Pecan and Maple Shortbread Hearts
I just love pecan nuts and maple syrup together. Always reminds me of Autumn for some reason……
I decided to add the flavours to shortbread, perfect with my cuppa!
Conversion chart if you’re not metric via Delia http://www.deliaonline.com/home/conversion-tables.html
Printable recipe
Pecan and Maple Shortbread Hearts
Shortbread bit
125g soft butter
50g caster sugar (or soft brown)
180g plain flour
25g pecan nuts finely chopped, I used my mini processor
1 tbsp maple syrup
Pecan halves (20) to decorate the top, optional
Glaze bit
35g icing sugar, sieved
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp milk
I made 20 using a heart cutter that was 5 cm across at the widest point
Making the shortbread bit
Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the rest of the shortbread ingredients and mix until combined. Wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190°C (fan 170°) gas mark 5
Line/grease some baking trays.
The dough will be firm so give it a quick knead to soften slightly, it’s a fairly sticky dough so I used 2 large sheets of baking paper and rolled the dough out between them. This way it was less messy and I didn’t have to add loads of flour.
Roll out to a thickness of 4-5 mm, then use your cutter (dip in flour to help stop it sticking) carefully lift the biscuits on to a baking tray. Allow room for expansion so leave a space around each one. If using the pecan halves to decorate then gently place on top, giving a little pressure but not squashing down hard.
Bake until starting to turn golden, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool on the tray for about 5 minutes (otherwise they are very fragile when first out the oven) then transfer to a cooling rack.
The glaze bit
Mix the 3 ingredients together, I used a fork to help get a smooth icing. Then drizzle over the top of the cooled shortbread hearts. Placing kitchen towel underneath helps catch the drips and means less clearing up afterwards. The icing will harden and then you can store the shortbread in a tin. ♥
