Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper. While the oven heats, finely chop your pecans if you haven't already—this prep work takes just a few minutes and ensures everything is ready when you need it. Set out your butter to ensure it's fully softened to room temperature, as this will make mixing much easier and create a more uniform dough.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. This creaming process incorporates air into the dough, which helps create a tender, delicate cookie. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt, then add this dry mixture to the butter mixture along with the chopped pecans. Mix gently until just combined—you want a soft, uniform dough without overworking it. I find that letting the dough rest for just a minute after mixing helps it hold together better when shaping.

Working with one chocolate Kiss at a time, take approximately 1 tablespoon of dough from Step 2 and gently wrap it around each Hershey's Kiss, encasing it completely and forming a smooth ball. The key here is to work quickly so the dough doesn't warm up too much, and to ensure the chocolate is fully covered so it doesn't leak out during baking. Place each shaped cookie on your prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart since they'll spread slightly during baking.

Place the cookie sheet in your preheated 350-degree oven and bake for 14 to 17 minutes, until the cookies are very lightly golden around the edges but still look slightly underdone on top. This is important—these cookies continue to cook slightly after removal from the oven and will set up as they cool. Don't overbake or they'll become hard and dry. They should look just set but still soft to the touch when you remove them.

Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for just 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet. While they're still warm, place the 1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar for dusting in a shallow bowl and gently roll or dip each warm cookie in the sugar, coating it generously on all sides. The warmth helps the sugar stick better. I like to work quickly here and do this while they're still warm from the oven—it really makes a difference in how the coating adheres.

Transfer the warm, sugar-coated cookies to a wire cooling rack and let them cool completely, about 30 minutes. Once fully cooled, dust them again with the remaining confectioner's sugar, rolling or dipping each cookie to create that signature double-coated, snowy appearance. This second coating gives you the beautiful presentation these cookies are known for and ensures a generous, luxurious sugar shell.