PECAN CINNAMON CRESCENTS

McCormick calls these “cinnamon sandies,” but the cinnamon flavor is very mild, more in the background than the forefront.  These cookies are very delicate and tender, light and luscious and will be very popular on your holiday cookie tray.  I took the easy way out and made them in my food processor.  So easy and so good.

Pecan Cinnamon Crescents Adapted from McCormick and Co. Rating:  10 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

INGREDIENTS: 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, divided 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 cup (8 oz.) unsalted butter, softened 2 tsp. vanilla (I used my homemade vanilla extract.) 1/4 tsp. kosher salt 1 Tbsp. coffee liqueur (such as Kahlua), rum or coffee 1 cup toasted pecans 2-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour In work bowl of food processor, combine 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar and 1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon.  Pulse to combine.  Transfer mixture to small bowl, or to a plastic resealable sandwich bag.  Without cleaning work bowl, combine butter and remaining 1/2 cup sugar and pulse several times till light and fluffy.  Add vanilla, salt, liqueur and pecans and pulse till nuts are finely ground.  Scrape bottom and sides of bowl.  Add flour and pulse just till combined.  (Dough will not form a ball.)  Scrape dough onto plastic wrap and refrigerate 1/2 hour or up to overnight.  When ready to bake, heat oven to 300F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  With floured hands, shape teaspoonfuls of dough into crescents and place one inch apart on prepared pans.  Bake 20 minutes, or till very lightly browned.  Carefully roll or gently shake these fragile, hot cookies in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and place on wire racks to cool.  When cool, roll again in cinnamon-sugar mixture.  (Alternately, you can just lay the cookies on a tray and sift the cinnamon-sugar mixture over them, turning once to coat both sides.  Do this once when cookies are hot, once when cool.)  Yield:  about 40 cookies

Today’s post is for week 8 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats, hosted by Brenda Thompson.  Her blog is Meal Planning Magic. 

Be sure and check out all of the fabulous treats the other participants came up with this week.  And, if you would like to join the hop and add your own Christmas treat recipes, just contact Brenda for details.