Praline Cookies

Wow! These are fantastic, their taste equal only to the when-worlds-collide story of how I got this recipe.

It comes courtesy of Ed Cahill, above, my date for the Firestone High School senior prom (way back in 1973). Ed posted the recipe cards to my Facebook wall a few weeks ago, explaining that they are his mother-in-law's who is still baking these at age 92!   Ed, who is now a grandfather (!), is a wonderful artist and though you can't see it in the picture, made the jewelry (an abstract necklace and matching earrings) I wore to the prom.  (I got him that carnation boutineer.  Very classy.)

Above is the entire mise en place for these cookies. Butter, flour, brown sugar, an egg, vanilla and pecans.  How simple is that!

Like most cookies, these are simple to mix and very time-consuming to bake.  But so worth it because they are so unusual.  They are incredibly thin, almost like lace, but packed with an intense praline flavor.

You can see how thin these are.  That's a dime, at left.

 Ed warns that they must be removed from the cookie sheet almost immediately, or they will be glued to said sheet.  I didn't find this to be the case, either on the French Silpat or the greased and floured parchment paper I used.  I found that if I waited a few moments, they released beautifully.  You need to leave lots of space between the cookies, as they spread quite a bit during baking.

 Ed said that the recipe cards, below, were typed on a 1960s Selectric, but the recipe goes back much further than that.  Do try these, for an unusual and delicious treat.