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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Did your family love these Pecan Sandies? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Pecan Sandies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups pecans divided
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place pecans on a pan and cook for 7-8 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant. Cool completely.
- Place the cooled pecans in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Remove 3 tablespoons of the pecans and set aside.
- Add flour and salt to the food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
- In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar with a mixer until fluffy. Mix in water and vanilla.
- Add the flour and pecans a bit at a time until incorporated.
- Scoop the dough into 1" balls and lightly flatten. Roll the edges in the reserved pecans.
- Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
- Cool the cookies completely and dust with powdered sugar if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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.
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I am allergic to chocolate. These are one of my favorites. Thank you for this recipe.
I am so glad you love this recipe Lauren!
some of the best pecan sandies I’ve ever had and are so easy to me
I am so happy to hear you loved this recipe Ralph!
I love these cookies I used to make them .but I used to roll mine in powdered sugar.
That sounds delicious Lucy!