Pecans step off the pie plate

Pecans, with their rich, buttery, sweet flavor, are considered by many to be the quintessential American nut.

They once grew wild throughout what is now the American South and Mexico. Native peoples foraged for these highly nutritious nuts, and Spanish explorers took pecans — along with other unknown New World foods like potatoes, tomatoes, corn and chilies — back to Europe for cultivation.

Today, orchards in the United States continue to produce most of the world’s supply.

I have had them on the brain ever since I received a giant bag of new-crop pecans from a friend in New Mexico recently. With the holiday season (aka the baking season) nigh upon us, I began to think of what to do with them.

I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I will happily make an exception when homemade pecan rolls or other members of the sticky bun family are in the room. And if they happen to be rolled in cinnamon sugar, so much the better.

Pecan rolls are a particularly fond childhood memory for me. Occasionally, a dozen freshly baked ones would arrive at our house, packed in a foil-lined shoe box — the gift of a doting aunt on a baking spree. It was impossible not to eat at least two of them. I would eat them from the top down, unfurling the rolls’ spiral layers and saving the sugary caramelized bottom for last.

Many years later, I found work as a professional baker, and making cinnamon rolls became a daily task. I baked dozens and dozens each day, even more on weekends, gaining proficiency, to say the least. (For quality control, I sampled one from each batch.) So playing with this pecan version was like riding a bike.

Some home bakers are fearful of yeasted doughs. Don’t be. The key is to let the yeast do its work and allow the dough to rise sufficiently before popping your creations into the oven.

These pecan rolls are baked in muffin tins to help them puff proudly. Just be sure not to rush them: The longer they rise, the lighter they’ll be. Bake them until the tops are nicely browned and well burnished. That is the way to ensure a golden glazed underside.

Don’t we all love the classic gooey-nutty filling of a good pecan pie? For these pecan bars, I wanted a similar sensation, but with a heaping dose of spice. Cardamom, allspice, nutmeg and clove add a kind of peppery warmth to these. I also craved the earthy presence and deep dark hue that a touch of molasses can contribute. Rather than rely on too much sugar or syrup, I folded chopped dates into the batter to increase the sticky factor. A thick layer of buttery shortbread is the base, baked in a square cake pan, with a generous layer of crisp pecans on top.

You can cut the flat pie into 3-inch bars or into bitesize pieces. The best thing about it is that you can store these bars at room temperature for days on end with no loss of quality. In fact, they seem to improve with a little age. (They also freeze well.)

I’ll confess to a weakness for cheese puffs and other cheesy nibbles, and some kind of salty baked good is always welcome with drinks. For these savory cookies, grated Parmesan was my choice. Chopped pecans, fresh sage and a good spoonful of coarsely ground black pepper went into the dough.

It is as easy to put together as any type of cookie dough, but not a speck of sugar goes in. The dough can be shaped into a log (keep a couple in the fridge at the ready) for slice-and-bake savory cookies, or it may be rolled out like pie dough and cut into shapes. They’ll keep a week in an airtight tin, if it’s perched well out of reach; serve the cookies with cocktails or add them to a cheese board.

Surprise your friends and family with one of these pecan treats, or all three. Give them savory pecan cookies to start, molasses-spiked pecan bars for dessert and a bag of sugar-dusted pecan rolls to take home for breakfast.

Raw savory pecan cookies are painted with egg wash before baking.