I’m not even exaggerating when I confess to you that it was rather easy to pick my favorite recipe from the month of May. Without any doubt, these Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Chile Shortbread were definitely leaps and bounds above all of my other recipes. Even my Ancho Chile Lime Pork Enchiladas, Grilled Asparagus Summer Caprese Salad, and Summer BBQ Bacon Potato Salad. Now, when I pick cookies over potato salad, you better know that’s a pretty gosh darn special event. Trust me, it doesn’t happen very often, especially when bacon is involved.
You can find the original recipe for these Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Chile Shortbread HERE. Also, don’t forget that you can find other Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck past recipes by browsing through our Table of Contents.
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.
Don’t let this recipe slip away. How often do you find a recipe intriguing, yet forget where to find it when you finally get the hankering to make it? Instead of digging through old posts or wandering aimlessly around on the internet, why not Pin this recipe to Pinterest where you can find it when you eventually need it? Simply Pin the image above and you’ll have it when that time comes. You can follow us HERE on Pinterest or simply click HERE to find all of our pin-worthy recipes.
