Gluten-Free Chocolate Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the chopped pecans on a baking sheet and toast for 6-10 minutes until toasty and fragrant. Pour the pecans onto a cutting board to cool. Once cool, finely chop the pecans - you don't want the pecans as fine as dust/flour, but the finer they're chopped, the easier your dough will be to roll out. Measure out 1/2 cup of the finely chopped pecans to put into the cookie dough. Set the rest aside for sprinkling on top.

Whisk together the 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, almond flour, oat flour, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a medium bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter on high until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.

Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix until smooth.

With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter and beat until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary.

Roll the dough out between two parchment sheets into a 1/8 -1/4-inch thick oval. Place on a baking sheet and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or freezer for 10 minutes.

Use a 2-inch round or fluted cutter to cut out cookies. Using a knife or bench scraper as needed to lift the cookies, transfer cookies to a parchment lined baking sheet, 1-2 inches apart. Repeat, rolling out the dough again as needed. Chill the cookies in the fridge for 20 minutes or in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Bake cookies, one tray at a time, on the middle rack for 10-12 minutes, until the edges just begin to turn golden. Let cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before using a fine metal spatula to transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining baking sheets.

While the cookies bake, Melt the chocolate. You can melt the chocolate in a double broiler, or do as I do and place it in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir. Repeat until the chocolate has completely melted.

Dust the cooled cookies with powdered sugar. Gently dip them halfway into the chocolate, tilting the cookie to get a clean chocolate line. Set the dipped cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet to set. While the chocolate is still melted, sprinkle the cookies with the remaining finely chopped toasted pecans and a few flecks of flakey salt. Let the chocolate firm up before serving (you can speed this process up with a quick chill in the fridge!