Great Grandma Rose's Frosted Butter Cookies

"These cookies are a BIG part of my holiday tradition because my Great Grandma Rose (who died last year at 94, just before her 95th birthday) made them every year for our Christmas Eve Family Dinner at her house, all 50 plus of us," Allison said. "She would hide them in a BIG cookie tin and only bring out a few for her cookie platter. ALL of us would take them first and than go looking for the cookie tin for more. We call them the Green Frosting Cookies. She knew we all loved them and would make a lot of them. We always finished them off that night. Sometimes a few went in pockets for home to eat later. Great Grandma Rose was a great baker. She put out her own cook book as a party favor for her 70th Birthday. See than sold a few thousand of them for just about what she paid to print them. These Green Frosting Cookies will be my Christmas tradition forever."

2 cups sifted flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
2 egg whites, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans

Sift flour once, measure, add salt and sift again. Cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and vanilla and beat thoroughly. Gradually add flour, stirring until blended. Chill dough for ease in handling. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and dip in egg whites. Roll in nuts. Place on baking sheet; make a deep impression in center of each. Bake in 350 deg oven for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned around edges. Remove to wire rack to cool. Fill cookies with tinted confectioners sugar frosting.

Frosting:

2 cups confectioners sugar
2 Tbsp softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 Tbsp hot water
green food coloring

To make frosting, combine sugar, butter and vanilla in a small mixing bowl. Gradually add water and beat until smooth and mixture holds shape slightly. Tint a delicate green with food coloring and using a teaspoon, drop into the center of the cookies.