SPANISH PECAN COOKIES, LIKE NEIMAN MARCUS
By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 220) [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition).]
Neiman Marcus, Sanger Harris and Skaggs-Albertson (Dallas, TX), once had a very exclusive recipe for a unique cookie – expensive, but worth it, if you could afford that kind of luxury. When one of my family of readers described the cookie to me and, also, sent a sample – I had the challenge of trying to duplicate them, but the mystery of why these had a hollow center was quite a stumbling block. After dozens and dozens of tests it finally occurred to me that baking soda would create a quick rise in the dough and perhaps this would work. And so, it did!
INGREDIENTS:
¼ pound butter
½ cup Crisco
2 ¼ cups powdered sugar (do not sift it)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups (SIFTED BEFORE MEASURED) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon baking soda
4 ounces well-chopped pecans
INSTRUCTIONS:
Cream butter and Crisco for 5 minutes on medium speed of electric mixer. It must be as light as a cloud. Don’t begrudge one second of those 5 minutes! Then, gradually beat in the powdered sugar a little at a time. Add the vanilla, salt and half of the flour; then, remove the beaters. Work in remaining flour, sifted twice with the cornstarch and the soda.
Work in the pecans. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake at 325°F, for exactly 18 minutes. Dip top of each warm cookie into additional powdered sugar, in a shallow dish. Let cookies cool completely before storing them in a covered container at room temperature. Makes about 3 ½ dozen!
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