"pecan" news and stories

Happy National Pecan Cookies Day!

For those of us that prefer our sweets on the saltier side, nutty additives like pecans transform cookies into a divine best-of-both-worlds bite. The native American nut provides a pleasant, textural crunch as well as rich buttery flavor to any variety of baked goods, ranging from simple butter cookies to complex varieties using pumpkin, cocoa nibs, maple frosting and more.

Referring to our trusty Slashfood Flickr pool, we've found some delectable autumnal pecan cookie recipes for you:

• Pecan cookies with cocoa nibs (pictured above)
• Iced pumpkin pecan cookies
• Pumpkin pecan chocolate-chunk cookies with maple frosting
• White-chocolate chunk pecan cookies
• Vegan pecan sandiedoodles
• Maple-pecan blondies

As always, you're not only welcome but encouraged to share your own recipes after the jump!

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Happy National Pecan Sandies Day!

For many, nuts in cookies can be a strangely polarizing issue. For the set that embraces the additional savory protein in their sweets, pecan sandies are beloved classics.

Once dubbed "sand tarts" for their appearance, pecan sandies are a nutty interpretation of the simple sugar cookie, differentiated only by the presence of chopped pecans. There may be no shortage of recipes for pecan sandies on the web, but Heidi from Smitten Kitchen wooed us with her recipe: "I happen to think that these are a step above, due to the tiniest of steps: [They're toasted] until they're very dark, which, combined with sugar, brings out an almost maple-y flavor. Once ground up, they give the cookies a whole other dimension - the pecan flavor is louder and the cookie tastes more grownup than what we might be used to, in the best way."

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Happy National Pecan Day!

Prized for their buttery flavor and soft crunch, these versatile native American nuts are tree-grown in temperate climates (particularly states like Oklahoma, Texas and Georgia) and are, logically, a Southern favorite. They can be devoured raw or added to a variety of savory and sweet dishes. For tasty pecan recipes, check out our list of classic and more adventurous suggestions:

• Spiced Pecans
• Crepes with Caramel Sauce and Toasted Pecans
• Pecan-Raisin Drop Cookies
• Sweet Potato Pecan Puffs
• Maple-Ginger-Roasted Vegetables with Pecans
• Pecan Squares
• Chicory Salad with Quince and Pecans
• Maple Butter-Pecan Ice Cream

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Pecan milk. Photo: Flickr, Alejandra of Always Order Dessert.

To call this creamy, cinnamon-specked beverage simply a "nut milk" is an understatement -- it's clearly not something to be wasted on a bowl of cereal. In fact, on her blog, Always Order Dessert, milk(shake) maker and photographer Alejandra writes, "It's lusciously creamy and tastes kind of like an amazing nutty milkshake, except that it's actually healthy."

When served in a wine glass and punctuated with two perfect pecans, this non-dairy "milk" -- which also contains honey, coconut milk, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt and sugar -- certainly gives cashew milk (or soy or almond milk, for that matter) a run for its money, even if it does take eight hours to make. We can think of only one thing that would make it more appetizing -- a shot of Kahlua!

[Via Flickr]

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The Vicarious Foodie recently discovered Wild Cherry M&Ms in her local store, and did what any good pastry chef would do when faced with a new product with much potential: she went to work!

VF found a Cooks Illustrated recipe for Chocolate-Chunk Oatmeal Cookies with Pecans and Dried Cherries, and smartly subbed the M&Ms for the cherry and chocolate pieces, but kept in the pecans.

She mentions that in most recipes, her cookies tend to spread out in the oven, but these look gorgeous, like they barely stretched an inch. (Maybe the oatmeal had something to do with it?)

Either way, I commend VF for being innovative. Plus, the chocolate pieces are a great contrast to the brownish cookie.

Here's VF's re-done recipe here.