The official cookie of Christmas
Liz' Pecan Rum Balls
The confectionary start of Christmas baking at our house, these little gems were prized over all other cookies. Shortbread crumbliness and pecan deliciousness and powdered sugar. What more could a kid want?
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 200 g All-purpose flour
- 25 g Pecans, finely chopped
- 50 g Light brown sugar
- 4 oz Whole, unsalted, butter
- 1 t Vanilla extract
- 1/4 t Salt
- 1-2 T Milk, as needed
- Powdered sugar for coating
Instructions
Procedure
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Blend all ingredients together like a shortbread. You can do this in a mixer, but go slow. You don’t want to over-mix the dough. Add just enough milk to bring the dough together. The dough may mix an additional 30 seconds before you see the results of what you've added, so be patient and don't over mix. Over mixing will make a tough cookie.
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Cool dough for 4 hours. Dish cookies, 1” diameter, roll between hands to form into a ball shape. Place onto Silpat lined pans and bake for 10-12 minutes. The cookies should have a light golden brown color.
Aim for 1 oz or smaller cookies. They will puff a little bit and increase their size. I scaled them at 25 grams and at that they seemed a bit big for one bite.
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Remove to a cooling rack and allow to cool at least 5 minutes before removing them from the pan to a cooling rack or laid out paper grocery sack.
Allow the cookies to cool completely before coating in the powdered sugar.
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Put several cups of powdered sugar in a zip-top bag and add half a dozen or so cookies to that bag. Gently turn the bag over to coat the cookies in sugar. Remove and repeat. Then hide them.
That is not a typo, my momm. Many moons ago I wrote my name with an extra “N”, creating Dann. She decided to be Momm. So, it stuck.
These may well be the most favorite Christmas cookie she ever made as judged by how quickly we kids at them no matter how well she hid them. They are rum-free and I don’t know why they are called that. But, as is often the case, families do odd things for a variety of reasons and so it is here.
As presented this recipe makes a small amount of dough. Enjoy them. Please do remember that they coat in the powdered sugar best when they are completely cooled off. Not the cooler, just at room temperature. If you sugar them while they are warm they make a gooey coating of sugar on the outside which is not visually appealing but might fine-tasting. You decide.
Half sheet pans, just like these from my affiliate link at Amazon, are perfect for all cookie baking.
For the adults, some Pecan Rum Balls and Kahlua is a great treat. Make your own Kahlua with this recipe. It takes a few weeks, at least, but the time is well worth the result.
