Pecan Nut Biscuits

Method: pecan nut biscuits

1. Toast the pecans which are being included in the dough: Preheat the oven to 180˚ Celsius. Place the pecans on a baking tray and toast in the middle rack of the oven for 8 – 10 minutes. The pecans can go from toasty to burnt very quickly, so keep an eye on them. Set them aside to cool completely, before chopping them. Keep some chunky for texture.
2. Cream the butter and sugar: Cream the butter, icing sugar and vanilla for about three to five minutes, until the mixture feels light and fluffy, and the butter turns a lighter shade of yellow.
3. Add in the dry ingredients: Then add in the flour and pecan nuts and knead to form a soft dough. I usually knead this by hand as mixing in the large pecan pieces with a mixer sometimes breaks them down even further and the texture is too fine.
4. Chill the dough: The dough will feel softer than a usual biscuit dough and that is fine. When you touch the dough, it should not stick to your hands. If it does, it may need a bit more flour. Add about two teaspoons at a time to ensure you do not add too much. Then place the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up a bit.
5. Shape the biscuits: Once the dough has chilled for 30 minutes, pat out the dough so that you can use a cutter to shape the biscuits. Do not make the thickness too thin, about 1.5cm is fine. Then use a 5cm round cutter to cut out biscuit rounds. I used one with a fluted edge, but use what you have.
6. Add a whole pecan and chill: Press a whole pecan (make sure you did not toast these or they will get too brown in the oven) into the middle of the biscuit and then set in the fridge to chill for about an hour, until the biscuits are firm to the touch. Make sure to leave a bit of space between each biscuit, but I usually fit 12 on a tray and that is fine, they do not spread much, especially if chilled.
7. Bake the biscuits: Preheat the oven to 180˚ Celsius, with the rack in the middle of the oven. Bake each tray of biscuits for 8 – 10 minutes, the base of the biscuits should be a very tan colour – then they are done. Let the biscuits rest on the tray for 5 minutes, after they come out of the oven, then use a spatula to transfer them gently onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
8. Decoration: Once the biscuits have completely cooled, melt the milk chocolate. I find this best to do in the microwave in 15 second bursts. The chocolate can be quite thick, and does not give you a smooth finish when you dip it. In order to thin the chocolate a bit, add a quarter to half a teaspoon coconut oil, being careful not to add too much, or the chocolate will always remain tacky and not set well. You can stop there, but if you like, cover the milk chocolate half with some baking paper, then dust the remaining half with icing sugar.
9. Storage: These biscuits will keep well for up to a week, stored in an airtight container. They are also suitable to be frozen without the decoration and refreshed in the oven.