Pecan Sandies

Before you start

A pecan sandy is a shortbread-style cookie made with no egg, so the only liquid is the water in the butter. That is what gives it the fine, sandy texture that crumbles as you bite. Powdered sugar keeps the crumb tender, a little brown sugar adds a caramel note, and finely chopped toasted pecans run all the way through.

Toasting the nuts matters more than anything else here; raw pecans taste flat and soft by comparison. Rolling the dough into a log and chilling it lets you slice even rounds that bake at the same rate, and the dough can wait in the refrigerator or freezer until you want fresh cookies. Bake until just golden at the edges: these taste best with a light color and turn bitter if pushed too far.

Ingredients

• 120 g (1 cup) pecan halves
• 225 g (1 cup) unsalted butter — softened but cool
• 60 g (½ cup) powdered sugar
• 50 g (¼ cup packed) light brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 280 g (2⅓ cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• 50 g (¼ cup) granulated or turbinado sugar — for rolling the logs, optional

Method

1. Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Toast the pecans on a baking sheet for 7 to 9 minutes, until fragrant and a shade darker inside when you snap one. Cool completely, then chop them finely, to about the size of rice grains.
2. Beat the butter, powdered sugar and brown sugar on medium-low speed for about 2 minutes, until smooth and creamy but not fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and salt.
3. Add the flour on low speed and mix until the dough just starts to clump. Add the pecans and mix briefly, or knead them in by hand, until evenly distributed.
4. Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a log about 5 cm (2 in) in diameter and 23 cm (9 in) long. Roll the logs in the coarse sugar if using, wrap tightly and refrigerate for 2 hours, until firm.
5. Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F) and line the sheets with parchment. Slice the logs into rounds 8 mm (about ⅓ in) thick, turning the log a quarter turn every few slices to keep it round.
6. Arrange the rounds 3 cm apart. Bake one sheet at a time for 14 to 16 minutes, until the edges and bottoms are light golden and the tops look dry.
7. Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes; the cookies are fragile while hot. Move them to a rack and cool completely before storing.

Tips for success

• Beat the butter and sugar only until smooth. Whipping air into the dough makes sandies puff and lose their tight, sandy crumb.
• If the log flattens on one side in the refrigerator, set it in a paper towel tube cut lengthwise to keep it round.
• Chopping the pecans fine helps the slices cut cleanly; large pieces drag and tear the rounds.

Substitutions

Pecans

Walnuts or hazelnuts work the same way. Toast hazelnuts until the skins crack and rub off as much skin as you can.

Powdered sugar

Granulated sugar (60 g) makes a slightly crisper, coarser cookie with a little more spread.

Unsalted butter

Salted butter is fine; reduce the added salt to a pinch. Avoid spreads or margarine, which make the dough too soft to slice.

Variations

Pecan-topped sandies

Skip the sugar coating and press a toasted pecan half into each slice before baking.

Maple sandies

Replace the vanilla with 1 tsp maple extract and brush the cooled cookies with a thin glaze of powdered sugar and maple syrup.

Troubleshooting

Slices crumble when cut

The log is too cold or the nuts are too large. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes and use a sharp, thin knife with a gentle sawing motion.

Cookies spread and lost their shape

The butter was too soft or the dough was creamed too long. Chill sliced rounds for 10 minutes before baking.

Bland flavor

The pecans were not toasted enough or the cookies were underbaked. Toast until fragrant and bake until the edges show color.

Storage

Store cooled sandies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Wrapped dough logs keep for 5 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer; slice frozen logs after 10 minutes at room temperature and add a minute to the bake.

Safety notes

There is no egg in this dough, but it contains raw flour, so do not eat it unbaked. Contains tree nuts (pecans), wheat and milk.