Yield: 1.5 dozen

I think of these cookies as deeply southern and deeply satisfying with their bourbon and pecans. And anyone who has had a chocolate bourbon pecan pie knows that those three flavors are a trifecta. The molasses and maple syrup are not enough to make the cookies taste like molasses or maple cookies, only enough to give them rich deep caramel notes. And the macadamia nuts strike another buttery note. My super simple method for shaping the cookies will yield that sought-after bakery look.

1/2 cup softened vegan butter

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1/4 cup pecan butter (you may substitute almond butter, but nothing replicates the flavor of pecan butter)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup natural sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons molasses

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons bourbon

1 teadpoon baking soda 1 teaspoon sea salt

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour or white whole wheat

1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

1/2 cup broken pecans

1/2 cup halved macadamia nuts

18 pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350° and line 2 baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper. In large bowl of electric mixer, cream together butter, pecan butter, vegetable shortening, both sugars, molasses, maple syrup, bourbon, and vanilla extract. With mixer on low, beat in baking soda and flour, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.

Using a small scoop (2 tablespoon), make nine mounds of dough on each cookie sheet, using half of dough. To get that bakery look, place another scoop of dough right on top of first scoop pressing down slightly. Repeat for all 18. You will have a scoop or mound nestled inside another. Press a pecan half firmly into the center of each double mound, pressing down slightly. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet on wire rack and then store in an airtight container.

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