The finish line is in sight on this little 12 Days of Cookies project. So far we’ve taken a basic butter cookie dough and made a bunch of different cookies: Jam Thumbprints, Mexican Chocolate Crinkles, Butter Rum Bars, Cranberry Pistachio Coins, Candied Ginger Spice Buttons, Russian Teacakes, Apricot Rosemary Shortbread, Chocolate Hazelnut Buttons, Dark Chocolate Mocha Sandwich Cookies and Coconut Lime Sticks. All from one dough. A pretty good mix if I do say so. Today’s cookie, for Day 11, is a simple but delicious one. Pecan Triangles.
Nothing overly complicated here; just some brown sugar and vanilla to change the base favor slightly, a few good handfuls of pecans and some salt, because nuts and salt are a really good combination. The result is a simple but delicious cookie. You could certainly roll these into a slice-and-bake log or roll them into balls but I have a better idea for you. Shape that slice-and-bake log into a triangle. Mix it up a little, get a different shape into that cookie platter. Why should everything be round or square? This is how you make things look more complicated than they really are.
The way to do it is rather easy. Just like with the Cranberry Pistachio Coins, roll some dough into a log. Then cover it with plastic wrap and use your hands/fingers to pinch, push and prod the dough into a long triangle shape. Flip the log once or twice to even out all the sides. You should now have a long triangle shaped log that once chilled, will slice into nice, neat triangle cookies. Boom.
STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: MINIMAL EFFORT, MAXIMUM FLAVOR. This cookie is just delightful. It’s not the fanciest of the bunch but it sure is tasty – nutty, subtle, full of that buttery-brown sugar flavor. It goes wonderfully with a cup of coffee too.
12 Days of Cookies: One Dough, Many Cookies
Cookie Prep – Basic Butter Cookie Dough
Day 1 – Jam Thumbprints
Day 2 – Mexican Chocolate Crinkles
Day 3 – Butter Rum Bars
Day 4 – Cranberry Pistachio Coins
Day 5 – Candied Ginger Spice Buttons
Day 6 – Russian Teacakes
Day 7 – Apricot Rosemary Shortbread
Day 8 – Chocolate Hazelnut Buttons
Day 9 – Dark Chocolate Mocha Sandwich Cookies
Day 10 – Coconut Lime Sticks
2015 12 Days of Cookies: Pretzel Caramel Shortbread, Fig Mezzaluna, Dutch Windmills, Bourbon Peach Rugelah, Chai Spiced Meringue Kisses, Almond Joy Bars, Swedish Kringla, Chile Lime Macaroons, Orange Cranberry Cornmeal Shortbread, Eggnog Buttons, Ginger Palmiers, Rainbow Cookies,
seven years ago: Pumpkin Bundt Cake, Gingerbread with the Kids
six years ago: Bacon Cheddar Gougeres
five years ago: Cookbook Gift List, Homemade for the Holidays
four years ago: Lemon Slice Cookies, Gingerbread with Bourbon Sauce
three years ago: Peppermint Cookie Platter, Pumpkin Roulade
two years ago: Cider Apple Pie
last year: Caldo Verde (Portugese Kale & Potato Soup)
PECAN TRIANGLES
Makes about 6 dozen cookies; recipe can be easily halved or doubled
½ batch basic butter cookie dough, room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup pecans, coarsely chopped]
- Preheat the oven to 350°
- In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the room temperature cookie dough, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, pecans until well combined.
- Divide the dough in half and roll each piece on a piece of plastic wrap into a nice round log, around 6” long.
- Cover with the plastic wrap and use your fingers to pinch and smooth the top of the dough into a peak.
- Flip the log and do the same with the top edge. Flip and do the same with the final edge. You should now have a triangle shape. Continue flipping and smoothing until you have a neat, long triangle shape.
- Chill at least 4 hours or freeze overnight (or up to 3 months).
- With a sharp thin knife, cut the log into ¼” thick triangles, rotating the log frequently to keep the top peak from flattening. If the dough is frozen, give it a few minutes to soften just a little.
- Place cookies 1” apart on parchment lined sheet pans.
- Bake 8-10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through until lightly golden brown.
- Do ahead: it’s best to make and freeze the dough logs and bake as needed rather than freeze baked cookies. Frozen dough will keep up to 3 months.
STRESSCAKE 
Yummy!