Pecan Fingers

2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups pecans, roasted
confectioners sugar for dusting

To roast the pecans, preheat oven to 350*. Place the nuts on a baking sheet and roast them for about 15 minutes, or until you can smell their aroma.

Sift together flour and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, with a heavy wooden spoon or mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in the vanilla. Process the pecans in a food processor for about 30 seconds, or until finely ground but not oily. Mix the nuts into the butter mixture until evenly distributed. Add the flour mixture and beat just long enough to eliminate lumps. Refridgerate for at least 20 minutes.

Unless using a nonstick pan, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Form about 2 tablespoons of dough into a finger shape about 3 inches long and place it on the prepared pan. When you've formed all the cookies, refrigerate the them on the sheet pan for 1 hour to harden the butter.

Preheat oven to 275*. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until pale brown on the bottoms. Let cool until set, then transfer to cooling racks or let cool on the pans set on cooling racks. Roll the cookies in confectioners sugar. Store tightly sealed in an airtight container for up to 1 week.