Sugar Nut Pastries

I'm not sure what to say about these incredible little bites.  Except that these are some incredible little bites!  Just six ingredients and they absolutely melt in your mouth.  How could they not?  Butter and powdered sugar.  And my favorite nut of all, the pecan.  Put these on your holiday cookie menu and make everyone happy!

SUGAR NUT PASTRIES (makes about 3 dozen)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar, plus more for coating
2 cups AP flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped pecan

Cream the butter and 1/4 cup sugar together in a mixer.  Add the flour, vanilla, and salt and beat to combine.  Stir in the chopped pecans.  Chill the dough, covered, for at least several hours.

Preheat the oven to 300F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat.  Form the dough into walnut-sized balls (about 1" or 18 grams) and place on the baking sheets.  Bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.  While the pastries are still warm, roll in powdered sugar.

NOTE:  Due to the warm humid weather, I keep these refrigerated.  Leaving them out, they tended to stick together and the powdered sugar kind of melted.

Recipe Source: Cooking with Corky's Cookbook, p. 226