These cookies absolutely taste like the best Pecan Sandie that you’ve ever had! I have been giving away lots of cookies this year and everybody that has tried these loves them. There is 2 Tblsp of pure maple syrup in this recipe but it is not a dominant flavor, it is just nice in the background.
The original recipe for these cookies was published by Food And Wine Magazine in 1998. It was developed by Gerry Moss.
I had never made these cookies before last week when I converted them (easily!) to gluten free. Thank you Gerry for creating such a nice recipe!
The only flavor change that I made was adding 1/4 teaspoon of salt. There was none shown in the original recipe and since she and I both used unsalted butter, I felt the cookies needed just a little bit to bring out the flavors.
I also used more pecans than the original recipe called for because I grabbed the wrong bowl of chopped pecans! I was making 2 different pecan cookie recipes the same night and had prepped both bowls of pecans. The original recipe called for 1- 1/3 cups and I used 1- 1/2 cups. It was yummy that way so I am leaving it at 1- 1/2 cups!
I converted the 2 cups of all-purpose flour to 2 cups of my gluten free flour mix then added 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum. Those were my only changes other than the way I shaped the cookies themselves.
I think the base for this cookie could be taken a lot of different directions for other flavors of cookies.
I shared the link to this recipe on Twelve Days Of Gluten Free Christmas Cookies at She Let Them Eat Cake, which is a great gluten free blog.
I also shared this recipe on Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist, which is another great blog that allows other bloggers to link to their recipes and blog posts on Mondays.
I shared the link to this recipe at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday on the blog called At The Well.
I shared the link to this recipe at Tuesdays At The Table on the blog All The Small Stuff.
I shared this recipe with Tasty Tuesdays at A Beautiful Mess.
In a medium bowl, beat the softened butter with the sugar until creamy, about a minute.
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk with the maple syrup and vanilla. Beat egg mixture into butter mixture until well mixed.
1 large egg yolk
2 Tblsp pure maple syrup (I used Trader Joe’s)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
In another bowl, mix GF Flour Mix with salt and xanthan gum. Stir flour mixture and pecans into the butter mixture and blend well.
2 cups GF Flour Mix*
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1- 1/2 cups pecans, chopped pretty fine
Gerry’s original recipe wanted you to cut the cookies with cookie cutters after you chilled the dough. I didn’t feel like going to this trouble so I just chilled the dough and then rolled it into walnut sized balls.
If you do roll your dough out, roll it to a thickness of 1/4 inch between 2 sheets of wax paper, then cut the cookies with a 2 inch sized cookie cutter.
I placed the balls on my cookie sheets (line first with parchment paper), then pressed them down with my fingers to flatten them some before baking.
The cookies don’t change much during baking, so whatever thickness you press them to is about what they will be.
I think the next time I make these cookies I will let the dough chill for a little while (it is very soft when you make it), then form it into logs and chill until they are firm. That way the dough can just be cut into slices and baked.
When you are ready to bake your cookies, preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
I baked 2 cookie sheets at a time and switched them top to bottom half way through the cooking time of 17 minutes, until golden colored.
The original recipe listed the cooking time as 20-25 minutes but that would be too much.
These cookies ship well if you want to send them as holiday gifts. They will store easily for a week.
Grace says you can freeze the original dough for one month but I would be afraid to try that with the gluten free flour- sometimes it can be funny about too much freezing or chilling.
*GF Flour Mixture
The GF flour mixture that I use is pretty standard. I use Authentic Foods gluten free flours because they are ground more finely than commercial brand GF flours that you can buy off the shelf. This results in wonderful baked goods that do not have that “gritty” feel when you chew them like so many products that we all tried in the beginning!
GF Flour Mixture
2 cups AF Superfine Brown Rice Flour (available in the amazon.com store on my blog)
2/3 cup AF Potato Starch Flour (available in my store)
1/3 cup AF Tapioca Flour (available in my store)
I make up several batches of this mixture at a time and keep it in a canister. I keep all of my other GF flours in the freezer.
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