Maple Pecan Slices

Oh yum. How very Canadian of me, eh? Just hit my pun quota. As a chewy cookie lover, there are a few exceptions. These are one of them. It is similar to a shortbread texture but with a crunch from the pecans and a softness from the glaze. They are the perfect little tea cookies. I just jumped on the tea train, the chai train that is. But lady gray is nice too. Enough about tea, back to cookies.

Maple Pecan Slices

Adapted from Everyday Food

cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1 egg yolk

1 tsp maple extract

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup pecan halves toasted then finely chopped*

glaze

1 cup maple syrup

fleur de sel

cookies Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the maple syrup, yolk and extract until fully combined. Mix in the flour and salt slowly. It will be pretty stiff. Stir in the pecan pieces. Divide the dough in two pieces. On a clean surface roll the dough into a 1 1/2 inch rope. Wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350º. Taking one of the rolls, slice it into approximately 1/4 inch slices. They won't spread during baking. Bake for ten minutes, transferring sheets halfway through, until they are golden on the edges. They will set afterward a bit. Let them cool for about 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

glaze In a small saucepan, simmer the maple syrup until it is about 3/4 cup which takes about 8 minutes or so. It should be quite a bit thicker. However, I would recommend doing this in smaller batches because it crystallizes after about ten minutes. So do the glaze in 1/4 cup batches. Glaze the cookies with about 1/2 tsp or so. Sprinkle with fleur de sel. Enjoy!