These cookies look like snowballs, just like the preceding recipe, but don’t be fooled; the taste is completely different.
3/4 cup pecan halves or pieces
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
extra confectioners’ sugar, for dusting the cookies
Put the pecans, confectioners’ sugar, and salt into a food processor, and process nuts to a fine meal. Add half the butter and pulse the machine briefly three or four times. Add the rest of the butter and pulse the machine again, until the butter is smooth, adding the vanilla before the machine stops. Add all the flour to the machine and process until the dough is evenly blended; it will gather into a ball on the blade. Scrape the dough into a bowl and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Roll dough between palms into 1-1/4-inch balls, and place them onto lightly greased baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Refrigerate the cookies for 15 minutes, and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake cookies for 20 minutes, or until the bottom edges begin to brown. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool. When barely warm, roll in confectioners’ sugar. Roll again when completely cooled.