Maple Pecan Buttons

This is a Carine Goren recipe that's just awesome. It's basically a variation on Mexican Wedding Cookies, but the maple makes it really special. I've converted the weights into british units from the original metric for your convenience.

Ingredients:
200 grams (7 oz) softened butter
1/4 cup brown, Demarera (sugar in the raw style/Turbinado will do) sugar.
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
A pinch of salt
200 grams (7 oz) pecans (somewhat) coarsely chopped (this is replacing some of the flour, so use of a food processor is recommended).
Up to 2 cups powdered sugar
Optional:
Some cornstarch to make sure the powdered sugar doesn't clump.

1. Preheat the oven to about 350 degrees (170 C).

2. Mix the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla until it is creamed.

3. Add the flour and salt and mix just until the dough comes together.

4. Add the pecans and work quickly to combine.

5. Stash the dough (covered) in the fridge for half an hour so the dough will be easier to work with (this step can be skipped in a pinch).

6. Roll into 1 inch diameter balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

7. Bake for 25 minutes until the cookies brown just a bit (check the bottoms) these cookies stay rather light, so take care not to burn them!

8. Cool them just a little bit and then roll the still warm cookies in the powdered sugar. Store the cookies covered in the refrigerator. (The tend to fall apart at room temperature). If you want to make sure your powdered sugar doesn't clump, add about a tablespoon or two of cornstarch to each cup of powdered sugar you use.


They're the cookies on the left.