Pecan Sandies

These are a holiday favorite, dusted with powdered unrefined cane sugar that looks like snow. If you have ever eaten these cookies and loved them, you will not be able to tell there is no refined white sugar in this version.

One recipe Shortbread Butter Cookies dough

1 cup chopped toasted pecans
1 cup sifted powdered unrefined cane sugar (sold as "organic" powdered sugar)

1. Make the dough according to the recipe and add the nuts.
2. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and spread the dough out to about 1/2 inch thick by patting it with your fingers.
3. CHILL for at least 2 hours or up to 4 days. If you don't chill, the cookies will spread and lose their shape.
4. After chilling, remove dough from the pan by pulling up the parchment paper. Leave the dough on the paper and put a new sheet of parchment paper in the pan. Cut the dough into pieces about 1" x 2". Pick up each one and round it off with your fingers so it is in the shape of a log, then place on the parchment covered baking sheet. The dough will soften as you work with it, so CHILL AGAIN until firm before baking.
5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
6. Remove cookies from refrigerator and place immediately in the oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.
7. Place cookies on a rack and cool only until you can touch them.
8. Place the powdered sugar in a shallow bowl, and roll each cookie in the powdered sugar several times, until it has a nice coating. This must be done while the cookies are warm, otherwise the sugar will not stick.
9. Place cookies back on rack to cool. Any excess powdered sugar will drop off.