Homemade pecan sandies cookies so good you’ll be dancing

Homemade pecan sandies are a buttery sablé cookie recipe loaded with spiced candied pecans with an irresistible sandy texture that’ll change how you think about cookies forever.

Did I mention that these pecan sandies are a slice and bake cookie? Consider them a gift to your future self that you can pull out of the freezer when the holiday rush hits. It’s so so nice to be able to bake a cookie on demand when you have zero time!

My Pop always had a stash of Keebler pecan sandies around for us grandkids to find. It was always a treat to raid Pop’s stash! I probably knew even at 7 that you could make better cookies than the package; but I certainly never said no to my found treasure!

The added layer of flavor from the chai spiced maple candied pecans adds a layer of mystery to this very fall-tasting cookie. Pop these on your Thanksgiving table for an easy Thanksgiving dessert.

Let’s get a log of this dough in your freezer pronto!

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Homemade Pecan Sandies Cookies

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Let me count the ways to love these cookies

1. They’re actually easy: just a handful of ingredients and you’ll have the most intriguing cookie you’ve eaten in a long while.
2. Texture: Sablé means “sandy” in French, and that they are. There’s a gritty texture on your teeth when you bite into these which sounds like it would be gross. Strangely, this texture is the opposite; it’s fascinating as the crumbly bits melt into the butter when you take a bite. If you’ve never had a sablé, you’re in for a treat.
3. Layers of flavors: all butter cookies are good, but few have this much flavor packed into them. The pecans on their own add a cozy nuttiness, then the layers of spice from candying the same nuts bumps up the flavor into the stratosphere.
4. Sanding sugar: is there anything that sprinkles don’t make prettier? A little layer of sanding sugar on the outside makes these cookies shine!
5. Slice and bake: It takes minutes to make the dough. From there, after a cool down in the fridge (or freezer), you can bake these cookies whenever you feel like it. Got the midnight munchies? Bake some. Need a dessert for guests and you didn’t plan ahead? Bake some. There’s no end to the gifts that the slice and bake brings you.
6. Perfect for Holiday cookie plates: These pack up like a champion. They’re sturdy but not boring, making for a cookie that will contrast well in your cookie collection. Wrap them up in string in gorgeous cellophane bags on their own or pop them in tins with your other Christmas cookies. They’re almost instant gifts either way.

Ingredients for pecan sandies cookies

Process for making pecan sandies cookies

1. Make the spiced pecans: while you can use store-bought candied nuts if you’re short on time, you’ll get the best flavor from these cookies if you first make a batch of maple candied pecans.
2. Cream: cream the butter and the sugar until it’s pale, light, and fluffy.
3. Egg and vanilla: add in the egg yolk and vanilla and incorporate it. The batter should look like light buttercream frosting at this point.
4. Flour and nuts: chop up cooled nuts, then toss them in the flour so that they’ll distributed well throughout the flour. Mix the flour into the butter mix until the flour disappears.
5. Squeeze: Place a large piece of plastic wrap on a work surface. Scrape out the dough onto the plastic wrap, then gather it into a rough log. Roll up the plastic wrap around the dough to compress it into a tight log the length of a paper towel tube.
6. Press and roll: cut a paper towel tube down the center and place the tube of dough in it. Place a few rubber bands around the log to hold everything in place, then roll the dough in the cardboard-wrapped tube to round the edges.
7. Chill: chill the dough, wrapped in the cardboard for at least 4 hours and up to a week. You can freeze the dough here up to 2 months; if you do so, wrap it well and thaw it in the fridge overnight the day before you want to bake.
8. Sugar: Dump a thick line of sanding sugar on a piece of parchment paper. Unwrap the chilled dough and press sugar into the surface of the dough all the way around the log. Make sure to cover all the dough for the prettiest cookies.
9. Cut and bake: cut 1/4″ slices of dough, rolling the log a quarter turn after each slice to keep the cookies round and even. Bake them on parchment lined sheets.
10. Cool and enjoy: Let the cookies cool thoroughly on the baking sheets. These are potato chip delicious in that you can’t eat just one!

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