Cookies and memories, Pecan Filled Cookies

[ppfuf]

 

These are my Dad's favorites, and that's the only reason I make them. They are difficult and annoying, but Gram (his maternal grandmother who raised him) used to make them by the hundreds, so for Dad, they are a taste of home.

I strongly recommend a non-stick muffin pan. There's some magic ratio of batches of crust to batches of filling to use up all of either. I think it's three crusts to five fillings, but I don't worry about that anymore. Dad only needs a dozen or so to make him happy. 
 
Pecan filled cookies
These cookies are shaped like tiny tarts.
Dough:
1/3 cup shortening
½ cup sugar
¼ tesp salt
1 egg
2 cups flour
3-5 Tbl milk
Filling:
1 egg
¼ cup blue label Kayro syrup (dark corn syrup)
¼ tesp salt
¼ c sugar
1 tesp vanilla
½ c chopped pecans (or other nuts)
Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease muffin pans. Prepare cooling racks.
To make the dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine shortening and sugar until well creamed. Add egg and salt, mixing thoroughly. Add flour, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl as needed. Add milk by tablespoons until you have a workable dough.
To make the filling: Mix all filling ingredients.
Roll the dough out to 1/8 inch and cut into circles to fit in your muffin pan. Gently press down to create tiny tart shells. Fill with filling and bake.
Bake in middle rack of oven for 10-12 minutes. If your oven has hotspots, rotate at the 6 minute mark. If using muffin pans in one oven, trade places from top to bottom at the 6 minute mark.
When done, allow to cool in pans. The filling is hot, sticky sugar. Trying to move the cookies while hot is not a good idea. When cool, use a knife to loosen the shells from the muffin pan. Lift carefully and place on cooling racks.
I have no idea where Gram might have gotten this recipie.

Comments

[ppfuf.livejournal.com]

note to self: This dough made a really great cherry-pie crust for thanksgiving '09. Do that again.