GEORGIA O’KEEFFE’S PECAN BUTTERBALLS RECIPE
Tender, buttery pecan cookies sweetened with honey and vanilla, baked slowly until lightly golden, then rolled in powdered sugar for a soft, snowy finish.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups finely chopped pecans toasted and cooled if desired
- 1 cup powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Add the flour and salt to a medium bowl and whisk together.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter until smooth. Gradually beat in the honey, followed by the vanilla extract.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three additions, mixing on low speed after each addition just until combined.
- Fold in the finely chopped pecans with a spatula until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Scoop the dough and roll into approximately one-inch balls. Arrange the balls about two inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the cookies are set and the bottoms are lightly golden. Keep the tops fairly pale.
- Cool on the baking sheets for five minutes. Carefully roll the warm cookies in powdered sugar.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.
- Roll the cooled cookies through the powdered sugar a second time before serving.
Notes
- Use softened butter rather than melted butter.
- Measure the flour using the spoon-and-level method to keep the cookies tender.
- Finely chop the pecans so the dough is easy to shape and every cookie gets an even amount of nuts.
- If the dough feels greasy or too soft to roll, refrigerate it for 15 to 20 minutes before shaping.
- Watch the bottoms of the cookies for doneness. The tops should stay pale rather than turning deep golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container.