Pecan Snowball Cookies

1 cup pecans
1 cup unsalted butter, at room
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 cups AP flour

Heat oven to 350° F. Spread the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes. Let cool and roughly chop.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar until fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts and salt. Gradually add the flour, mixing until just incorporated. Mix in the pecans.

Shape the dough into tablespoon-size balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Transfer half the balls to a second parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until lightly golden, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes.

Place 1/2 cup of the sugar in a large bowl. Toss the warm cookies in the sugar and return to the baking sheet. Sift the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar over the cookies before serving.

*To freeze: Instead of refrigerating the balls of dough, freeze them on the baking sheet before storing them in bags for up to 2 months. To bake, follow the instructions, baking from frozen, and use the upper end of the time range.



from a Real Simple article ; original recipe; see also Raspberry Pinwheel cookies and Lemon Glazed Cookies.

Although we made other recipes from this series for MMA, we didn't do this one last year. I made these on my own and, holy cow!, they were a huge hit with everyone who got to taste one.