courtesy Yiayia’s Yummys
Dough:
1 pound unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
About 6 cups flour
Filling:
1 1/2 to 2 cups crushed pecans and cinnamon mixed together
Syrup:
2 cups sugar
1 cup honey
1 cup water
Cream butter and sugar with the cinnamon in a mixer. Add a cup of flour at a time, along with the baking powder and baking soda. Slowly add the orange juice and rotate it with the flour. The dough should be moist but neither sticky nor dry.
Make the filling by crushing the pecans in a food processor. Then add enough cinnamon to coat the crushed pecans.
Take a tablespoon of dough and pat it until you make a flat circle shape with your hand. Add a teaspoon of the crushed pecan mixture to the center. Bring the dough together and seal it over the filling. Shape the cookie like a football.
Bake at 375 for about 25 to 35 minutes until golden brown.
While cookies are baking, put all the syrup ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and then reduce heat to low; cook until the liquid is clear, about 5 minutes.
When cookies come out of the oven, carefully put several of them in the syrup and soak for a minute. Flip the cookie over so you soak both sides.
Spray cookie wire racks with cooking butter spray and place the cookies on the racks to cool.
