Praline Cookies Frosting

¾ cup butter (1 ½ sticks)

3 ½ cups powdered sugar (not sifted)

2 teaspoons vanilla (or 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla and ½ teaspoon maple flavoring)

⅓ cup cream

½ cup finely chopped pecans

Approx. 6 dozen pecan halves for decoration (optional)

Before you start, arrange the cooled cookies on racks or on sheets of waxed paper. Then heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it turns a medium shade of brown (the color of peanut butter). Remove the pan from the heat, and add the vanilla (and the maple flavoring if you use it). Blend in the powdered sugar, the cream, and the finely chopped pecans. Stir the frosting with a spoon until it’s well mixed, but don’t let it cool completely.

Frost the cookies and place a pecan half (optional) on top of each cookie for decoration (It’s like spreading butter; you don’t have to spread it all the way out to the edges.) If your frosting hardens before you’re through, scrape it into a microwave-safe bowl and heat t for 30 seconds to 1 minute on high in the microwave to soften it so that you can spread it again.

Let the finished cookies rest on your racks or on waxed paper until the frosting has hardened (at least an hour). Then store the cookies in a cookie jar or other closed container.

Yield: Approximately 8 dozen, depending on cookie size.

(Note: These cookies, unfrosted, make a delicious “tea” cookie with a light, delicate flavor. The only changes you have to make are to roll the dough balls smaller and press them down with the heel of a clean hand. Bake them for about 8 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden.)