Before the world was as industrialized as it is today, the food industry was significantly different. Generally speaking, ingredients had fewer preservatives and were less engineered. Although this is definitely true of the general foods we eat, it’s also true of manufactured candy and sweets. At one point in time, many desserts were only made with natural sugars and basic ingredients rather than corn syrup and other artificial add-ins. Even if these new foods taste good and get us addicted, it’s nice to go back to something simpler every once in a while.
If you have a sweet tooth but are looking for something that will take you back in time, today’s recipe is sure to do the trick. Today, we’re making pecan cookie balls that are sure to remind you of grandma’s home cooking from when you were a kid. Although they only use a few simple ingredients, the end result is a simple and festive dessert that we can’t get enough of. So let’s get started.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 3 cups of flour
- 1 cup of softened butter
- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 cup of chopped pecans
- 1 cup of powdered sugar (optional)
Here’s what you do:
1. Before you get started, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Once that’s done, get out a mixing bowl and pour in your flour, butter, sugar and pecans, mixing everything together with a fork.
2. When your dough is relatively well-combined, put the fork aside and start working it with your hands. Scoop out chunks of dough and roll it into little balls, each one about one inch across for perfect bite-sized treats.
3. Once you’ve made all the dough into balls, place them all on a baking sheet with a little bit of space between each one. Feel free to spray the sheet down with some cooking spray or set a little aluminum foil down as well to make this process easier.
4. When your oven is hot enough, throw the tray of cookie balls in and let the whole thing cook for about 13 to 15 minutes. When the time is up, take them out and let them cool off.
5. Once the cookie balls are cool enough to handle, get out a big Ziploc bag and fill it with powdered sugar. Drop your cookies into the bag and give it a big shake to coat the outside with sugar. When they’re all done, you’re ready to eat!
As you can see, this recipe really couldn’t be more simple or minimalist. With only five ingredients and a little bit of cooking time, you can have some easy cookies that taste delicious and will take you back to a simpler time. Even if you’re typically more used to making chocolate chip cookies or another baked good that takes a little more time, these are definitely worth a try.
Though the above recipe is a good skeleton for simple cookies, you can still innovate within it as well. If you don’t like pecans, feel free to swap them out for another nut that you do like. On the other hand, you could also add in some dried cranberries to the dough for some fruity flavor to pair with the pecans. We leave the details up to you—above all, have fun with this recipe and let us know how it turns out!
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