Active Time

　　1 1/2 hrs

　　Total Time

　　4 hrs

　　"I have such special memories of my grandmother Mimi in the kitchen cooking and baking, all dressed up. My favorite cookies were her pecan crescents," says Barbara Hartwig of Sherwood, Wisconsin. "I am most fortunate to have her original recipe card. We still use it every year."

　　

Ingredients

Makes about 8 dozen

　　1 cup pecans (4 ounces)

　　2 sticks salted butter, softened

　　1 (1-pound) box confectioners sugar

　　1 tablespoon water

　　1 teaspoon vanilla

　　2 cups sifted all-purpose flour (sift before measuring)

　　Special equipment: a pastry cloth

　　

Step 1

Pulse pecans in a food processor until finely ground (being careful not to grind to a paste). Beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, then add 5 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Beat in water and vanilla, then flour and nuts, beating on low speed until blended well. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 2 hours.

　　

Step 2

Preheat oven to 375°F.

　　

Step 3

On a lightly floured pastry cloth, roll level teaspoons of dough into 3-inch ropes, tapering ends. Curve each roll, as formed, into a crescent and arrange crescents 1 inch apart on greased baking sheets. Bake in batches in middle of oven until pale golden, 12 to 14 minutes. While cookies are baking, sift remaining confectioners sugar into a shallow bowl. As cookies are done, transfer, a few at a time, to sugar and gently toss to coat, tapping off excess. (Sugar will melt slightly onto hot cookies.) Cool cookies on a rack. If you want sugar coating to be white and powdery, toss cookies in confectioners sugar again when cool