1-First, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a mixer bowl, beat the softened butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Then, mix in the vanilla extract and kosher salt to blend the flavors evenly.

2-Next, add the all-purpose flour and mix on low speed until a dough forms, followed by stirring in the finely chopped pecans for that crunchy texture. Shape the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared sheets. Gently press each ball flat to about 1/2-inch thickness using the bottom of a glass, then top each with one pecan half.

3-Bake for 18 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned, and remember to rotate the trays halfway through for even cooking. Let the cookies rest on the sheet for 3 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely. Hands-on time is about 20 minutes, with a total time of around 1 hour, including baking and cooling.