Originally I was thinking of lemon-lavender shortbread, but then I remembered I had pecans, so, I made these instead. Next up, I’ll use lemon zest and a tiny amount of dried lavender. These shortbread are pretty easily adaptable. Enjoy your Sunday….whatever you do.

• 1/2 C. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
• 1/4 C. sugar
• 1/4 C. cornstarch
• 1 C. flour
• 1 tsp of fleur de sel
• 1-2 tsp water
• 1/4 C. chopped, toasted pecans

Note: I toasted my pecans in a tablespoon of unsalted butter and then let them cool slightly before adding them to the dough.

With mixer, stand or handheld, cream butter and sugar together, add flour and cornstarch and mix well. You may find that the dough is quite crumbly and not hold together…at this point add a tiny amount of water until the dough starts to come together more and is well-formed. Careful, don’t add too much water! Add toasted pecans until thoroughly mixed together. Spread dough into 8″ square baking dish and, if you like, top with another sprinkle of fleur de sel. Bake at 350 for 22 minutes, or, until golden brown. Let rest in the pan and then cut into whatever size you wish and serve. I like to cut the bars on the small-ish size. Or, wrap up in wax paper and aluminum foil and seal tightly in a plastic bag to store in the freezer. These bars should last a few months in the freezer.

Variations: other nuts: swap out pecans for almonds or hazelnuts. Lemon: add 1tsp lemon zest and 1/2 tsp of crushed, dried lavender. Lime-basil: 1 tsp lime zest, 1/2 tsp fresh, chopped basil.

Recipe adapted from Land O Lakes recipe, found online