We absolutely love baking at our house, especially when the end result is so delicious! These angel pecan cookies are the perfect mix of buttery and crispy, combined with pecan pieces, cinnamon, and brown sugar, all topped of with a layer of powdered sugar!

Pro tip: the dough can come out a little crumbly, but it should hold together when pinched. Our tried and true technique is to portion out the cookies, and then squeeze the dough together in the desired shape. We usually go with the classic round cookie shape, but you could do crescent, logs, or ribbon shapes too!

Angel Pecan Cookies

45 min, yields 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup shortening
  • 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted, plus more for sprinkling on the cookies
  • 1/4 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans (or other nuts)
Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 350, and prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, and salt.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the shortening, confectioner’s sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla . Slowly add in flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Fold in pecan bits.
  4. Chill dough for 30 minutes.
  5. Using a tablespoon, measure out dough and roll into balls (or other shapes). Place on prepared cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart.
  6. Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes, until just slightly browned. Cool for about 10 minutes before sprinkling confectioner’s sugar on top.

Recipe adapted from Chocolate Chocolate and More.