Pecan Snowballs

This is from the December (I think) 2009 issue of Real Simple. These were a big hit over the holidays and I don't want to lose this recipe. I haven't tried this part, but the recipe says "Instead of refrigerating the balls of dough, freeze them on the baking sheet before storing them in bags for up to 2 months. To bake, follow the instructions, baking from frozen, and use the upper end of the time range." I'll be trying this for sure! Cooking time included refrigeration time.

• Ready In: 1 hr 20 mins
• Serves: 34
• Yields: 34 cookies

Ingredients

• 1  cup pecans
• 1  cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 3⁄4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  almond extract
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt (recipe calls for Kosher salt)
• 2  cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F Spread the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes. Let cool and roughly chop.
2. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar until fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts and salt. Gradually add the flour, mixing until just incorporated. Mix in the pecans.
3. Shape the dough into tablespoon-size balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Transfer half the balls to a second parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until lightly golden, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes.
5. Place 1/2 cup of the sugar in a large bowl. Toss the warm cookies in the sugar and return to the baking sheet. Sift the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar over the cookies before serving (I skipped this step).