These are some vegan shortbread cookies we can get excited about. While not traditional holiday cookies, they always seems so festive to me with their green and red flecks. I like to think of them as a Christmas cookie's sophisticated older cousin - more than appropriate for a holiday party, but classy any time of the year.
these vegan shortbread cookies are:
- both soft and chewy in the best kind of way
- easy to slice and bake
- great for holiday or hostess gifts
- versatile and adaptable - switch up the nuts or the dried fruit for other flavor combos
tips for success
- Don't skip on toasting those pecans which will intensify their nutty flavor. Do this in a dry non-stick pan set over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Make sure to stir and toss them around often to avoid burning them. We want their color to darken a bit and they should smell nice and toasty. Wait until they cool down enough to touch and them chop them into small pieces.
- If you don't have fresh rosemary then skip it completely because dried rosemary won't work for this recipe. These will still taste amazing
- We also need to finely chop the rosemary and dried cranberries. These should be cut pretty small so that there aren't huge chunks in the cookies.
- If you're anything like me and never remember to take butter out of the fridge several hours before baking, then here's a shortcut for you. Place on a plate in the microwave and zap for 30 seconds at 30% power. For 2 sticks you may need to do this twice to get the right consistency. The 30% power is important otherwise you'll just melt your butter and that won't work for this recipe.
- Be careful not to overwork the dough. Once the flour is added, mix just until incorporated. After adding the rosemary, pecans and cranberries set the mixer to stir/low until they are mixed throughout the dough.
- An optional step to kick these cookies up a notch is too roll your cookie log in a mixture of very finely chopped pecans and a course sugar like turbinado or demerara before slicing.
- Consistency in the thickness of the cookie slices is important so that they cook uniformly. If you don't have a way to measure this, make your best guess at ½" and then use the first cookie to measure out the rest of them. At least this way all your cookies will be the same thickness. However, you may need to adjust baking time depending on how thick they are.
how to store
After completely cooled, these will last several days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
vegan rosemary and pecan shortbread cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 17 minutes
- Total Time: 22 minutes + chilling time
- Yield: 22 cookies 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These cookies are both soft and chewy in the best kind of way. The dough can be made the day before and kept in the fridge until ready to slice and bake.
Scale
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup pecans
- 1 cup vegan butter, softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp water
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g) **see notes
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- ¼ cup dried sweetened cranberries, finely chopped
Instructions
- Toast pecans in a dry non-stick pan over medium heat for 4-5 minutes stirring often until they become fragrant. Be careful not to burn them. Once cool, chop them into small pieces and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar for 1-2 minutes in a mixer until nice and smooth.
- Add in vanilla, water and salt and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Mix in 1 cup of the flour on low speed just until incorporated. Then stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding the last 1 cup of flour. Be careful not to over mix.
- Add in rosemary, pecans and cranberries and mix on low speed until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- On a very lightly floured surface, shape the dough into a roll approximately 10" long by 2" wide. Cover with plastic wrap or put into an airtight container (you mat need to cut log in half to do this).
- Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and cut into ½" slices. Optionally at this step you can roll the log in a mixture of very finely chopped pecans and coarse sugar before cutting.
- Place cookies 1" apart on baking sheets lined with a silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Bake for 9 minutes and then flip the pan around 180 degrees and bake another 8 minutes until the edges start to brown. The top of the cookies will still seem soft.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for 4-5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Cool completely before storing.
Notes
- I am part of an affiliate program with Amazon. So if you purchase a recommended product I will receive a small commission which will cost you nothing. Thanks for the support!
- Using a cooking scale for baking is always recommended for the highest accuracy. If you don't have a scale, then use a spoon to fluff the flour and then spoon into a measuring cup. Then use a knife or the flat handle of the spoon to level off.
- Category: cookies
Keywords: vegan, shortbread, cookies, pecans, cranberry, rosemary, holiday
Cindy Mom the Lunch Lady says
Oh wow what a unique flavor combo in these cookies. Sweet and savory all in one!
★★★★★
Kris says
It's a favorite of mine. I'd put rosemary in everything I make if my family would let me!
Chocoviv says
These look amazing!
Kris says
Thanks! I hope you love them as much as we do!