PECAN LACE COOKIES

Pecan Lace Cookies

Makes about 30 cookies

6 tablespoons butter, softened

4 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 cups sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups coarsely chopped pecans (or substitute cinnamon spicing pecans)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  

With a pastry brush, spread 2 tablespoons of the softened butter over two large baking sheets. Sprinkle each baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of the flour and tip the pan from side to side to distribute the flour evenly. Invert the baking sheet and rap it sharply to remove the excess flour. Combine 1/2 cup of the flour, the baking powder and the salt, and sift them together in a bowl.

In a deep bowl, cream 2 tablespoons of the butter by beating it and mashing it against the sides of the bowl with the back of a spoon until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar, beat in the eggs and the vanilla, and stir the flour mixture into the batter. Add the pecans and stir to mix. 

Drop the batter by heaping teaspoonsful onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 3 inches apart. Bake for 5 minutes, or until the cookies have spread into lacelike 4-inch rounds and have turned golden brown. Let the cookies cool for a minute or so, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.