Winning Recipe Number 1 - Pecan Lace Cookies

Those of you close to Mrs. BA and me may have heard that she was involved in a "March Madness" bake-off at work. There were four rounds - the first week was cookies, second was bars, the third week is cakes, and the final round is "Bring Your Best."

Mrs. BA was unsure about the first round as she doesn't have a great number of cookies in her baking wheelhouse. But she buried the competition with this recipe. Next week, her winning bar recipe. This week she will bring her cake prowess to the competition - and just so you know, she rocks!

Pecan Lace Sandwich Cookies with Orange Buttercream
Bon Appétit | December 2004

Yield: Makes about 18

Ingredients
Cookies

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup coarsely ground pecans (about 4 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  

Filling

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 3/4 teaspoon grated orange peel

Preparation
For cookies:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Stir butter, sugar, and corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in flour. Add nuts and vanilla; stir to combine.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until bubbling and lightly browned, about 11 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely.

For filling:
Whisk all ingredients in medium bowl until smooth. Spread 1 teaspoon filling onto bottom of 1 cookie. Top with second cookie, bottom side down, pressing lightly to adhere. Repeat with remaining cookies. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Store between sheets of waxed paper in airtight container at room temperature.)