A ground guajillo chile and a touch of Kentucky bourbon help to make these crumbly buttery shortbread cookies a tea-time treat you won’t soon forget. And as if that weren’t enough, a drizzle of vanilla bourbon glaze, a sprinkle of finely chopped pecans, and the littlest pinch of Fleur de Sel help to transform these flavorful shortbread cookies into something even more magical.
Allow me to introduce you to the best buttery crumbly sweet and savory shortbread cookie you will ever meet. Come now, Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Chile Shortbread, don’t be shy. Step up and say, “How do you do?” Come on now, there’s no need to be afraid, no one’s going to hurt you. Everyone’s pretty friendly around here. Alright, now that y’all have been formally introduced, let’s talk about how these little lovelies came to be. Last week, B.O.B. Bob and I were invited to attend a Kentucky Derby party, and of course, I being me and not knowing that this little shindig was going to be a full-on spectacular over-the-top catered affair, decided that I wanted to make a dessert to take along with us. Something with bourbon, something with chiles, something that everyone would instantly fall in love with and never forget. So, I spent the afternoon in my kitchen making shortbread. Shortbread laced with dried guajillo chile, drizzled with a bourbon glaze, sprinkled with chopped pecans, and then lightly dusted with a pinch of Fleur de Sel. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
In my head, I expected these little gems to be a little spicier and perhaps a little more boozy, however, if I’m being honest, I really do love how they turned out. Next time around, I may try adding another ground chile to the shortbread and perhaps another tablespoon of bourbon to the glaze, just to see which version is better. But really y’all, I’m also a little hesitant to mess with perfection. This is definitely a new favorite recipe of mine and sure to be one that I make and share often with pretty much everyone I know. Lucky for me, I have a “Royal Wedding” party coming up this weekend, so I’m already busy racking my brain for ideas on how to transform this same recipe into something even more delicious for that event. Something which B.O.B. Bob and I can both enjoy while he’s dressed up in a Union Jack silk vest and bow tie and I’m donning a feathery navy blue fascinator hat, a bright red dress, and a brand new pair of fabulous USA flip-flops. Yes y’all, our version of Harry and Meghan is bound to be pretty gosh darn royal wedding-worthy fantastic. Hopefully, just as fantastic as these amazing and simply irresistible buttery shortbread cookies.
Ingredients:
Cookies:
- 1 Dried Guajillo Chile
- 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/2 Cup Pecans
- 2 Teaspoons Kentucky Bourbon
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour (Additional for Rolling Out)
Glaze & Garnish:
- 2 Cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted
- 1 Tablespoon Kentucky Bourbon
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
- 2 to 3 Tablespoons Water
- 1/3 Cup Pecans, Finely Chopped
- Fleur de Sel
Directions:
Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Destem and deseed the guajillo chile before breaking it into small pieces with your hands. Place the chile pieces into a food processor along with the sugar and salt. Process for 1 minute. Add the pecans; process for 30 seconds. Add the bourbon and vanilla; process for 30 seconds. Add the flour; process for 30 seconds.
- Cut the butter into 1/2-tablespoon pieces and add it to the food processor; process just until the mixture comes together.
- Use floured hands to form the shortbread mixture into two balls.
- Place one ball of dough onto a floured countertop and roll it out with a floured rolling pin. Cut the rolled-out shortbread dough with a round cookie cutter.
- Place each cookie carefully onto a Silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Roll the dough scraps into a ball again and repeat the rolling out and cookie-cutting process until all of the scraps are gone.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or just until golden brown.
- Allow the shortbread cookies to rest for 3 minutes before removing them to a baking rack to cool completely.
- Repeat steps 4 through 7 with the additional ball of dough until all of the dough and the scraps are gone.
Glaze & Garnish:
- Whisk the powdered sugar, bourbon, and vanilla together. Add enough water to reach the desired glaze-drizzling consistency.
- Spoon or pipe a circle onto the top of each shortbread cookie.
- Sprinkle each glazed shortbread cookie with chopped pecans and a touch of Fleur de Sel.
- Allow the cookies to rest for at least 2 hours before packaging them in an airtight container between sheets of wax paper.
Suggestions:
- Wear food-safe plastic gloves when working with dried chile to avoid skin sensitivity.
- I suggest placing a wet paper towel or dishcloth over the food processor when processing the sugar to avoid a cloud of fine sugar dust from being emitted into the air.
- Roll the dough out until it is approximately a little less than a 1/4-inch thick. If you roll the dough out thicker or thinner, you may have to adjust the baking time.
- I found it handy to use a small thin-angled cake icing spatula to help move these shortbread cookies on and off of the baking sheet. These cookies are pretty delicate, so you will need to use a light touch when moving them around.
- I used a small piping bottle to place the glaze on each cookie. I find it a little less messy than using a spoon. Use whichever technique works best for you. I also suggest glazing a dozen cookies at a time and then garnishing them with the finely chopped pecans and Fleur de Sel. If the glaze dries too much before garnishing the shortbread, you will have a hard time getting the pecans and Fleur de Sel to stick.
- This recipe will yield approximately 5 to 6 dozen cookies.
Improvements:
- For more spice, add an additional guajillo chile to the shortbread.
- Replace 1 tablespoon of water with an additional 1 tablespoon of bourbon in the cookie glaze for a more extreme boozy kick.
- Garnish with finely chopped crispy bacon.
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Ingredients:
- 1 Dried Guajillo Chile
- 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/2 Cup Pecans
- 2 Teaspoons Kentucky Bourbon
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour (Additional for Rolling Out)
- 2 Cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted
- 1 Tablespoon Kentucky Bourbon
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
- 2 to 3 Tablespoons Water
- 1/3 Cup Pecans, Finely Chopped
- Fleur de Sel
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Destem and deseed the guajillo chile before breaking it into small pieces with your hands. Place the chile pieces into a food processor along with the sugar and salt. Process for 1 minute. Add the pecans; process for 30 seconds. Add the bourbon and vanilla; process for 30 seconds. Add the flour; process for 30 seconds.
- Cut the butter into 1/2-tablespoon pieces and add it to the food processor; process just until the mixture comes together.
- Use floured hands to form the shortbread mixture into two balls.
- Place one ball of dough onto a floured countertop and roll it out with a floured rolling pin. Cut the rolled-out shortbread dough with a round cookie cutter.
- Place each cookie carefully onto a Silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Roll the dough scraps into a ball again and repeat the rolling out and cookie-cutting process until all of the scraps are gone.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or just until golden brown.
- Allow the shortbread cookies to rest for 3 minutes before removing them to a baking rack to cool completely.
- Repeat steps 4 through 7 with the additional ball of dough until all of the dough and the scraps are gone.
- Whisk the powdered sugar, bourbon, and vanilla together. Add enough water to reach the desired glaze-drizzling consistency.
- Spoon or pipe a circle onto the top of each shortbread cookie.
- Sprinkle each glazed shortbread cookie with chopped pecans and a touch of Fleur de Sel.
- Allow the cookies to rest for at least 2 hours before packaging them in an airtight container between sheets of wax paper.
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