Pecan Tea Cookies

1 3/4 c butter 

1 1/2 c (300 gm) sugar 

1/4 c Crisco 

1 T vanilla 

1 1/2 t salt 

1 egg 

4 1/2 c (540 gm) bread flour 

3/4 c (70 gm) pecans, finely chopped 

6 c powdered sugar 

6 1/2 T light corn syrup 

1/2 c water 

food coloring 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Soften cold butter in a mixer and add sugar, shortening, vanilla and salt. Blend but do not aireate. Add egg, blend only. Add flour and pecans. Blend only. Roll dough into log shaped pieces, approximately 1/2 inch in diameter. Cut in 1/4 inch slices and lay on parchment lined cookie sheet. Make a thumb print in the center of each cookie. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes or until light brown. Cool on cookie sheet. 

Place powdered sugar in a bowl. Combine water and corn syrup in a small saucepan and heat to 140 degrees on a candy thermometer, do not boil. (This isn't rocket science - if you don't have a candy thermometer, just guess.) Then add 1/2 of this liquid to the powdered sugar in the mixing bowl. Mix unitl mixture becomes a thick paste with no lumps. Then add remaining liquid and mix until smooth. Add a few drops of food coloring to obtain your desired shade of icing. With an icing bag place a dot of icing into the thumb print on each cookie.