Roasty Toasty Pecan-Caramel Shortbread Cookies

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven (or in middle of oven if you have only 1 baking sheet); preheat to 325°. Toast ⅓ cup (47 g) pecans on a rimmed baking sheet (on the upper or middle rack), tossing halfway through, until fragrant and golden all the way through (check by breaking one in half), 10–12 minutes. Transfer to a food processor; let cool. Reserve baking sheet. Keep the oven at 325° for baking the cookies.

   Step 2

   Pulse pecans until very finely ground (be careful not to go too far or you’ll have nut butter). Add 1½ cups plus 2 Tbsp. (188 g) all-purpose flour, 3 Tbsp. sugar, and ½ tsp. kosher salt; pulse once or twice just to combine, scraping down sides as needed.

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   Step 3

   (PAUSE: Is your butter cold? It should be straight-from-the-fridge cold.) Cut 1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter into ½" pieces, add to food processor, and pulse in 3-second-long bursts, scraping down sides as needed, until dough begins to come together in large clumps. Add ¼ cup store-bought dulce de leche and pulse until dough comes together into a single mass and no streaks remain.

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   • Play/Pause Button

   Step 4

   Transfer dough to a sheet of parchment paper (plastic wrap also works here) and use your fingers to pat it down into a rectangle. Don't worry if it's a bit sticky—it's going to firm up when you chill it—but if you're having trouble, lightly flour your fingers. If the dough is still too sticky to work with, transfer it to the fridge for 10 minutes, or until firm enough to handle. Fold parchment up and over dough and use it to press and roll the dough into a 9" log (about 2" in diameter). A bench scraper will help you shape the dough into a straight, even log, but if you don't have one your hands will work just fine. Roll up tightly and chill 90 minutes, or freeze 20 minutes.

   Step 5

   Mix remaining 1 Tbsp. store-bought dulce de leche and 2 tsp. water in a small bowl; it should be a pourable consistency.

   Step 6

   Spread an even layer of white nonpareil or raw sugar on reserved baking sheet.

   Step 7

   Using a pastry brush, very lightly brush outside of chilled dough with the thinned dulce de leche (this will help the sprinkles to adhere).

   Step 8

   Roll log in sprinkles, pressing gently to help them stick, until evenly coated. Transfer log to a cutting board. Discard remaining sprinkles or save for another use; line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (or just 1 if that’s what you’ve got).

   Step 9

   Slice dough into ¼"-thick rounds with a sharp chef's knife, rotating log about a quarter of a turn after every 3 or 4 slices to ensure that all of the slices have a nice round shape.

   Step 10

   Place cookies on prepared baking sheets, spacing 1" apart (if you have 1 only baking sheet, do this in batches, making sure to let the sheet cool between batches—running it under cold water will speed up the process). Freeze 30 minutes so dough can firm back up (this helps the cookies hold their shape when baked).

   Step 11

   Bake cookies, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through (or just front to back if using 1 baking sheet), until golden brown around the edges, 20–24 minutes. Let cookies set up slightly on baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely (cookies will firm up and get crispier as they cool).

   Step 12

   Do ahead: Log of dough can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.