Pecan Nut Crackers

Pecan cookies are a way to enjoy a simple dessert, but without neglecting your health. As you can guess, its main ingredient has excellent nutritional value that is worth taking advantage of. It contains various vitamins and minerals such as calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus.

It should be remembered that, in general, walnuts are foods rich in the aforementioned nutrients and also in  monounsaturated fatty acids  and antioxidants. Therefore, its consumption is recommended regularly and moderately. No more than a handful a day. 

The best thing about using pecan as an ingredient is that it provides a very characteristic flavor and, incidentally, a crunchy touch that makes the cookies irresistible. In this sense, those who are most fond of this type of preparation do not hesitate to mix the pecan nut with other nuts, such as almonds and peanuts, for example.

Now where does this food come from? Well, the pecan nut is the  edible fruit of the pecan or walnut tree. It has its origin in the American continent, on the border of the United States and Mexico. It is a very precious dried fruit in gastronomy, especially in confectionery. For this reason, it is included in fillings, covers and various sweet preparations.

Let’s see the recipes for pecan nut cookies below. Go for them!

Pecan Nut Crackers

Ingredients

• 1 egg yolk.
• A pinch of salt.
• 1 and a half cups of pecans (150 g).
• 2 and a half cups of olive oil (250 g).
• 1 cup of pastry flour (250 g).
• 2 cups of brown sugar (200 g).
• Optional: sesame seeds.

Note: olive oil can be substituted for Greek yogurt, applesauce, or egg to make lighter versions of this recipe. As for the flour, this could be replaced by oatmeal. And if you want to substitute sugar, you can opt for natural honey.

Preparation

• Place the olive oil in a bowl.
• Add the brown sugar little by little.
• Add the egg yolk and, with the help of the hand mixer, beat for a couple of minutes to integrate everything well.

• Add the pinch of salt.
• Sift the flour and add it to the mixture.
• Begin to knead to begin to form a flexible dough. 
• Take out of the bowl and place the dough on a flat, floured surface. Knead for a couple more minutes.
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.
• Preheat the oven to 190ºC.
• After letting it rest, spread it out with the help of a roller.
• Spread the pecan pieces over the dough, generously.
• Cut the cookies with a cookie cutter or the mouth of a glass.
• Spread the cookies on a greased or waxed paper covered tray. Remember to leave enough space between them, so that they grow without problem while they bake.
• At this point, get creative and add brown sugar on top of the cookies to make the nuts caramelize. You can also place one nut per cookie or make a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, and finely chopped spearmint leaves or dried rosemary and sprinkle it over the pecan cookies.

• Bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes.

Make your own pecan flour!

If even after having made the cookies you have a large amount of pecan nuts, you can prepare a flour and thus make other desserts, with the advantage that these would be suitable even for celiacs. Cool, huh?

• Take the walnuts, wash them and place for 10 seconds in boiling water.
• Next, run them under cold water and then dry them very well with a clean kitchen towel.
• Let the walnuts dry naturally.
• Once dry, take them to a food processor until they are powdered. But be careful, don’t crush them too much because they can secrete a lot of oil and then make a paste.

• Sift in the pecan powder and voila! You already have your flour ready.
• If you opt for this alternative, add a little yeast or baking powder to the recipe. 
• Another option: replace a cup of wheat flour with this flour. This way you reduce the consumption of refined products.

Don’t be afraid to make your own variants and, remember, the important thing is to choose natural, quality products with good nutritional value. Of course, when you make substitutions, you must take good care of the quantities so as not to fall into excesses.