a squirrel with a sweet tooth 07.06.
Sweet Indulgence: Mr. Squirrel’s Shortbread (yes, that’s the real name of the cookie)
Source: Company’s Coming
If you’re wondering why this cookie has such a odd name, it’s because it comes from a baking book created for children. Even so, how could you possibly resist a cookie with a name as cute as this one?! I love pecans and I love shortbread, so I was game for testing out this easy, child-friendly recipe!
There aren’t very many ingredients, so if you’re making this with children, it is simple enough to gather up your ingredients. The only part that you would need to help your child with is using a coffee grinder to grind the pecans. This is an eggless recipe, so tasting the raw cookie dough is allowed for little ones this time!
Place all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix together. This then gets added to the butter/sugar mixture which has already been beaten together.
You end up with a fairly thick dough.
Drop tablespoons-full of dough onto the baking sheet. Then gently press a pecan into the middle of each to flatten slightly. These cookies don’t spread during baking. Whatever they look like now, is what they will look like after they are baked.
Bake until light golden brown. Mine stayed in for the full 10 minutes.
Overall this was actually a delicious cookie and I found it tasted even better a day or two later. It doesn’t get a full 5 sweet burps only because I felt it needed just a bit more of something as it was just a teeny-tiny touch bland. Maybe it needed to be sweeter or more buttery, I don’t know…but something was needed. However, that won’t stop me from making these again as they were still very enjoyable.
These are definitely easy cookies for a child to make, however, I don’t know of very many children who would line up for pecan, shortbread cookies. But for adults, they’re great!
FINAL VERDICT:
Taste: 4.5 sweet burps out of 5
Level of difficulty: Super easy & kid-friendly
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RECIPE
(Retrieved from Company’s Coming)
Mr. Squirrel’s Shortbread
Finely chopped pecans 1/4 cup 60 mL
Butter, softened 1/2 cup 125 mL
Brown sugar, packed 1/4 cup 60 mL
All-purpose flour 3/4 cup 175 mL
Cornstarch 2 tbsp 30 mL
Pecan halves 15 15
Put first amount of pecans in a small frying pan. Heat on medium for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often, until golden. Set aside to cool completely. Turn burner off. Place oven rack in centre position. Turn oven on to 350°F (175°C). Grease cookie sheet with cooking spray. Set aside. Put butter and brown sugar into medium bowl. Beat until light and fluffy.
Put flour, cornstarch and toasted pecans into small bowl. Stir. Add half of flour mixture to butter mixture. Mix well. Add remaining flour mixture. Mix until no dry flour remains. Drop mixture, using 1 tbsp. (15 mL) at a time, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart onto cookie sheet.
Press 1 pecan half gently onto each cookie. Bake in oven for about 10 minutes until just golden. Put cookie sheet on stovetop. Turn oven off. Let cookies stand on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool. Makes about 15 nutty cookies.
SUGAR ADDICT’S NOTES:
-I used parchment paper instead of baking spray on the cookie sheet