I have a notebook that I keep nearby at all times where I keep track of my upcoming obligations for different blogger group posts. I try very hard to write all the themes in it next to the publish date. Occasionally, if the theme is too long, I’ll shorten it so it fits but so I can still remember the whole thing. Or so I thought. This month’s whole theme for Creative Cookie Exchange is Cookies to Celebrate the End of Summer Vacation. That does not fit in my editorial calendar notebook. So I wrote, End of Summer.
End of summer, end of summer, I thought weeks later as I checked the notebook, the deadline looming. I’m such a Beach Boys fan that Endless Summer naturally popped into my mind. Hmmmm, interesting. And what goes with the Beach Boys but beaches? Now you see how I ended up making pecan sandies, right?
Pecan sandies are classic buttery cookies that are sometimes coated in or sprinkled with powdered sugar after they are baked. As far as I’m concerned, they don’t need the extra sugar at all and, for my purposes this month, the snow white shower would take away from their sandy color.
Going the other direction, I chose to sprinkle mine with the leftover crumbs of the toasted pecans for added color. But you do you, honey boo-boo.
Ingredients
2 cups or 250g all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup or 170g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup or 100g granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons water
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans (about 5 ozs or 142g)
Optional: powdered sugar to decorate
Method
Toast your pecan pieces in a dry skillet on the stovetop. Stir or toss often so they don’t scorch but become a lovely toasted color all over. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Preheat your oven to 325°F or 163°C and line two cookie sheets with parchment or silicone baking liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together your flour, salt and baking soda.
Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl with electric beaters or your stand mixer until they are a pale yellow and fluffy – about three minutes. Scrape down the sides of your bowl with a rubber spatula.
Beat in the egg, vanilla and water until fully incorporated. Do not be alarmed when these look curdled. Adding the flour always takes care of that.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and continue beating, adding about a third of the flour at a time and beating until fully mixed and all the flour has been added.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooled toasted pecan pieces into the mixing bowl, leaving behind the smaller crumbs of pecan.
Mix until the pecans are incorporated into the dough.
Use a tablespoon or cookie scoop to measure out the cookie dough into about 25-27 cookies. I separated them nicely in the first baking pan but discovered when they came out that they can be much closer together. They don't spread much.
Roll the dough into balls with your hands and then flatten them with the bottom of a glass.
Check the crumbs left behind in the pecan toasting pan to make sure that none of them are little pieces of pecan shell. This can happen in the shelling process with disastrous results when someone bites on shell.
Sprinkle the pecan crumbs on top of the cookies and press down again lightly to make them stick into the dough. This, as you can see, is pan two.
Bake each pan for about 10 minutes then rotate it to make sure the cookies bake evenly. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the pecan sandies are slightly brown around the edges. If you bake both pans at once, you might want to rotate them from top shelf to bottom shelf as well as front to back.
Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool.
Enjoy!
How do you celebrate the end of summer? Might I suggest baking some cookies?
- Apple Shortbread Cookies with Apple Cider Mascarpone Frosting by A Shaggy Dough Story
- Apricot Pochettes by Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Blackberry and Cream Monte Carlos by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
- Black Forest Cookies by Spiceroots
- Blueberry Cookies by The Spiced Life
- Kiwi Thumbprints by Flours and Frostings
- Lemon Basil Cookies with Mint by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
- Lemon Meltaways by Oven Delights
- Lemon Sour Cream Cookies by Magnolia Days
- Orange Creamsicle Cookies by 2 Cookin Mamas
- Peach Pie Cookies by Live. Bake. Love.
- Pecan Sandies by Food Lust People Love
- S'mores Blondies by A Baker's House
- Strawberry & Cream Cookies by Baking in Pyjamas
Creative Cookie Exchange is hosted by Laura of The Spiced Life. We get together once a month to bake cookies with a common theme or ingredient so Creative Cookie Exchange is a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts at The Spiced Life. We post the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!
Pin Pecan Sandies!
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