While many sablés and shortbreads are all about the flavor of the butter, these cookies are all about the flavor of the flour. After a stint in a hot oven, good old all-purpose flour is like a new version of itself, with a golden hue, malty aroma, and much deeper, nuttier flavor. Serve these to your friends and have them guess the secret ingredient. They may not be able to put their finger on the toasted flour, but they’ll surely be able to tell that these rich and sandy cookies have a little something extra.
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Preheat the oven to 350°F with one rack in the center and another rack in the upper third. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Add the flour to the parchment, spread it into a roughly even layer, then toast it on the center rack for 25 to 35 minutes, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes, until the flour has a noticeably beige hue and a malty aroma. It’s OK if the flour starts to smoke towards the end and appears clumpy. (Flour can be toasted up to 3 days in advance. Store in an airtight container and sift before using.)
About 8 to 10 minutes before the flour is done toasting, spread out the pecans on a separate baking sheet and toast them on the upper rack until fragrant and a couple shades darker.
Turn off the oven. Set the flour aside to cool completely while you make the rest of the batter. Finely chop the pecans.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, or working in a large bowl with a flexible spatula, beat the butter until smooth (it shouldn't become light and airy). Add the sugar and salt and beat until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg and vanilla, and mix until homogeneous. Sift in the toasted flour (reserve the parchment) and stir until only a few dry streaks remain. Add the toasted pecans and finish mixing so that all the flour is incorporated.
Transfer the dough to the reserved sheet of parchment and shape into a log about 9" long and 2" in diameter, sprinkling with additional flour as necessary to prevent sticking. To make a more perfectly round log, fold the parchment away from you to encase the log. Use your non-dominant hand to press a straight object (a ruler or a bench knife works well) in between the dough and the work surface, then use your dominant hand to gently tug the top piece of parchment away from you. This should pull the dough so that it butts up against the straight object and makes a very smooth, symmetrical log.
Wrap the log in the parchment and chill until very firm, at least 1 1/2 hours and as long as 48 hours. (Alternatively, wrap tightly in plastic and freeze for up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before slicing.)
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
Unwrap the dough, then brush it evenly with beaten egg. Sprinkle the sparkling sugar on the parchment in a long strip about the length of the log, then roll the log in the sugar to coat it evenly, pressing gently to adhere. With a sharp knife, slice the log into 1/4"-thick rounds and distribute evenly between the prepared baking sheets. (Rounds can be spaced closely together.)
Bake the toasted flour shortbread for 12 to 16 minutes, rotating the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until deeply golden. Let cool completely on the baking sheets before enjoying.
Store leftover shortbread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Tips from our Bakers
To use our Cookie Dough Keepers, divide the dough in half (about 312g each), shape each half into a log about 1 3/4" in diameter, and transfer to the keepers to chill. These smaller cookies will bake faster, so keep a watchful eye.
Do not skip sifting the toasted flour in step 5. Once toasted, the flour is quite clumpy and, if not sifted, will create lumps in the final cookies.
