Pecan Sandies (Vintage Recipe) | Valerie's Kitchen (2024)

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Pecan Sandies have a shortbread-like cookie base studded with pecans and dusted with powdered sugar. This vintage Christmas cookie recipe from my mom’s recipe binder is a delicious choice to add to your holiday baking list.

Pecan Sandies (Vintage Recipe) | Valerie's Kitchen (1)

If you like shortbread cookies as much as I do, you are going to love my Mom’s Pecan Sandies. They are not overly sweet and such a nostalgic choice to include among all the fudge and other indulgent sweets on a holiday cookie tray.

Our new Oregon town is so festive we feel like we packed our bags and landed smack in the middle of a Hallmark Christmas movie. There are lights and decorations everywhere you look. Christmas tree farms are abundant and the cooler weather does so much to catapult you straight into the holiday vibe.

I’m sitting to write this post on an especially chilly afternoon. My mom’s old recipe binder is next to me with her typewritten recipe for these Pecan Sandies resting on top. I miss her so much at this time of year and more and more with each big change in our lives that I can’t share with her. Mom would have loved this house and this town and what I wouldn’t give to be able to show it all to her.

But, she is here with me in spirit as I write this post about her recipe for Pecan Sandies. These nostalgic Christmas cookies bring back so many great memories.

Table of contents

  • Ingredients
  • How to Make Pecan Sandies
  • The Secret to the Best Pecan Sandies
  • Can You Freeze Pecan Sandies?
    • Freezing the Dough
    • How to Freeze Baked Pecan Sandies
  • More Holiday Treats from Mom’s Recipe Binder
Pecan Sandies (Vintage Recipe) | Valerie's Kitchen (2)

A short list of ingredients and a unique baking method creates these tasty cookies.

Ingredients

  • Wet ingredients: softened butter, powdered sugar, water, and pure vanilla extract
  • Dry ingredients: All-purpose flour and salt.
  • Pecans: Finely chopped.

How to Make Pecan Sandies

Pecan Sandies (Vintage Recipe) | Valerie's Kitchen (3)
  1. Wet ingredients: Using an electric mixer, combine the softened butter the powdered sugar, a very small amount of water, and some vanilla extract.
  2. Dry ingredients: Combine the flour and touch of salt in a separate bowl. Add the dry mixture to the creamed butter mixture in increments. The dough will come to a coarse crumb-like consistency. Continue beating until it works into a nice, smooth cookie dough consistency.
  3. Pecans: Stir in some chopped pecans and cover the bowl and chill the cookie dough for an hour.
  4. Shape: Form the chilled dough into 1-inch balls and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. These cookies will not spread so you can place them about 1-to 2-inches apart. You should be able to fit all 26 to 28 cookies on one large cookie sheet.

The Secret to the Best Pecan Sandies

Here is where Mom’s Pecan Sandies recipe gets unique. The cookies are baked in a 250 degree F oven for an hour. Yep, an hour! Watch them closely towards the end of the baking time. Remove them from the oven when the bottoms of the cookies are just barely golden brown.

Allow the cookies to cool completely and then roll them in powdered sugar. Sometimes I give them an extra sprinkle of powdered sugar just before serving.

Pecan Sandies (Vintage Recipe) | Valerie's Kitchen (4)

Can You Freeze Pecan Sandies?

Cookie dough with a high fat content, like these Pecan Sandies, will freeze well. The method is called flash freezing and here is how you do it.

Freezing the Dough

  1. Roll the cookies into balls and place them on your cookie sheet. If you are freezing a lot of dough you can separate layers of cookies with wax paper.
  2. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer until the balls of dough are frozen solid.
  3. Transfer the frozen cookie dough balls to a freezer-safe plastic storage bag and store them in the freezer.
  4. When you are ready to bake them, allow them to defrost completely and then proceed with the recipe as directed.

Freezing the cookie dough balls separately ensures they won’t stick together. You can pull out and bake just as many as you need.

How to Freeze Baked Pecan Sandies

My preference is to flash freeze the dough but you can successfully freeze these cookies after baking as well.

  1. Allow the cookies to cool completely but DO NOT roll them in powdered sugar.
  2. Use the same flash freeze method to freeze the baked cookies individually.
  3. Then, wrap the frozen cookies in plastic wrap to protect them from freezer burn. Place the wrapped cookies in a freezer-safe plastic storage bag and pop them in the freezer.
  4. Unwrap the frozen cookies and then thaw them completely at room temperature. Be sure you’ve removed all the plastic wrap first to avoid any condensation from making them soggy.
  5. Roll them in powdered sugar before serving.

Taste of Home has some more good general cookie storage tips.

Pecan Sandies (Vintage Recipe) | Valerie's Kitchen (5)

If you’re missing someone you love, bake something that reminds you of them. Pass those recipes on to your children and other loved ones to help continue the legacy they so lovingly created. It’s the very best way to celebrate the season!

More Holiday Treats from Mom’s Recipe Binder

  • The BEST Lemon Bars
  • Date Pinwheel Cookies
  • Mom’s Old-Fashioned Gingerbread
  • Apricot Bars

Sign up for my freenewsletterfor all the latest recipes and join me onFacebook,InstagramandPinterestfor more cooking inspiration!

Pecan Sandies (Vintage Recipe) | Valerie's Kitchen (6)

Mom’s Pecan Sandies

5 from 7 votes

Pecan Sandies have a shortbread-like cookie base studded with pecans and dusted with powdered sugar. This vintage Christmas cookie recipe from my mom's recipe binder is a delicious choice to add to your holiday baking list.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Valerie Brunmeier

Keyword: pecan sandies

Print RecipePin RecipeRate Recipe

Prep Time:10 minutes minutes

Cook Time:1 hour hour

0 minutes minutes

Total Time:1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 28 cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • ½ cup powdered sugar, (plus additional for rolling and sprinkling)
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup finely chopped pecans

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter, sugar, water, and vanilla. Combine the flour and salt in a separate bowl. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in increments and mix again for several minutes until the coarse crumb-like mixture comes together into a nice cookie dough consistency. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the pecans. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

  • Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

  • Form the chilled dough into 26 to 28 1-inch balls and place about 1- to 2-inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet (you should be able to fit them all on one large baking sheet).

  • Bake 55 to 60 minutes until the bottoms of the cookies are just barely golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets (or just until cool enough to handle) then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

  • Place about ¼ cup powdered sugar in a small bowl. Roll the cooled cookies in powdered sugar until well coated. For a pretty effect,sprinkle with additional powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Notes

Check on the cookies after they’ve been baking for 50 to 55 minutes. I have always baked these for the full hour but ovens can vary. When bottoms of cookies are barely golden brown, pull them from the oven and let them cool as instructed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 cookies · Calories: 127 kcal · Carbohydrates: 10 g · Protein: 1 g · Fat: 9 g · Saturated Fat: 4 g · Cholesterol: 17 mg · Sodium: 100 mg · Potassium: 27 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 2 g · Vitamin A: 205 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 6 mg · Iron: 1 mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.

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Pecan Sandies (Vintage Recipe) | Valerie's Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

Why do my pecan sandies fall apart? ›

If your mixture seems too dry (it falls apart after being pressed together) you can add in up to 1 T. water.

Who made the original pecan sandies? ›

The name 'sandies” was registered by the Keebler Company in 1955 for their line of flavored shortbread cookies, including the pecan sandy.

What is another name for pecan sandies? ›

According to Pastry & Baking Arts Chef-Instructor Norma Arellano-Salazar, these popular cookies are also called snowballs or pecan sandies on the East Coast of the United States, as they resemble snow or sand thanks to their powdered-sugar dusting. Some even refer to them as Russian tea cookies.

Who makes pecan sandie cookies? ›

Keebler® Sandies® Pecan Shortbread| Keebler.

What is the mistake in making shortbread? ›

The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour. The less you work the dough, the more crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth your shortbread cookies will be.

What happens if you put too much butter in shortbread? ›

Greasy mess: Extra butter means more fat, making the dough greasy and difficult to handle. Spreading like crazy: Cookies lose their shape, spreading thin and flat instead of staying nice and round. Uneven baking: The excess fat can burn easily on the edges while leaving the center undercooked.

What's the difference between sandies and shortbread? ›

Most shortbread, however, is baked in one pan and then cut into pieces. Sandies are individually-formed cookies. Like other drop cookies, Sandies are shaped by “dropping” or pushing spoonfuls of cookie dough onto a baking sheet. During baking, the mounds of dough flatten and spread.

Why are they called pecan sandies? ›

The sandy is a type of sugar or shortbread cookie plus crunchy pecans. These cookies are named after their crumbly texture. They have a sandy or breadcrumb-like texture when the flour and butter are mixed together. Pecan Sandies are also a sandy color, which makes the name very fitting.

Why are pecan sandies called sandies? ›

That's because pecan sandies are a type of shortbread cookie. They get their name from their sandy texture—in French, similar cookies are known as sablé which means sand. Sandies are more soft and crumbly than a sugar cookie.

How old are pecan sandies? ›

The Keebler Company mass-produces and markets Sandies Classic (plain), Pecan, and Cashew shortbread cookies. Keebler first purveyed Sandies cookies in 1955 and added a toffee variety in 1993.

What do pecan sandies taste like? ›

The brown sugar contributes a faint butterscotch note that is characteristic of a Pecan Sandie (much like the effect it has on the flavor of Butter Pecan Ice Cream). The powdered sugar makes for a tender and slightly crumbly texture.

What do sandies taste like? ›

Pop one of these mini shortbread cookies in your mouth and you will taste the nutty, buttery flavors of a classic sandie. But it's how these flavors transform that make our sandies memorable. First, there's a crunchy taste of toasted pecans combined with creamy, salty butter.

Where did pecan sandies originate? ›

Pecan Sandies are shortbread cookies loaded with toasted pecans. They're a bit sweeter and chewier than ordinary shortbread. Though they may have an Arabic origin, in the US these cookies were made famous by the Keebler Company which has been selling their “Sandies Pecan Shortbread Cookies” for decades.

When did pecan sandies come out? ›

Today the company makes 50 billion cookies and crackers each year; among them are the popular Pecan Sandies, first sold in 1955. The Toffee variety came thirty-eight years later.

Why is cookie called Lorna Doone? ›

Introduced in March 1912, it was possibly named after the main character in R. D. Blackmore's 1869 novel, Lorna Doone, but no record exists as to the exact motivation behind the name. The original cookie recipe came from the Malloys, Emily and John, who came from County Cork, Ireland, and ran a bakery in Chicago.

How do you keep shortbread from crumbling? ›

Add vegetable oil or melted butter to combat a lack of fat.

This is a great option if you have shortbread cookie dough that's too dry. Add more liquid ingredients in small amounts. Milk, egg yolks or egg whites, vanilla extract or even a teaspoon of water can help moisten the dough to give you less crumbly cookies.

Why did my cookies come out crumbly? ›

If you overmix the dough, the cookies will be dry and crumbly. The best way to fix this is to add more liquid to the dough. This can be done by adding milk, water, or even melted butter. You may also need to add more flour to the dough if it is too wet.

Why are my cookies too soft and falling apart? ›

Not enough fat = wrong texture

A shortage of fat can be due to a bad recipe, under measuring the fat, or using the wrong kind of fat (see next tip, below). All will result in crumbly cookies.

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