SOUTHERN PECAN BUTTERBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
• Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Note: I wouldn't use nonstick cooking spray on the baking pans for these cookies.
• It will cause the cookies to get a bit too brown on the bottoms.
• If you don't have parchment paper, just use an ungreased baking sheet.
• In a medium bowl, combine shortening, powdered sugar and vanilla.
• Mix until smooth. You'll want to use your stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer for this.
• Start on a low setting so the powdered sugar doesn't fly up on ya.
• Been there.
• Done that.
• Learned my lesson.
• In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
• Note: I'm using the Pampered Chef adjustable measuring spoons.
• I gotta say these were pretty darn cool.
• Look, it even measures as little as 1/8 teaspoon!
• Give it all a stir with a large fork.
• Then gently begin adding the flour mixture to the shortening mixture.
• Add just a little at a time so the flour doesn't fly everywhere. Stir until combined.
• See my note above about the powdered sugar - yep, been there, done that.
• For those of you with a stand mixer, you know it's important to scrape down the sides of the
• bowl so all of your ingredients get evenly incorporated.
• I already had a bag of chopped pecans so I didn't go out and buy a bag of pecan chips.
• So I just took these pecans and pounded them out with my heavy meat tenderizer.
• You don't want huge chunks of pecans in the cookies. You want nice small chips.
• Note: Many nut varieties can be pricey. So buy in bulk when you can.
• You can always store leftover nuts in an airtight container
• in your fridge or freezer to help keep them fresh.
• Stir pecans into batter.
• If you've never worked with this kind of batter before, it's not going to look like your typical cookie batter. It'll be kinda loose. But don't worry, it comes together nicely!
• Roll dough into walnut-sized balls.
• These little spring-loaded cookie scoopers are so handy.
• They really help you to get all the cookies about the same size and it makes the process go much faster.
• Place them about 1 1/2 inches apart on your cookie sheet.
• I will then re-roll the cookies in my hand so I get a nice smooth cookie dough ball.
• Bake for about 15 minutes until the edges just begin to brown slightly.
• Note: If you have a conventional oven, it really is best to only bake one cookie sheet at a time. Baking more than one at a time will often cause uneven baking.
• While the cookies are baking, get a bowl of powdered sugar ready for dipping.
• Let cookies cool for just a couple of minutes.
• While still warm, roll the cookies in the powdered sugar.
• Place them on a platter (or just roll out a sheet of wax paper like I do) and let cookies finish cooling. Once they are cool, roll cookies a second time into the powdered sugar.
• The second dipping ensures even and smooth coating.