Brown butter, Bourbon and pecan flavors come together in these simple but delicious Bourbon pecan cookies. Makesabout 30 (two-inch diameter) sandwich cookies.
3cupsall-purpose flour(more to flour the surface to roll out the dough)
¼teaspoonsalt
2tablespoonsvanilla extract
1cuproughly chopped pecans
For the filling:
6tablespoonsunsalted butter
1 ½cuppowdered sugar
1 ½teaspoonsvanilla extract
1 ½tablespoonsBourbon
Instructions:
For the cookies:
In a large mixing bowl, whip butter and sugar until creamy.
Whip in the egg, then the flour, salt and vanilla and continue to whip until the dough starts to come together into clumps.
Add the chopped pecans and whip until just incorporated.
Bring the dough together by hand and form into a ball. Cut the ball in half, shape into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, then cut out the cookies. Set them on large baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (You can gather and re-roll the scraps once.) If you have two sheets, you can bake the two batches at the same time. If not, bake them one at a time. (Be sure to let the sheet cool down to room temperature before setting the second batch of cookies on.)
Bake the cookies until they are just starting to brown around the edges (10 to 14 minutes), rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time. Let the cookies cool completely. While the cookies are in the oven, make the brown butter for the filling.
For the filling:
Melt the butter in a skillet until it starts to brown. Let cool a bit, then transfer to a mixing bowl and cool in the fridge.
Once the browned butter is completely solidified, add powdered sugar and vanilla and whip with an electric mixer until creamy.* Add the Bourbon and whip until fluffy and creamy. (Don't worry if the mix breaks at first, it will come together again as you continue to whip.)
Add a dollop of filling to half of the cookies and top with a second cookie.
Notes:
*If you turn on the electric mixer just like that, the powdered sugar will produce a whole lot of sugar dust. To prevent that, press the butter into the powdered sugar with the beaters of your mixer first (without actually turning the mixer on). Once the mix is starting to come together, you can turn on the mixer.