Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Pecan puffs from Joy of cooking
















I'm so bummed. My Joy of Cooking is out of date and doesn't have the recipe. Anyone?

I found this recipe online at http://annastockwell.com and it sounds like these are the same as the Mexican wedding cakes I posted the other day. There are a few differences.

Pecan Puffs
1 cup butter
4 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups pecans, finely ground
2 cups cake flour
about 1 cup confectioners sugar, for garnish

Preheat oven to 300?F.
Cream the butter and the sugar until soft, then stir in the vanilla.
Stir the pecans and the flour into the butter mixture.
Roll the dough into 2 tsp size balls and place evenly on a greased cookie sheet.
Bake until the cookies are just barely starting to brown, about 20 minutes.
While still hot, roll each cookie in the confectioners sugar then let cool completely on a cooling rack.
I like to dust all the finished cookies with a bit of extra confectioners sugar through a fine sieve for a smooth finish.

8 comments:

Mitty said...

Hi,
This is the same recipe as the Joy of Cooking, except that it has been doubled. In addition, Joy notes that you can put the cookies back in the oven for one minute after they have been rolled in the sugar in order to glaze them--an interesting idea that I have never seen in any similar recipe.

Maine Mom said...

Thank you Mitty! I was going to have to wait until I got to Dad's house this summer when I could double check in Mom's Joy of Cooking. Thank you very much for the confirmation! :D

Anonymous said...

I add 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper to the recipe. It adds a hot note. :)

JVD said...

This is a little off on the quantity of butter.

I have my mother's Joy of Cooking (1931) book with this recipe. Quote:

PECAN PUFFS
About Forty 11/2-inch Balls
Rich and devastating.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees
Beat until soft:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
Add and blend until creamy:
2 Tbs sugar
Add:
1 tsp vanilla
Measure, then grind in a nut grinder:
1 cup pecan meats
Sift before measuring:
1 cup cake flour
Stir the pecans and the flour into the butter mixture.
Roll the dough into small balls
Place balls on a greased cookie sheet and bake about 30 minutes.
Roll while hot in:
Confectioners' sugar
To glaze, put the sheet back into the over for a minute.
Cool and serve.

Pmbourque2 said...

OMG OMG OMG

Pmbourque2 said...

The one thing I really changed up-using a half inch cookie scoop-OMG the explosion in your mouth!

Pmbourque2 said...

This is the recipe I've been using all my adult life! Joy of Cooking was the best wedding present ever!

Pmbourque2 said...

I use a half inch scoop, and I put them in a big pan of powdered sugar to cool about 6 minutes. Been making them most of my 56 years.I really miss making them with momma!