Here's a delicious surprise: tiny bits of salty bacon are a wonderful addition to this creamy dessert. Maple-cured or applewood-smoked bacon seem to be ideal choices here.
My mom, Betty Keller, was a creature of habit. She worked very hard at her job managing restaurants while raising five boys and a daughter as a single mother. She loved to have cookies on hand at the end of the day, and she especially loved the Keebler pecan sandie. It was part of my childhood, and it's a flavor combination, vanilla and pecan, that I associate with her. It was an adult cookie to me. There was always a bag of them in the cupboard.