Pecan Lace Cookies

Ingredients:  

• 6 Tbsp butter, softened
• 4 Tbsp plus 1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp double-acting baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups coarsely chopped pecans 

Steps: 

Preheat the oven to 400 F. With a pastry brush, spread 2 Tbsp of the softened butter over two large baking sheets. Sprinkle each baking sheet with 1 Tbsp of the flour and tip the pan from side to side to distribute the flour evenly. Invert the baking sheet and rap it sharply to remove the excess flour. Combine 1/2 cup of the flour, the baking powder and the salt, and sift them together in a bowl. Set aside. In a deep bowl, cream 2 Tbsp of the butter by beating it and mashing it against the sides of the bowl with the back of a spoon until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar, beat in the eggs and the vanilla, and stir the flour mixture into the batter. Then add the pecans. Drop the batter by heaping teaspoonful onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 3 inches apart. Bake for 5 minutes, or until the cookies have spread into lace-like 4-inch rounds and have turned golden brown. Let the cookies cool for a minute or so, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely. Let the baking sheets cool completely, then coat them with the remaining 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp of flour, and bake the remaining cookies. They can be stored in an airtight container for up to one week. Makes about 30 cookies.