Guest Author - Anita Burroughs

One of my husband’s childhood favorites is Pecan Sandies…except that his experience had been limited to those purchased in a bag at the supermarket. I made him a batch of the home-made version, and he’s never been able to eat a commercial version of that cookie since!

Here’s the home-made version, which are a snap to make. Just make them well in advance, as they need to chill for several hours in the refrigerator before baking.

Ingredients:

2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans
3 tablespoons confectioners sugar

Combine the butter and sugar in a mixer and cream them until they are smooth.

Mix in the water and the vanilla. Then add the flour and pecans until well blended.

Remove the dough from the mixer and pat into a round. Wrap the dough in waxed paper or plastic wrap, and chill for at least 3-4 hours.

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees, and take the dough out of the refrigerator to soften a bit. When it’s pliable, take about a teaspoon of the dough, and shape it into a ball. Place these balls onto a baking sheet about two inches apart. I like to use a silicon baking mat on top of the baking sheet to make clean-up easier. If you are not using a mat, you do not need to grease the baking sheet.

Take a fork and flatten each ball slightly. Bake the cookies until they are a light golden color, about 20 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool a bit, and then roll them in the confectioners sugar. Cool the cookies before storing and enjoy!

This recipe makes about three dozen cookies.

For those of you who enjoy a little history, pecan sandies were often called “Sand Tarts”, and are thought to originate from sugar cookies. The name is thought to have originated from the cookie’s sand-like color. Sandies are remarkably similar to a number of cookies throughout the world, including Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, and Sicilian Wedding cookies. Food historians believe that these small cookies and cakes are linked to Medieval Arab cuisine, which was rich in sugar. These treats were then adopted by the Europeans, and then introduced to the New World by explorers in the 16th century. Food history also points to these cookies being utilized for very special occasions.

These cookies are so simple to make, there’s no reason not to make them any day of the week.