Danish Wedding Cookies

From Recipe Goldmine Recipes. Similar cookies were once given to couples celebrating their nuptials as good luck symbols. The marriage of the nuts and sugars represented "bumps in the road" and the "sweetness that surrounds a happy marriage".

• Ready In: 24 mins
• Yields: 48-60 cookies

Ingredients

• 1  cup granulated sugar
• 1⁄2 cup butter, softened
• 3  ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 1⁄8 teaspoon  almond extract
• 1  cup all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 cup pecans, chopped
•  powdered sugar, for coating

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream sugar and butter in a large bowl until blended.
3. Add cream cheese, increase speed to high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
4. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts.
5. Gently fold in flour and nuts and stir until blended.
6. Lightly flour hands and roll dough into 1 inch balls.
7. Gently press balls flat with bottom of a small glass.
8. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet until lightly browned and puffy, about 14 to 18 minutes.
9. Allow cookies to cool in pan for about 2 minutes; tranfer to wire rack to cool briefly.
10. While cookies are still warm, gently toss them in a plastic bag filled with powdered sugar.
11. Remove and return to wire rack to cool completely.