Recipe: My Mom's Pecan Crescents

My Mom's Pecan Crescents

Makes 24 cookies

These classic, buttery treats are always the first to disappear from cookbook author Elinor Klivans's holiday table. They can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for about a week or frozen, well wrapped, for up to 2 months. Adapted from her recipe files.

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Center a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 325 degrees. Line 1 or 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour and salt on a large sheet of waxed paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and 1/4 cup of the confectioners' sugar for 1 minute, until smooth. Add the vanilla and almond extracts, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated; the dough should look smooth and shiny. Add the pecans, mixing just until combined. Roll a rounded teaspoon of dough between the palms of your hands into a cylinder with tapered ends. Place it on the baking sheet, then curve it into a crescent. Repeat with the remaining dough, placing the cookies 1 inch apart. (They do not spread much during baking.) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cookie edges and pointed ends are light brown. Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Place the remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar in a shallow dish or pie tin and roll each cookie until evenly coated.

Per cookie: 83 calories, 1 g protein, 7 g carbohydrates, 6 g fat, 11 mg cholesterol, 3 g saturated fat, 25 mg sodium, 0 g dietary fiber

Recipe tested by Margaret Roth; e-mail questions tofood@washpost.com