Homemade Pecan Sandies are as easy as they are delicious!
Studded with crunchy pecans, this light, and buttery shortbread cookie is the perfect dessert to make!
Pecan Sandies have a fine, crumbly texture that makes them a melt-in-your-mouth delicious treat anytime.
What Are Pecan Sandies?
“Sandies” is a cookie made with basic ingredients, similar to a sugar cookie or shortbread cookie.
- Love pecans? Pecan Sandies are a shortbread-style cookie recipe loaded with crushed pecans for a nutty crunch.
- A food processor quickly mixes and chops all the ingredients.
- If you love snowball cookies, you’ll love the texture of these pecan sandies. And you can shape them like snowballs, too!
- Make the dough ahead of time, store it in the fridge or freezer, and bake when you’re ready.
- Serve plain or dust with powdered sugar and serve as a dainty tea party dessert.
Ingredients in Pecan Sandies
Pecan Sandies are made from a simple butter-based dough much like shortbread.
- Pecans – To add an extra layer of flavor, make sure to use whole pecans that can be toasted before using them in the recipe.
- Flour – This cookie recipe calls for all-purpose flour.
- Butter – To ensure consistent results, I recommend using unsalted butter and adding your own salt. Different brands contain different amounts of salt.
- Powdered sugar – For a crumbly texture, use powdered sugar which is finer than granulated sugar and blends easily.
- Vanilla extract – A little bit of vanilla extract goes a long way in adding flavor to these cookies.
How to Make Pecan Sandies
Homemade Pecan Sandies are so easy to make!
- Toast pecans, cool, and pulse in a food processor per the recipe below.
- Cream butter & sugar until smooth; add in the pecans and flour.
- Chill for a couple of hours (or days!).
- Form into cookies
Pro Tips for Pecan Sandies
- For the best flavor, use unsalted butter and add your own salt.
- To save time on grinding the pecans (or if you don’t have a food processor), start with chopped instead of whole pecans. They can still be toasted in a small non-stick skillet over medium heat until fragrant.
How to Store Sandies
Keep Pecan Sandies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days. The dough can be frozen in a zippered bag for up to 3 months. To bake a few cookies at a time, simply freeze unbaked slices and then put them in a zippered bag, then only bake what you need.
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Pecan Sandies
Made with simple ingredients, these buttery shortbread cookies are packed with toasted pecan flavor!
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Preheat the oven to 350°F.
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Place pecans on a pan and cook for 7-8 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant. Cool completely.
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Place the cooled pecans in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Remove 3 tablespoons of the pecans and set aside.
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Add flour and salt to the food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
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In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar with a mixer until fluffy. Mix in water and vanilla.
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Add the flour and pecans a bit at a time until incorporated.
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Scoop the dough into 1″ balls and lightly flatten. Roll the edges in the reserved pecans.
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Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
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Cool the cookies completely and dust with powdered sugar if desired.
The texture of these cookies is crumbly, much like a shortbread cookie.
The dough can be chilled and baked from chilled, you will need to add about 2 minutes baking time.
Instead of forming individual cookies, the dough can be rolled into a 2-inch thick log, chilled for 4 hours, and sliced before baking.
No Food Processor? Start with chopped instead of whole pecans, and if needed chop them more finely before using. To toast chopped pecans, place them in a small skillet over medium heat and cook while stirring until fragrant.
Calories: 152 | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 50mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 239IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
