Today is Winter Solstice, the turning of the year from fall to winter, our grandson’s fourth birthday (how did that happen so fast?!) and the start of our own personal Christmas holiday time. Whether you celebrate quietly or with a large group, I hope the holiday season is everything you want it to be. I also hope 2024 brings you some pleasant surprises and many reasons to smile.  I leave you with a recipe for Mary’s Pecan Crescents. She always called them Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies. In Austria, they’re known as Vanillekipferl or Vanilla Crescent Cookies. They’re delicious no matter what you call them!

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Mary’s Pecan Crescents

1 cup butter, very soft

¼ cup icing sugar

1 tablespoon lukewarm water

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

1 cup very finely chopped pecans (I use the food processor for this step)

Icing sugar as needed to coat

Preheat your oven to 300.   Mix butter, icing sugar, water and vanilla. Gradually blend in flour and then the ground nuts to make a pastry-like dough.  Pinch off a teaspoon of dough and roll between your palms until you have a strip about 2 inches long. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and curve into crescents. *  Bake at 300 F until very lightly browned.  Gently remove from cookie sheet and dust with icing sugar while still hot.  Cool on a wire rack and dust again with icing sugar when cold to coat generously.

Makes 3 – 4 dozen cookies and they freeze well.   * Note, if you prefer, you can shape the dough into small balls rather than crescents.