Pecan Butter Balls Recipes

PECAN MELTAWAYS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in pecans. Refrigerate until chilled., Preheat oven to 350°. Roll into 1-in. balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Roll warm cookies in additional confectioners' sugar; cool completely on wire racks. Roll cooled cookies again in confectioners' sugar.

PECAN BUTTER BALLS

Steps:

• If you prefer, you can substitute the pecans with walnuts, almonds, or filberts. I prefer the pecans to give this cookie a bit of sweetness.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit; high elevation use convection if you can; or bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Sift flour (very important to do this for lighter cookies), sugar, and salt in medium to large bowl.
• Cut up butter into workable pieces, add to flour, and add vanilla.
• Mix as if you were making a pie crust; should look like beads or pea size. Use hand or sturdy spoon to mix well enough to form dough ball.
• Add and work in 2 cups of the nuts.
• Shape into 1-inch balls. You can refrigerate dough for about an hour if you think it will be easier to work with; I have not needed to.
• Roll balls in the remaining 1 cup nuts.
• Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for about 25 minutes; may take 5 extra minutes, depending on the elevation.
• You can remove them right away to a wire rack to cool.
• You can use this same recipe for Wedding Cookies, just omit the 1 cup nuts for rolling and roll in powdered sugar instead. Bake the same amount of time.

SUGAR'S BROWNED-BUTTER PECAN BALLS

Steps:

• In 1-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add pecans; cook about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until butter begins to turn brown. (Butter will get foamy as it cooks so gently stir to prevent nuts from burning.) Remove from heat; pour into bowl. Refrigerate 15 to 20 minutes or until mixture is cooled.
• Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat cooled butter-pecan mixture and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well mixed. Add cinnamon and vanilla; beat well. Reduce speed to low; gradually beat in flour until dough forms.
• Roll dough into 1-inch size balls; place on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake about 12 minutes or until cookies are light golden brown (do not overbake). Immediately remove cookies from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool 1 to 2 minutes.
• Place powdered sugar in medium bowl. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar to coat; return to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes. Reroll cookies in powdered sugar.

PECAN BALLS (CHRISTMAS COOKIES)

Steps:

• Mix ingredients together until well blended.
• Hand form into small balls.
• Bake at 300° up to 15 minutes. (These will not brown).
• While balls are still warm, roll into powdered sugar.

PECAN BUTTER BALLS

Steps:

• Sift together into a medium sized bowl the flour, sugar and vanilla. Work in the margarine with a spoon or hands until well blended. Add chopped pecans and mix well.
• Shape dough into 1 inch balls and put on ungreased pans. Bake in a preheated 325 degree F (165 degrees C) oven for about 25 minutes or until pale brown. When slightly cool roll or shake in confectioners' sugar. Store in an air tight container.