Pecan powdered sugar cookies may be my favorite cookie of all time. It’s a really hard call because my Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies are ridiculously good. My husband’s favorite by a landslide is the Fleur de Sel Chocolate Chip Cookie. Your job is to make all three and then report back!
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This is my family recipe for Pecan Christmas Cookies.
I know it’s a little early to start thinking about Christmas cookies. But then again, is it?
Maybe it’s the relentless heat that we have been having, but I’m so ready for Fall’s crisper air and all the comforting smells of holiday cooking.
These easy pecan powdered sugar cookies come in a few different varieties.
This recipe for pecan cookies with powdered sugar is a classic cookie recipe.
I have seen a million versions of it on the internet and in cookbooks. This recipe comes from my Grammy Futrell. She had a huge sweet tooth.
Eating her cookies and baked goods are still some of my fondest childhood memories.
I make my Grammy’s rolled pecan cookie recipe every year during the holidays.
My Grammy’s pecan cookies were rolled into finger shapes. They end up being a nutty and sweet two-bite cookie. They are completely addictive!
The pecan cookie itself is not incredibly sweet. It has a rich and buttery pecan flavor with just a hint of salty sweetness.
After the pecan cookies are rolled in powdered sugar they are transformed into a sugar, butter, nut dream.
These easy pecan finger cookies are also known as the Mexican Wedding Cookie or Russian Tea Cakes
The recipes for these three cookies are essentially the same. The type of nut varies depending on which one you are making.
- Mexican Wedding Cookies: Mexican wedding cookies are usually shaped into balls. After they bake they end up being a bite-sized little dome of nutty deliciousness. Sometimes almonds are used instead of chopped pecans.
- Russain Tea Cakes: Are also shaped like snowball cookies but typically contain walnuts.
- Pecan Snowballs: Are all shaped as balls then baked. They are rolled in powdered sugar while still warm.
They are similar to a shortbread cookie, and kind of like a pecan Sandies cookie. Once out of the oven, and slightly cooled, they’re tossed in powdered sugar. The cookies themselves are more nutty than sweet.
You can also dust them lightly with powdered sugar.
Sometimes my mom would make these cookies and shape them like pecan crescents.
They are the perfect two-bite size. They’re nutty, sweet, and just a tiny bit salty. They are messy, sugary, magic!
Most often these cookies are seen in the form of a round snowball cookie covered with powdered sugar.
I’ve held on to the tradition of making these into fingers. Sometimes my mom shapes them into crescent shapes. Whatever shape you end up deciding to make, you will not be disappointed.
Here are my pecan crescent cookies rolled in powdered sugar.
How to make Gluten-Free Pecan Finger Cookies.
These cookies also hold up well using a gluten-free flour blend.
The batter of this cookie is mostly made of finely ground pecans. The flour is used merely as a binder. Swapping a gluten-free flour blend for regular all-purpose flour will give you a slightly more crumbly cookie but there is almost no significant change in flavor and texture.
How to make this cookie a Vegan Pecan Finger Recipe
My daughter is vegan and these are one of her favorite cookies as well! I always make a batch of these vegan pecan cookies just for her. They are just as good!
Truth be told my Grammy always made these with Crisco shortening instead of butter. Crisco or other vegetable shortening is naturally gluten-free. I could never bring myself to consume all that hydrogenated fat. So I adapted this recipe to use butter instead.
When I make a vegan batch of these pecan fingers I use a vegan butter substitute or solid coconut oil.
How long should you bake pecan shortbread
One question that I get asked about these cookies is how long should they bake.
The baking temperature on these cookies is really low. ONly 250℉
I promise you that it is correct. These cookies bake low and slow and the result is a crispy toasty shortbread cookie with perfectly slow-roasted pecans.
The flavor of this cookie is unmatched by any other pecan cookie I have ever eaten. It’s worth the wait.
I have made these cookies every single year of my like since I can remember. You will not be disappointed.
Other Cookie Recipes that you need to try
Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies
Momofuku’s Milk Bar Compost Cookie Recipe
Cascade Beach Traditional Chocolate Chip Cookies
Fleur de Sel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Homemade Oreos
Soft Persimmon Cookies
Some of my Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Dessert Recipes
Chai Latte Chia Pudding
Strawberry Chia Pudding
Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Paleo Granola Cookies
Fresh Berry Pavlova
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
Warm Cherry Crumble with Almond Cream
Homemade Marshmallows
Did you make this recipe? If you loved it, make sure you leave a 5-star review and a comment! 👇
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Grammy’s Pecan Finger Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup powdered sugar plus extra for covering cookies
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups pecans coarsely ground
Instructions
- Cream together sugars and butter.
- Add the vanilla and water. Mix.
- Add the flour, nuts, and salt. Mix until combined.
- Cover the dough or wrap in plastic. Set in the fridge for a few hours.
- Preheat the oven to 250℉. Shape the dough into the desired shape – fingers, crescents or balls. Place on a parchment-lined or (ungreased) cookie sheet.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, until lightly golden brown.
- Set on a baking rack to cool slightly.
- Roll warm cookies in extra powdered sugar.
Are you certain that this is the oven temp and the length of time they bake? (the Pecan Finger Cookies – You can’t eat just one)
I can see that maybe a lower temp & longer bake might make sense, but could someone explain the science of this? Why would we do it this way? I really want to try this, but my budget is such that I can’t ruin a single batch. Hope to hear from someone on this.
Yes the temperature is correct. 250F for 40-50 minutes. This cookie is much like a shortbread and because of the high concentration of nuts you want to almost slow roast the nuts. Nuts can burn easily so we keep the temperature lower. The slow roasting gives these cookies a roasted pecan flavor that is really delicious. As will all ovens they can vary in temperature so it is still important to watch them. You will see that they puff ever so slightly with they are done and the color will be a light golden brown. They will still be soft and a little crumbly when you first take them out of the oven. Let them rest and as they cool slightly, the fats come down in temperature the cookie will be light and crispy. You can roll them in powdered su
I promise you won’t be disappointed. They are worth the wait. Let us know how they come out. I really hope you’ll give them a try. ❤️ Laura