Butter Pecan Shortbread Cookies

I have made cookies of all kinds over the years.  A while back I came across a recipe that knocked my socks off when I tried them.  They were super easy and one of the best cookies... I don't know that one cookie holds the best title, but this one is right up there near the top of my list. There are only 7 ingredients and the longest part is letting them chill so you can slice them into the perfect little cookies that they become.

When I decide I am going to make these, I take 2 sticks of butter out to set on my counter to come to room temperature, then go about whatever I was doing.  When it is time to start the cookies I put the butter in a mixing bowl and add 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of white sugar.  I blend the butter and sugars till they are nice and creamy, then I add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 egg... again blend till smooth.  Next I fold in 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup of chopped pecans.  

Once the flour and pecans are blended the batter is ready to be divided in half and wrapped into 8" logs.

The two logs are then placed on a plate and into the fridge for about 2 hours to chill.

When the two hours is up preheat the oven to 350º then take them out of fridge and unwrap... slice into 1/4" to 1/2" slices.

These should fit nicely on two parchment lined cookie sheets. The original recipe said to bake them for 13 to 14 minutes.  First batch I made I decided to cut that back to 11 minutes and that works perfectly for me every time.  

I remove them from the cookie sheets immediately and let them cool on a wire rack.

These are so easy and so good, I guess the reason I don't make them too often is because I could sit down and eat a whole plate of them, and that would not be a good habit to get into

Strawberries anyone?

 It's been a while since I posted anything new here, but decided today might be a good day to start posting some of my cooking experiences. I recently went to visit my daughter, which does not happen very often as she lives 1,200 miles away.  When I have the time at her house, it makes her very happy when I bake or cook something.  This time when we were at the store buying the fixings for the brisket I was going to do, I saw some strawberries and suggested I should maybe make a Strawberry Crostata.  Of course she had no idea what a crostata was, but I convinced her it would be worth giving it a taste test. 

You will need 1 piecrust, 1 pound of strawberries, 1/3 cup of strawberry jam, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1 tablespoon lemon juice (plus the zest if you like).  Egg wash and sugar for the top.

A crostata is basically a pie without a lot of fuss. You can use a store bought piecrust, or use your favorite recipe.  I haven't done it yet, but if I use my own recipe for the piecrust, I could make a really big crostata.  Typically when I buy strawberries from the produce section of my local store, I buy a 1 pound pack. If I wanted to make my crostata bigger, maybe 1 1/2 pounds of strawberries would be good.  Significance of a crostata is there is no real structure to the crust, so it leaks a lot... meaning that a baking sheet with sides is essential and parchment paper to line the pan.  I roll the crust in my basic circle,  maybe 12" across.  The edges don't have to be symmetrical, in fact they can be quite ragged.  It is best to have the base without cracks though. The next thing is to cut the strawberries up into a small mixing bowl and for 1# of strawberries you blend in 1/3 cup of strawberry jam and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch along with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Toss the strawberries until they are coated, and the jam is dispersed.  I have used raspberry jam in the absence of any strawberry jam on hand.  Now pour the strawberries into the center of the crust and try to stay about 2" from the edge as you spread them around. Fold the crust up over the strawberries and pleat as needed, keeping the center open. My recipe then says to brush the piecrust with an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar... I bought a box of turbinado sugar just for these little treats... not necessary, but I like the result.  Also, at my daughter's I couldn't find eggs in her fridge and she was not handy, so I used milk to brush on the piecrust... basically you want the sugar to stick to the piecrust around the edges.  You can sprinkle some sugar directly on the strawberries, but not necessary.  Bake this in a 400º oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

I serve mine with whipped cream, but it is also quite good with ice cream on top... probably most would choose the ice cream first.

I use a piecrust recipe from my grandmother, but I came across one that looks like it would be super easy Pop can Pie Crust.  I have not tried this pop can one, but maybe next time I will consider it.