Adapted from a recipe in the Washington Post many years ago. I would suggest putting a sign on the platter warning people that these are not sweet cookies; otherwise, you may have some very surprised people!
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
The fastest and easiest way to make the dough is in the food processor. Dump in the dry ingredients (flour through chile pepper) and process briefly to combine. Cut the butter into ¼” or so slices, distribute them over the flour mixture, and process in pulses until the butter is combined and the dough looks crumbly. Then add the cheese and process again. You should end up with a pale orange, smooth dough.
Roil out the dough on a lightly floured work surface or between pieces of wax paper or parchment paper (the best is the parchment, but that may not be something you have on hand) to ¼-inch thickness. Cut into rounds with serrated-edge cookie cutter, then press a pecan half into each one. Alternatively, if you just can’t stand the thought of rolling it out, take heaping teaspoons full, roll into balls, and flatten with your fingers or a fork. Be sure not to skip the flattening step, as otherwise the cookies are too thick and don't get done in the middle.