Chocolate Pecan Hedgehog Cookies

Combine dry ingredients such as flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together sugar, shortening, corn syrup, eggs, and vanilla extract in another separate bowl. Combine the two mixtures until just combined, taking care not to overmix. Refrigerate the dough for a period of time, allowing it to chill and firm up, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to the desired temperature of 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to portion out the dough into uniform balls, ensuring all cookies are of equal size. Shape these balls into teardrop-shaped cookies by flattening the pointed end to form a face. Arrange these cookies on baking sheets in a single layer.

Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Take pecans and pulse them in a food processor until they are finely chopped. Transfer the chopped nuts to a bowl, where you can use them as needed. Melt chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring constantly to avoid scorching. Dip the top of each cookie in the melted chocolate, spreading it evenly to fully coat the 'body' of each hedgehog. Press the cookies, chocolate-side down, into the ground pecans to form the 'fur'. Arrange the cookies on a sheet of waxed paper to set, allowing them to harden for about 30 minutes.

Transfer the remaining melted chocolate to a piping bag or plastic bag with a corner snipped. Pipe chocolate onto the pointed end of each cookie to create eyes and a nose.