1. sift flour, spices and salt together.
2. roughly chop half a cup of the pecans. finely grind the rest in food processor until the texture of coarse cornmeal, occasionally scraping bottom and sides. to help ensure you don't grind into a paste, add 1 tbsp of the flour mixture.
3. add the rest of the nuts, flour mixture and pulse to combine.
4. in a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. add the extract.
5. gradually add flour mix to butter batter, by hand.
6. cover the batter with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
7. remove batter from fridge and preheat oven to 325ºF, with racks set in upper third and lower thirds, and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
8. form batter into 1-inch balls, spacing them on the cookie sheet about 1-inch apart . there are no leaveners so no need to worry about them rising but you still want good hot air circulation.
9. bake for about 20-25 minutes or just until the bottom edges of the cookies are just beginning to brown. halfway through, rotate sheets and switch them from top to bottom. remove from oven and set aside. cookies will still be crumbly but will continue to cook on the sheet as they cool.
10. once cookies are completely cooled (about 30 minutes), sprinkle with more confectioner's sugar and serve. if you want more sugar, fill a ziplock bag with 1 cup of confectioner's sugar, add the cookies and gently roll them around until fully covered. i actually like them "naked".
