Pecan Sandies

If I’ve written a lot about cooking for guests lately, it’s because that’s what I’ve spent a lot of my summer doing!  We’ve been lucky enough to have friends and family visiting on a near-weekly basis, and I always try to have something yummy and homemade ready when they arrive.  We don’t often do full blown dinners – part of the fun of visiting Charleston is, after all, sampling its amazing restaurant scene – but we like to have something on hand.  When Bryce’s brother Daniel and his wife, Aubrey, came to visit, I made a batch of Frank Stitt’s Pecan Sandies.

I’d looked forward to trying this recipe from the day I noticed it in Stitt’s book.  Though his other desserts appear equally or more tempting than the sandies, I loved the idea of making my own slice-and-bake cookies.  Truth be told, rolling, cutting, and baking them yourself is much more fun that just buying a tube of Pillsbury in the supermarket.

The sandies start with oven-toasted pecans, coarsely chopped.

Folded into an intensely buttery batter, the pecans lend it a coarse texture.  So I was surprised, as I scraped the batter from the mixing bowl, by how soft and easy to handle it was.  It felt almost like fluffy nougat, or an unusually dense meringue, as I rolled it into a log.

Once it had chilled for a half hour, the batter was ready for slicing and baking.  I divided slices between two parchment-lined baking sheets, and crossed my fingers while they browned in the oven.

Soon, my not-quite-round sandies were finished and ready to eat!  They were vaguely crisp but also delicate, ready to dissolve as soon as they entered my mouth.  Buttery and studded with plenty of pecan pieces, they tasted much better than their Keebler cousins, too!

I think Pecan Sandies are an ideal cookie to make in advance when you’re preparing to welcome good friends.  Because they’re not too sweet, they work just as well as an afternoon snack as they do a low-key dessert.  They also keep well for a few days, so you won’t be scrambling around the kitchen while your friends are out sight-seeing.  Just be sure not to make them too far in advance – if you do, your supply might run out before your guests even arrive!