September 21st is National Pecan Cookie Day and June 23rd is National Pecan Sandy day, probably the most popular pecan cookie, modeled after the French sablé.

A shortbread-like butter cookie with a sandy texture, sablé means “sand” in French and refers to both the color and the texture of the cookies.

The cookies originated in the Normandy region of France and are a very popular tea cookie. Common variations include chocolate and lemon sablés.

In some sandy recipes, the dough is lighter than traditional dense, buttery shortbread. A pecan sandy is simply the shortbread with chopped pecans added to the dough, or a pecan half embellishment on the top of the cookie.

This recipe is courtesy Taste Of Home. Prep time is 10 minutes, total time is 55 minutes.

Ingredients For 18 Cookies

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Grease a baking sheet.

2. CREAM in a bowl the butter and sugar; stir in the vanilla. Add the flour and mix on low until well blended. Stir in the pecans; mix well. Chill for 30 minutes.

3. ROLL into 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes or until bottom edges are golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
 
 
CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF COOKIES IN OUR COOKIE GLOSSARY.