Chestnut and Pine Nut Shortbread

Made these with pecans and was quite satisfied - the NEXT day as the flavor and texture was much improved after a night in the cookie jar. I fiddled with this recipe a bit in that I pressed my dough into an 8 inch pyrex (simply for better/easier shaping), refrigerated 3-4 hours and then cut and baked the cookies as directed (1 inch apart on a baking sheet). Because the author suggests pressing the dough into a 9 inch square (freeform) I knew my thicker shortbread may take a bit longer to cook, but even after 35 minutes the squares did not seem firm enough, tho they were well browned on the bottom. I took the rest of the dough and rolled it out (GF, so no worries of tough cookies:) and cut with a 1.5 inch cutter - they were thinner, prettier- I liked the pecans incorporated into the dough, the shape held really well, and they took on a nicer golden color, and best of all they were crisp. That said, the next day not only did the flavor improved but the original thick square cut cookies texture firmed up a bit. I would make these again as a roll out cookie with more nuts a little spice. Lesson learned - for best results make these ahead of times as shaped roll out cookie!