Nutty Fingers — The Wedding Cookie That Found Its Way Onto the Reception Table

New Year's Eve. 2022 becoming 2023. Kayla and Devon and Denise in the kitchen at midnight, champagne glasses raised, the new year arriving the way new years do in this house — with toast and food and the people who matter most standing within arm's reach.

I said, "To 2023. The year Kayla gets married." Kayla blushed. Devon grinned. Denise said, "The reception menu isn't finalized yet, Mama." I said, "Denise, I have been finalizing menus since before you were born. The reception menu will be finalized when I say it's finalized." She stopped talking. The tone. Works every time.

New Year's Day. Black-eyed peas. Greens. Cornbread. Ham hocks. Mrs. Crawford got her plate at ten. She called at noon. She said, "Dorothy, the peas this year are the best yet." She says that every year. I said, "Mrs. Crawford, you say that every year." She said, "Because it's true every year. Things get better when you keep doing them." She's right. The peas don't change. But I do. I get better at making them. Fifty-seven years of black-eyed peas and I'm still improving, which means either the peas are infinitely perfectible or I'm infinitely stubborn. Probably both.

The wedding is in four months. The dress is being made. The church is booked. The flowers are ordered (magnolias, because Kayla is a Savannah girl and Savannah girls use magnolias). The food is mine. All of it. The reception menu: fried chicken, shrimp and grits, collard greens, cornbread, mac and cheese, peach cobbler, and a wedding cake that Kayla insists on ordering from a bakery, which I will allow because even I know that a wedding cake requires a professional and a grandmother's love alone cannot produce six tiers and fondant.

Now go on and feed somebody.

Now, that reception menu I listed? Fried chicken, shrimp and grits, all of it — that’s the main spread. But every Southern wedding reception needs a cookie table, and these Nutty Fingers have been on my cookie table since before Kayla’s mother was married. Buttery, pecan-studded, rolled in powdered sugar until they look like little snow-covered logs — they disappear before the cake is even cut. Fifty-seven years of black-eyed peas taught me that the simplest recipes are the ones worth perfecting, and these cookies are no different. They’re going on Kayla’s table, and that is final.

Nutty Fingers

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 36 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar, plus extra for rolling
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup pecans, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Cream the butter. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter with 1/3 cup powdered sugar until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined. Fold in the chopped pecans by hand.
3. Shape the cookies. Using about 1 tablespoon of dough at a time, roll each portion into a short log or finger shape, about 2 1/2 inches long. Place on ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart.
4. Chill the dough. Refrigerate the shaped cookies for 15 minutes to help them hold their shape during baking.
5. Preheat and bake. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Bake for 22–25 minutes, until the cookies are set and just barely golden on the bottom. They should not brown on top.
6. Roll in sugar. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then gently roll each warm cookie in powdered sugar. Place on a wire rack to cool completely, then roll in powdered sugar a second time for a thick, snowy coating.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 95 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 8g | Fiber: 0.5g | Sodium: 30mg