Pecan Valley Pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Beat ¾ cups of the sugar, butter and lard in large bowl of electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy; about 3 minutes. Add egg yolk and vanilla; beat until smooth. Beat in flour, cinnamon, anise seed and salt until well mixed. Stir in pecans.
3. Roll walnut-size pieces of dough between palms to make round balls. Put remaining ¼ cup sugar in pie plate; roll dough balls in sugar. Place balls 5 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press each ball with bottom of a glass dipped in sugar to about ¼-inch thickness.
4. Bake in a preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 300ºF and continue baking, for 12 to 15 minutes until lightly browned. Remove to cooling rack.

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In large mixer bowl, beat margarine and brown sugar until fluffy; add flour, oats, baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt. Mix until crumbly. Reserving ½ cup flour mixture, press remainder on bottom of 15-inch-by-10-inch jellyroll pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile in medium bowl, combine pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Spread over baked crust.
5. In small bowl, combine reserved ½ cup flour mixture with pecans; sprinkle over pumpkin mixture.
6. Continue baking for 30 to 35 minutes or until set. Cool. Cut into bars. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. Store covered in refrigerator.

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Combine flour, ½ cup pecans, cinnamon, allspice and salt in medium bowl.
3. Beat butter in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar; increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla until blended. Beat in flour mixture at low speed just until blended.
4. Form dough into 1-inch balls; flatten slightly and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Press down with thumb in center of each ball to form indentation. Pinch together any cracks in dough. Fill each indentation with scant ½ teaspoon jam. Sprinkle filled cookies with remaining ½ cup pecans.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 14 minutes or until just set. Let cookies stand on cookie sheets 5 minutes; transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store in airtight container at room temperature. Cookies are best day after baking.

Makes 36 cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together 2 cups flour and 1 cup brown sugar. Cut in butter until crumbs form. Press into well-greased 15½-inch-by-10 ½-inch-by-1-inch jelly roll pan.
3. Bake in a preheated oven for 10 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
5. Increase oven temperature to 375ºF.
6. In another bowl beat eggs until light.
7. Gradually beat in 2 cups brown sugar, then vanilla.
8. Stir together 2 tablespoons flour, baking powder and salt. Add to egg mixture along with nuts.
9. Spread over baked crust in pan.
10. Bake in 375ºF oven about 20 minutes or until light brown.
11. Cool in pan on rack.
12. Cut in 2-inch-by-1-inch bars.

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In a large bowl, blend together shortening or butter and brown sugar.
3. Beat in eggs.
4. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
5. Add spices.
6. Stir in sour cream, and then add pecans, raisins and dates. Stir well.
7. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet.
8. Bake in a preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

Yield 6 dozen.

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In a large mixing bowl mix sugar, pecans, beaten egg whites, salt and vanilla extract together.
3. Drop by scant tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets.
4. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Immediately remove from the cookie sheets. Cool on wire racks.

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Grease a 9-inch square pan.
2. Put flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until blended. With the processor running, gradually add butter through the feed tube; process until blended.
3. Turn out into prepared pan and gather dough. Flatten and press evenly over the bottom of the pan, forming a ½-inch edge up the sides of the pan.
4. Bake in a preheated oven for 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile stir brown sugar and flour in a medium bowl until blended. Add corn syrup, eggs and vanilla; whisk until well blended. Spread pecans in an even layer over the partially baked crust. Pour filling over pecans.
6. Reduce oven temperature to 350º.
7. Continue baking for 25 minutes or until filling is firm. Cool on a wire rack before cutting into bars.

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Place butter, brown sugar, salt, vanilla and maple extracts in mixer and beat to blend. Lightly beat egg yolk with fork and add ½ to mixture. Beat until well-mixed and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add flour and mix well.
3. Drop batter by rounded teaspoons on 2 lightly greased baking sheets, spacing cookies 2-inch apart. Dip fingers in small dish of water and pat cookies into about 2½-inch rounds. Froth egg white with fork and brush top of each cookie lightly with egg white. Don’t let egg white drip off cookies onto pan; cookies will stick. Sprinkle about ¼ teaspoon pecans on each.
4. Bake in a preheated oven for about 10 to 11 minutes until cookies are medium brown. Let rest 2 minutes before using spatula to transfer them to cooling rack. Once completely cooled, cookies can be kept up to 1 week at room temperature in an airtight container or frozen as long as 3 months wrapped airtight.

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Combine sugar and salt. Work in butter and vanilla. Add nuts and mix well. Shape into 1-inch balls.
3. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet in a preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Store in tin box between layers of wax paper.

1. Preheat oven to 410ºF.
2. In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar.
3. Add egg and beat well.
4. Sift flour, measure, and sift with salt and nutmeg. Add to creamed mixture.
5. Add flavorings. Mix thoroughly.
6. Form into rolls 1½ inches in diameter. Chill overnight.
7. Cut in thin slices. Place on slightly oiled baking sheet.
8. Bake in a preheated oven for about 10 minutes.

Yield: 48 servings.