Maple Pecan Cookies

One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to seek out some new and worthy cookie recipes ... score! I picked up a cook book from the church rummage sale last weekend and found these cookies staring me in the face ... and isn't it Kismet that it's maple season here in New England?



A sure way of rationalizing making and knoshing these little sugar bombs is to hang the baking idea on maple sugar season! Plus, I can hand off a dozen or so to the neighbors and have just a couple dozen or so sitting in the cookie jar for SB ... oh, and just a few for my little sweet tooth!

In other news ... I've been walking with a friend and have managed to lose a few pounds ... gosh, this could be the start of something big ... but not if I keep the whole batch of these Maple Pecan Cookies! It's a good thing the neighbors have kids and I have a friend who will gladly take a few of these off my hands!

Nancy Johnson’s Maple Pecan Cookies

Makes: about 4 dozen 3-inch cookies

Ingredients:

1 c. vegetable shortening

½ c. butter, softened

2 c. packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. maple extract

3 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 package (12-oz) white chocolate chips

½ c. chopped pecans

Making the Cookies:

1. Whisk together the flour and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Cream the shortening and butter with the brown sugar until smooth and creamy and all the brown sugar lumps are broken up.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.
4. Add the vanilla and maple extracts and beat well.
5. By hand, stir in the dry ingredients to make a thick dough.
6. Fold in the chips and nuts.
7. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Drop the cookies by the tablespoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets.
8. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are set and golden brown.
9. Let the cookies remain on the cookie sheets for one minute after they come from the oven.
10. Then transfer to a flat, cool, foil-lined surface to finish cooling.
11. Make the icing and choose perfect pecan halves for decorating.

Maple Frosting

Ingredients:

2 c. confectioner’s sugar

2 tbsp. soft butter

½ tsp maple extract

3 tbsp. milk

36 or so perfect pecan halves

Combine all the ingredients and whip to make a smooth frosting. Use a teaspoon to drop a scant teaspoon of frosting on the top center of each cookie. Gently set a pecan half into the center of the frosting dollop and press to set the nut in place. Let the cookies set on a level surface until the frosting sets up.