Line baking sheets with parchment paper
Mix the flour, starch, cinnamon and sugar in a bowl
Add the butter and rub into the mix with your fingers until it forms crumbs
Add in the chopped pecans and work into a dough then knead in the olive oil
Lightly flour a surface and pat or roll out the dough to 3mm thickness. Cut out shapes with 3 - 5cm cookie cutters, making an even number of each shape as you need them to be in pairs to sandwich them together later
Lay the shapes on the baking trays and keep re-rolling the dough and cutting more shapes until it's used up
Chill the baking sheets in the fridge for 30 minutes
Preheat the oven to gas 4 / 180C / 350°F
Bake the cookies for 15 - 20 minutes until pale golden
Let cool for 5 minutes on the trays then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Left this way the cookies will keep in an airtight container for 5 days
To make the filling put the butter, icing sugar, vanilla and golden syrup into a bowl and cream together until pale and fluffy
Add the maple syrup and beat again until combined
Spread the buttercream on a cookie and top with a matching shape
Dust with some extra icing sugar and enjoy. They'll keep in the fridge spread with buttercream for a day
Makes approx 28 cookies or 14 sandwich cookies
