I already have a recipe for Pecan Sandies on the blog, which are good, but these are better, great even. My husband made them for me to welcome me home from Guadeloupe, and they are lighter and airer than mine– crisp, light morsels that taste divine! Make these instead! I just want them on repeat forever.

Best Pecan Sandies Recipe

1 ¼  cups pecans, divided
1 ¾  cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 ½ baking powder
1 tsp salt

Add the pecans (1 cup) to a food processor with ¼ cup of the flour and process until the nuts are finely ground.

In a large bowl, or a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until well blended and smooth. Add the vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the remaining 1 ½ cups of flour, and the pecan flour mixture, to the bowl and mix well. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to combine all ingredients.

Scrape the very soft dough onto a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap and shape into a log about two inches in diameter. It will be about 12 inches long. Wrap tightly in the parchment paper or plastic wrap.

Place log in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 hours, or overnight. It will be fine in the fridge for up to 5 days.

To bake cookies: Preheat oven to 350º F

Place rack in center of the oven.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

Grind the remaining ¼ cup of pecans in a hand grinder or in the food processor

Spread out the chopped pecans on a baking sheet, unroll the cookie dough and roll it around in the pecans to cover the outside of the log. (I found that after the dough was in the fridge for so long, the pecan bits didn’t stick to it very well. You can either take the dough log out of the refrigerator after an hour or so, while it’s still soft, carefully unwrap the log and try to get the pecans on it at that point. Or after the full chill time, you could let it soften just a little so the pecans will stick. See what works best for you.)

Cut ¼ inch slices and arrange on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake 11 to 12 minutes. Rotate the baking tray after 5 minutes. Bake until gently golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking tray. Or place gently on a cooling rack. But be careful if you do this, because they are very delicate at this point.

You can keep them in an airtight container for about three days, if they last that long.

Enjoy!