Name: Pecan Sandies Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 0.5 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature; 0.5 cup packed light-brown sugar; 1.5 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; 0.25 teaspoon salt; 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled); 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Pecan Sandies Cookies

3.4

(317)

23 Reviews

These crumbly, soft cookies are meltingly delicious—and so easy to make.

Martha Stewart

Updated on November 30, 2023

Prep Time:

15 mins

Total Time:

30 mins

Yield:

These pecan sandies might be the easiest cookie of all to make. The recipe uses just a few basic ingredients—that don't include a leavener or eggs. 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. They’re made with light brown sugar, which adds rich caramel notes to their nutty flavor. Homemade pecan sandies are so much better than store-bought, and so simple. This is a recipe you’ll want to add to your holiday cookie selection and make through the year, because these old-fashioned cookies are melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

You can swap the pecans in this recipe for another nut and make a different sandie cookie.

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup packed light-brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven and prep baking sheets; beat butter and sugar:

Preheat oven to 350°F, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until well combined; beat in vanilla and salt.

When you cream brown sugar and butter, it does not get as light and fluffy as when you cream granulated sugar and butter.
Add flour, then pecans:

With mixer on low, gradually add flour, beating just until combined. Fold in pecans.
Form dough into cookies:

Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls, and place on 2 baking sheets, 2 inches apart. With the dampened bottom of a glass, lightly flatten each ball.
Bake:

Bake until cookies are golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer to wire racks, and let cool.