I've been experimenting with recipes that use whole-wheat pastry flour for a while now, so I was delighted when I found this contest winner on the Eating Well website. I was looking for cookie recipes that might be healthier than some I have in my holiday collection and I liked the way these looked. They are refrigerator cookies of the slice and bake variety and they are truly simple to make. While the dough, which lends itself to freezer storage, can be prepared days before it's needed, I think the flavor of this cookie improves with age. If you decide to bake them, I suggest you make them a day or two before you plan to serve them. It takes a while for the pecan flavor to ripen and without it this is just another sugar cookie. These crisp butter cookies will neither make nor break your reputation as a baker, but it's nice to have such a simple recipe on hand for the holidays. Here's how the cookies are made.

Cinnamon-Pecan Wafers

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

1) Beat butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and add to butter mixture. Beat on low speed until combined. Stir in pecans.

2) Divide the dough in half and use lightly floured hands to shape each portion into a 6-inch round log. Wrap each log in wax paper and freeze until firm, at least 1 hour.

3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

4) Unwrap dough and let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. Combine remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar and cinnamon on a shallow plate. Roll logs in sugar mixture, then slice each log into 24 (1/4-inch thick) cookies. Place cookies about 2-1/2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake, one batch at a time, until lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Yield: 48 cookies.

Cook's Note: Dough wrapped in wax paper and plastic wrap can be frozen for up to 3 months. Once baked, cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 5 days or frozen for 3 months.

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