Home Made Pecan Sandies

Many of us try to keep something in the freezer that we can take out and serve with coffee when there is unexpected company. It takes the pressure off of having to create something immediately. In the fall I keep a frozen, unbaked apple pie that can be popped into the oven at a moment's notice and served later in the day with no fuss and no kitchen clean up. It is easy to make 2 pies, put one away and bake the other. The same holds true with some cookie dough. I have bought the fundraiser cookie doughs in the buckets, but they always seem too sweet. The packaged cookies that are slice and bake or pull-apart and bake...easy, but again too sweet for me. And my preference is to know what is going into my cookies. I am always on the look-out for something new I can make that will fit this description. These doughs are really handy when the kids are going to be around as it takes little time to slice and bake. And nothing is better than the aroma of freshly baked cookies when you walk in the door! Well, I found a new recipe that I think is going to be like Pecan Sandies. I love, love those!! I hardly ever buy them though. The recipe comes from The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco. They sound so good and the best part...the dough can be frozen for up to a month. I am thinking that if you have some baking going on in your kitchen already, this is something that will go together quickly and you can put away for another time. I might even add these to the Christmas tray. You roll these in Demarara sugar so when you slice and bake there is a nice, crispy sweet edge. For the holidays, they would be cute rolled in red or green sanding sugar.

Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Makes about 2-1/2 dozen.

3/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

1-1/4 sticks (10 Tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 vanilla bean, cut lengthwise, seeds scraped

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp. demerara or turbinado sugar

1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the chopped pecans on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 6 minutes, until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool. (If you are making the dough to put away, do this step in your toaster oven to save energy.)

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter with the confectioners' sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, vanilla extract and salt at medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the flour in 3 batches, beating at low speed until just incorporated. Discard the vanilla bean. Stir in the pecans.

Transfer the dough to a work surface and roll into a 1-1/2-inch thick log. Wrap the log in plastic or parchment paper and refrigerated for about 1 hour, until chilled.

Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, Spread the demerara sugar on a platter. Brush the log with the egg yolk and roll in the sugar. Slice the log into 1/2-inch thick rounds. Transfer the rounds to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 1-inch apart. (Skip this step if you are freezing and when you are ready to bake then do the egg wash and sugar step prior to baking.)

Bake the shortbread cookies for about 20 minutes, until the edges are golden; rotate the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let stand until cooled completely, about 30 minutes, before serving.