyle said...

I love toffee, what a great idea to put them in cookies! Must be really delicious! :)

Marthe said...

OOO, these look delicious, just the thing for my '12 Days of Christmas Cookies'!

Just one question: the toffee, should it be hard of soft candy? We don't have Heath English toffee bits, so I have no idea if it's soft or hard!

♥peachkins♥ said...

mouth watering!

Donna-FFW said...

How funny, these are on my list to try, Ive seen them on a few blogs, and my sister actually made them and they were a huge hit. Yours look lovely. Cant go wrong with toffee and shortbread. Dipped in chocolate is a bonus.

Amanda said...

Wow Katrina those look and sound wonderful! Bet my hubby would love these and I think I might have some toffee chips!

Farmgirl Susan said...

Your cookies are beautiful! I love the idea of making them with toffee and pecans - and I'm not even a pecan fan. I bet that's a great combination. So glad you enjoyed the recipe. :)

Amy said...

Ummmm. WOW! Those sound and look incredible! Definitely giving these a try!

Clumbsy Cookie said...

I love this kind of cookies that a nice base for adding yummy stuff. And what could be better that toffee, pecan AND chocolate? The ones dipped in chocolate would be my favourite one (surprise!!!) Wait, did I get that right, your mom doen't eat chocolate?

Valerie said...

I've made her cookies a few times too. Oh so good!!! I plan on making them to mail since they stay fresh for several days. Nice to know they worked well when you shipped them.

Megan said...

Oh yeah - I just finished a 10 mile bike ride, one of those cookies would be perfect right about now.

Unplanned Cooking said...

I am all about toffee! I never realized how many different types of food I liked until I started reading food blogs.

Unknown said...

You had me at "toffee pecan". These looks SCRUMPTIOUS, Katrina! They would definitely be a hit in my house. And the half-dipped in chocolate? Yummo.

Barbara Bakes said...

I love anything kicked up a notch with toffee pieces! These look fabulous! Bookmarking!

Nick said...

What a great combo and while I love chocolate I think they might even be better without!

Cate O'Malley said...

Love toffee in cookies - these look delish!

Anonymous said...

I really love shortbread cookies, and the addition of toffee pieces sounds sooo good! I made some shortbread with pecans for Christmas last year, but I think these are going on the baking list for this year. I know they'll be a hit with my family!

Kayte said...

You are right, I must make these for the cookie trays, with and without the chocolate! That way I can have some! Great photos.

LilSis said...

I can't wait to try these! I'll have to give most of them away also because I LOVE toffee and I try not to make cookies that I LOVE because it's too much of a test of willpower not to eat them all myself.

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

What a fantastic idea to dip those cookies into chocolate. Making better even better.

WilleWorks.com said...

Yum! I'm going to try these. Thank you for sharing!

Justin L. Brown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Mary Ann said...

Do you add the toffee the way it is or do you need to chop it up?

Katrina said...

Mary Ann, there are toffee bits sold in bags like chocolate chips in the baking aisle, so they don't need to be chopped. If you use a toffee candy bar, you'd want to chop it up.

Unknown said...

Hi there, found this throught Pintrest, cooking them now. I sadly didn't find the toffee this time, but had butterscotch chips. YUMMM!! Thanks so much for this recipe!! :₩

Unknown said...

Hi there, I followed this recipe exactly and came out with flat cookies that crumbled to the touch. Any suggestions on what to add..? these cookies look so good.

Katrina said...

Unknown, sorry your cookies are flat. My first guess would be if your butter was too warm. Do you measure your flour by weight? If your butter was too warm/soft, that could be the problem. Butter out of the fridge for only 20-30 minutes is just right. Only other suggestion is to make sure dry ingredients are measured (my preferred way is by weight with a kitchen scale.) Sorry. I've made them numerous times and have not had that issue.

Megan said...

Thank you Katrina for a quick response. I did zap my butter for about 10 seconds after it had been sitting out a while so it probably was due to the butter being too soft. I will definitely try and make these again. Thanks :)!

Donna said...

Oh my..what a great cookie! I made a double batch since I have 3 cookie eating boys..and I'm so glad I did. They are super easy to make, and so yummy good. I didn't coat any extra chocolate on them because I felt they were yummy enough without them! Froze them for Christmas cookies! So,so good!

Katrina said...

That is great to hear, Donna. Thanks for letting me know you made them and they are a hit. Every time I make them, everyone loves them, too! They are a perfect holiday cookie!

Anne said...

TThese look wonderful! I want to make them for Christmas!!

Jennifer Healy said...

Donna, you froze them after baking? I'm trying to get a head start on Christmas baking!

Katrina said...

Anne, they really are a perfect Christmas cookie!
Jennifer Healy, I think they are totally fine wrapped and in an airtight container in the freezer. I just wouldn't do the chocolate until ready to plate/serve.

Anonymous said...

They are hard candies

Anonymous said...

Do you think almonds would work instead of pecans?

Katrina said...

Anonymous, any nut should be fine if you prefer almonds to pecans or have an allergy. I haven't tried any other nuts, but an array of different ones would be yummy.

Unknown said...

Hi! Can you use the milk choc toffee?

Katrina said...

Terri V, I think that would be fine and yummy! I've made them before with toffee bits and mini chocolate chips.

Anonymous said...

Awesome cookies

Unknown said...

Doesn't this need eggs?

Katrina said...

Jude P, shortbread cookies don't need eggs. They are most often made without. Same with the snowball cookies, Mexican wedding cookies, teacakes, which are what these are based after.

Marie said...

Just made these today, OMG! Love the toffee and pecans together. I dipped them iin chocolate (1/2 cookie) they melt in your mouth!

Priyanka Jaggi said...

Wow!!!!! loved the way you showed this delicious recipe ... can't wait to have it... btw check my food blog too... :)

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Carol Nair said...

I can't find toffee bits around my area....
Can i make them?
Wld you hv the recipe for toffee bits??

Unknown said...

WOWZER these are amazing!! Thanks

Katrina said...

Carol, I have never made them with anything but the Heath toffee bits. They are usually in the baking aisle with other cookie mix-ins in most grocery stores. If you can find Heath rife candy bars, you can break those up into pieces.

Katrina said...

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I'VE USED A VERY SIMILAR RECIPE FOR YEARS BUT MUST TRY THIS ONE SOON.....

Anonymous said...

Just buy Heath candy bars or maybe werthers hard candy. You can crush them to make bits. :)

Wendy in Minnesota said...

Thank you! They turned out great. I am taking them to a cookie exchange, must keep some home for me though! I like them with out frosting too.

Anonymous said...

They were great. Left some plain for non chocolate eaters.used Ghirardelli Dark melting wafers, which worked well. Flour and pecan pieces in food processor made very uniform pieces and also very light. Going to make another batch before Christmas.

Anonymous said...

Are there no eggs in this recipe?

Katrina said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Katrina said...

Glad they turned out well for you. I like them both with and without chocolate also.

Katrina said...

These are essentially the same as snowball cookies, lots of similar recipes. But the added toffee is divine.

Katrina said...

I eat gluten free now and need to make these GF so I can partake of them again. Love them. Glad you do, too.

Katrina said...

There are no eggs in shortbreadttoe cookies.

Katrina said...

Shortbread type cookies

Sylvia Anderson said...

Another cookie added to my Christmas baking list. thank you for sharing it with us. They really look fantastic.

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1964$ said...

These look terrific. I can’t wait to try them!

1964$ said...

I just made your short bread cookie recipe. It was very easy to make and they turned out perfect. They are delicious! Yummo!

Patti Pretzel Howard said...

Made these today. So yummy!

Kris said...

My question is....can you melt any kind of chocolate. Or does the chocolate have to say for melting.

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Unknown said...

Can this dough be pre-made and frozen to be used later? I would love to make these in my cookie exchange with friends. But for time purposes I need to be able to prepare and freeze for later baking.

Anonymous said...

I tried making these cookies, but the dough was so dry that the cookies wouldn't stay together to even put on the cookie sheet. I don't know what I did wrong as I added the exact ingredients and amounts listed. Any suggestions?

Unknown said...

I just made these for my meals on wheels (the in-laws). Haven't tried the chocolate dip yet, but they are delicious without!

Anonymous said...

I made these cookies and they were fantastic. Hubby took them to work (so I wouldn’t eat them all) and they were a hit with his coworkers! Hubby also says they’re his new favorite cookie. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

Anonymous said...

These cookies taste exactly like you hope they will. They're awesome! I did mini white+milk chocolate chips. They make about 1.5 dozen regular-sized cookies (obviously you'll have a higher # if you do them small).

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Unknown said...

These were amazing! Thank you for sharing this. I made some with the pecans and chocolate dipping and made some as the shortbread dipped in chocolate sprinkling the heath onto!!!
When you shipped them were they frozen? If so, do they thaw well?

Veronica said...

Mine tasted delish but spread out on pan so thin they just fell all apart. Any suggestions?

Anonymous said...

Mine fell apart and I have a pan full of crumbs! I'm so disappointed!!

Peggy said...

Omg these are so good. Dipped in fancy chocolate & I processed the toasted pecans in with the flour & it was perfect. The right amount of crunch from the toffee.

Dee said...

These are the absolute BEST cookies I’ve ever eaten, and I’m an avid baker. I used Skor bits and dark chunk chocolate..
if you like shortbread you’ll LOVE LOVE LOVE these cookies. Freeze beautifully. This recipe is in my best of best/ entertaining file!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I've made these cookies before and shared them. Everyone loved them, including me and my husband. I'm actually going to make a double batch today and give some to neighbors and bring some to our police department. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe. A keeper!!!

Unknown said...

Ever since finding your recipe, I make these cookies every Christmas. They are always the first ones to be eaten up! They are by far, one of the best cookies I've ever had. People sometimes think they're professionally made! Boy, do I have them fooled!!

ReWeWill said...

maybe look for a bag of Heath Bar Bits in the baking section, or buy Heath Bar candy bars & smash them to bits!

Unknown said...

Hi there is there any chance you could please give me the recipe in grams thank you so much for taking the time to read this message take care keep safe x

Homemade Happiness said...

Made these today and they are lovely. Wish I could post the picture I took of them. Got 60 cookies out of it (However I was a bit anal about each cookie weighing 14 grams) did add 350 grams of flour since I am in Amsterdam and using European Butter that has a higher fat ratio to most American butters. (I have to alter recipes all the time) This will be added to my evergrowing Shortbread recipes.

Anonymous said...

Crunchy

Anonymous said...

These remind me of my favorite cookie that I remember from childhood. The bakery that made them has long since closed and I have searched for a recipe that was similar. I don’t know if the bakery used toffee bits, but the cookie I remember was a pecan shortbread, round cookie, with a center topping of chocolate fudge. The chocolate was about the size of a quarter and the cookie was about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. I can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks so much!

Anonymous said...

Made these for a Fall Tea. They are Delicious!!! Made them in acorn shape.

Anonymous said...

These cookies are delicious. I share them with my friends every Christmas! Thanks for sharing a wonderful cookie recipe.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know how long these will last stored? I wanna make them for Xmas. They look so Yummy!

Anonymous said...

Terrible recipe there was no rising agent so they didn't rise at all and when I tried to take them off of the cookie tray they just completely crumbled and I had to throw out and modify the rest of the recipe

Anonymous said...

Follow the recipe to the tea they did not rise at all as a matter of fact they spread out and ran into each other and became crumbly. Extremely greasy flat and did not look like the picture at all.

Anonymous said...

Thank for sharing, I love these & love sharing them with family during the holidays! Been making them for years!

Anonymous said...

These are so good thanks for sharing I did make a batch without pecans because I am putting them in a Christmas goodie package to a family that has members who are allergic those were good too

Janice said...

Can you make this dough ahead and refigerate??

Fiona - Cumbernauld said...

Just made a half batch of these and they are lovely. Didn’t add chocolate as they are sweet enough for us.

Anonymous said...

I just made them turned out way top crumbly. Couldn't dip them..fell apart when I took them off the cookie sheet.

Anonymous said...

I love these cookies!! My mom doesn't like regular chocolate so I dip some in ghirardelli white chocolate, some in ghirardelli milk chocolate and leave some plain. These are a keeper!😋

Anonymous said...

One?!🤣