Some of my favorite cookbook authors have opposing views on self-rising flour. In How to Bake Everything, Mark Bittman calls it “a silly concept” and says it’s more expensive and can’t be substituted for all-purpose. Whereas in Bakewise, Shirley Corriher states that self-rising flour is “a perfectly uniform blend of leaveners and flour” and devotes a page to its merits. Me? I’m in the “I keep it around for biscuits” camp, but I also use it for a few particular cookies. And now I have a new one!
This recipe for Butter Pecan Cookies is from The Savannah Morning News, courtesy of Teri Bell, co-owner of Miss Sophie’s Marketplace. Teri, who bakes them for tour groups that come to The Mighty Eight Museum, says their flavor reminds her of Pecan Sandies.
They really do have a lot of good pecan and butter flavor, but to me the texture is more like tea cookies than Pecan Sandies. The Butter Pecan Cookies are a little more less crumbly and less sand-textured. I love the size! I tend to make cookies too big, so these are more practical for groups.
I’ll definitely make these again when I feel like using self-rising flour.
- 230 grams (1 cup) salted butter, cut into chunks and softened
- 200 grams (1 cup) packed light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 270 grams (2 cups) self-rising flour
- 1 3/4 cups chopped toasted pecans (I used Trader Joe's roasted unsalted)
- With an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
- With a heavy duty scraper or using lowest speed of mixer, gradually stir i n the flour. When flour is fully blended, stir in the pecans. Cover dough and chill for an hour.
- Shape dough into 1 inch balls, then roll in toasted pecans. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased sheet pan.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until browned. Let cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.