– Preheat oven to 325 F and grease 2 large baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.
– Place the pecans in a food processor and chop fine. You can also use a blender for this purpose.
– Remove 1 cup of the pecans and process the rest into a very fine texture almost like a cornmeal. Just be careful to not over-process the pecans or you will end up with pecan butter. This way (by leaving some coarse pieces) you will still enjoy the pecans when giving a bite into your cookies.
– In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the flour, salt, and pecans. Stir and set aside.
– Use your mixer for this step. In a separate bowl, beat the butter with ⅓ cup confectioner sugar; when it gets light and fluffy stir in vanilla. Gradually add the flour and pecan mixture and beat at a low speed for a few seconds until it forms a coarse dough that resembles oatmeal. The dough can be made one day ahead and when ready to bake brought back to room temperature to form the cookies.
– Roll one tablespoon of dough into a small ball, they’re about 1 inch in size. Place 1 ½ inch apart on your baking sheets. Do not overwork the dough, if you do so, the end result will be that of a flat cookie.
– Bake for about 15-18 minutes. They will be ready when their bottom is beginning to brown and the cookies are firm.
– Remove from oven and let them cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
– Place the 1 ½ cup of confectioner sugar in a bowl. Roll cookies in the sugar, working with 2 or 3 at a time. Shake any excess if necessary. Roll again to completely coat them.