Monday, December 6, 2010

Pecan Crescents

When I heard about the International Holiday Cookie Recipe Exchange hosted by Adrienne at Gastroanthropology and Lori at Fake Food Free, I jumped at the chance to take part. The two organized this event in which cookie recipes were shared by email among fellow food bloggers from around the world. The recipe I received was from Astheroshe of Accro. She explained that her mother always baked these cresecent cookies for Christmas, and they were one of her favorites. She noted that they can be made with any nuts, but her mother's version always included walnuts. The recipe looked very familiar to me because my grandmother used to bake a very similar cookie in a round shape rather than a crescent, and hers were always made with pecans. I've had my grandmother's recipe tucked away for years and had never gotten around to using it. So at last, thanks to Astheroshe and by way her mother's recipe, I finally made grandma's powdered sugar pecan cookies.

The recipe is a simple one starting with room temperature butter being creamed with confectioner's sugar before adding flour, salt, vanilla, a little bit of water, and finally chopped nuts. My grandma's recipe calls for twice as much sugar as Astheroshe's mother's recipe, so I split the difference. I also have a recipe for Mexican wedding cookies which are very similar, and that used even more sugar. For my taste one quarter to one half cup in the dough itself is enough. Clearly, the shape can be whatever you prefer. I followed Astheroshe's instructions to shape crescents by hand. I used a mounded tablespoon of cookie dough, rolled it into a cylinder between my hands, and then shaped that into a crescent with thinner ends and a thicker middle. The cookies have no baking soda or powder, so they don't rise or spread on the baking sheet. After they are baked and cooled, they are tossed in more confectioner's sugar for a snowy, festive look.

These were as good as grandma's cookies, and they're the kind of cookie that gets better after a day or two if you're lucky enough to keep some around that long. I suppose this means I've officially started my holiday cookie baking for this year. One cookie is done, and there are, at least, a few more to go.

Pecan Crescents
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar (plus and additional 1/2 cup for coating cookies)
1 1/2 teaspoon water
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped

-Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
-Cream butter until light, add confectioner's sugar and cream again. Add flour, water, and vanilla, and mix to combine. The dough will be dry. Fold in chopped nuts.
-To shape each cookie, roll a mounded tablespoon of dough between your hands to form a small cylinder. Bend cylinder and pinch ends thinner to create a crescent. Place cookies on a parchment- or silpat-lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Let cookies cool and then roll in the additional confectioner's sugar to coat.




30 comments:

  1. Those are some of my favorite cookies! So buttery, delicate and refined tasting.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Oh yum! I know this cookie well because my granny, too, used to make one similar. The crescent shape looks lovely!

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  3. These look very much like those melt-in-your-mouth cookies we have during Chinese New Year.

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  4. These look amazing, totally melt in your mouth. You did a great job of shaping the cookies into crescents, I think I would just have to do logs or round balls. I'm not very artistic!

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  5. Oh my goodness. These are one of my favorite cookies of all time. I feel like they get forgotten sometimes, but are so lovely for this time of year! Thanks for reminding me how much I love these!

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  6. These are such simple and splendid cookies. One of my favorites.

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  7. These are always one of my favorites when choosing from the cookie tray. A good reminder of why my running shoes will be close by this time of year~

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  8. Sounds like a fun cookie exchange and these pecan crescents sound so scrumptious!

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  9. these cookies are the ones I fell in love with when I was first in Texas and a friend gave me her recipe, which I still have. Love the pecans in them so much, especially when toasted!

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  10. I used to love these as a kid, and haven't made them in years. Thanks for reminding me I should add them back into my cookie repertoire.

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  11. You always do such a beautiful job. Your crescents look wonderful. These are a Christmassy classic!

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  12. I love those cookies!! yours look wonderful!

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  13. i love how lovey this is... i can almost taste it.. love pecan crescent:) thanks for sharing this festive cookie. have a nice day.

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  14. One down and how many more to go? These look gorgeous. One of my grandmother's used to make these during the holidays and I remember that they were my favorite.

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  15. So glad you posted the recipe for this one.. It sounds like you've worked on it enough for it to be perfect :)

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  16. We call these cookies kourabiedes in Greece but they are made with almonds. I love pecans so I might make my recipe this years with pecans.

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  17. I can see why these cookies were a favorite-Awesome! These are perfect for the holidays, and delicious with a cup of coffee.

    Cheers.
    Velva

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  18. Your crescents are perfectly formed! This type of cookie is so popular this time of year (think its the dusting of powdered sugar that makes them so wintery) and with our cookie exchange - we have these, Mexican Wedding Cakes (that's the one I got, and it's spiced with cinnamon), and Lori just posted on Russian Tea Cakes!

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  19. omgoodness that look delicious! and absolutely beautiful! i have to try this recipe

    www.ThePantryDrawer.com

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  20. I love that you have so many crushed toasted pecans in these delightful cookies. Perfect holiday gifts & treats!

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  21. I'm not sure I'm going to survive past all these awesome cookies being 'virtually' served up to me..., this one has definatly made it to my 'must do' list.

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  22. How fun is that - exchanging recipes with blogger's from all over the world!! Like you, my grandmother and mother used to make these cookies although in my family they were rolled in regular sugar and not confectioner's sugar. Can't wait to see what other cookies you post!

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  23. My family loves these cookies. I make them every year...

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  24. fun! easy! tasty! very excellent cookies, lisa. i love family recipes.

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  25. Bookmarked. Holidays or not this is going to be so good, I can just tell. They are so easy to make too!

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  26. I am soo happy they inspired you! Love the grandma connection. I am finally getting @ to my post. My computer crashed for days :) LOve your blog !

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  27. Hi Lisa, I found your recipe and had to try it. I just finished making a batch. You should stop over and check out my blog where I gave you all the credit. Thanks again for sharing.

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