TWD: Pecan Powder Puffs [Cut-Outs]

Today's TWD recipe was chosen by *me*! Thank you everyone for baking along with me this week. I hope you all enjoyed the cookies as much as I did.

I joined Tuesdays with Dorie about 2 years ago and have been baking along religiously. I think I have only missed 2 or 3 weeks during that whole time. As a result of this amazing group I have pushed myself to try recipes I would normally skip over and techniques which are foreign to me. It was a challenge to pick a recipe since we have already baked through so many of them. The name of these cookies reminds me of the Power Puff Girls - one of those Sailor Moon type cartoons that was popular with little girls a few years ago.



Sorry, just had to throw that in there.

Now onto the cookies! They are a lot like Mexican Wedding Cookies (made with almonds) but so much flakier and better. They just crumble and melt in your mouth - like the crumbliest of shortbreads or meltaway cookies.



I shaped these cookies 2 different ways: into little balls as the recipe instructs and also rolled and cut using spring-themed cookie cutters. The cut-outs were VERY delicate and I ended up breaking more than half of them while removing them from the baking tray. I brought them to work anyway with a little note that read, "Oops, I broke a bunch of these but they are still yummy!" and depite their not-so-perfect appearance, they were devoured in no time. One of my co-workers said, "I don't care WHAT they look like, they are delicious and I need the recipe." They are insanely crumbly, flaky and rich in flavor.

Pecan Powder Puffs
from Baking: from My Home to Yours

1 cup pecans
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup minus 1 tablespooon all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioner's sugar, sifted, for rolling

Put pecans and 1 tablespoon of sugar in food processor and process in very short pulses until the nuts are pulverized. Scrape the nuts into a bowl, add the flour, salt, and cinnamon (if you're using it), and whisk to combine.

Put the butter in the processor and process, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the butter is smooth and creamy. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and the vanilla and process for 30 seconds or so to blend. Pour in the pecan and flour mixture and, using short pulses, process only until it is worked into the dough. You want to process the dough as little as possible - the less you work the dough, the lighter and more appealing crumbly the cookies will be. Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto plastic wrap, gather it together and form it into a ball. Wrap and chill for at least 2 hours, or, for up to 2 days.

Getting ready to bake: Center rack in oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Remove dough from fridge. Using a small spoon break off marble-size pieces, then roll each piece of dough between your palms to form a smooth ball and place them on baking sheets; there's no need to leave much space between balls.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are lightly golden and almost firm. Gently transfer them to a rack to cool to room temperature.

Just before serving, roll cookies in confectioner's sugar and toss them gently from hand to hand to shake off excess sugar.