Pecan-Doenjang Sandies
Melt-in-your-mouth & deeply nutty—these need to be on your holiday cookie roster.
Preheat those ovens, bakers—cookie season starts now! Say ho ho-hello my new favorite cookie (and, maybe it’ll become yours, too?): The Pecan-Doenjang Sandy. These tender, shortbread-esque cookies capitalize on deep, rich nutty flavor with a salted caramel-like undertone (no caramel making required).
The key to packing all these big, bold tastes into one small cookie is three-fold. First, the dough starts with brown butter, creating a roasty-toasty canvas for the most important ingredient: Doenjang.
Made by fermenting soybeans with sea salt, this Korean paste is huge on the umami with a layered salinity that’ll make your mouth water. Combined with dark brown sugar and that brown butter, the doenjang’s savory taste soften into the most beautiful notes of burnt caramel that pair perfectly with deeply roasted pecans. And lastly, the cookies are rolled in a combination of coarse sugar and store-bought roasted sesame seeds to drive home that dreamy nuttiness with every bite. This recipe is for paid subscribers—if you’re looking for a free, equally delectable cookie recipe, try my Saffron-Doodles with Pistachios!
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