This one is in honor of my Mom.

My mom was a always a great baker and cook. She doesn’t do much of either these days, but in my childhood household, she made many things from scratch. One thing she loved but only ever bought, was Keebler Pecan Sandies cookies. (The official name is Sandies Pecan Shortbread, but we always called them Pecan Sandies.) It also became one of my favorite cookies.

Surprisingly, my mother never made them from scratch and I never attempted to find a recipe to make them for myself. Until last Fall. Prior to a visit home, I made the recipe below and brought some with me for my mother. She enjoyed them. Keebler’s slogan for this product, “Only Keebler® could pack this much magic into a cookie” is memorable, but based on my mother’s appreciation of the cookie recipe below, Keebler has some serious competition!

Butter Pecan Cookies

Butter Pecan Cookies (adapted from marthastewart.com) Total Time Required: 30 minutes, Prep Time: 15 minutes

Makes: 30 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups pecans
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar, plus more for coating
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. On a baking sheet, toast the pecans until they are fragrant, about 6 minutes. Let them cool completely then finely chop them.

Toast the pecans.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and 2/3 cup sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

Beat together the sugar with the butter.

Beat in the vanilla, salt, and flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl, just until the dough comes together. Fold in the pecans.

Beat in the vanilla, salt, and flour. Fold in the pecans.

Roll the dough into balls. Roll each ball in sugar. Place the balls 3 inches apart, on a baking sheet.

Roll the dough into balls and roll each ball in sugar.

Gently flatten them with the bottom of a glass, reshaping the sides if necessary. Sprinkle the flattened balls with additional sugar.

Flatten the cookies.

Bake the cookies until they are golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 3 minutes then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack.

Store the cookies in an airtight container.

Delicious!

Happy Birthday, Mom!  ~Linda

Butter Pecan Cookies (adapted from marthastewart.com) Total Time Required: 30 minutes, Prep Time: 15 minutes, Makes: 30 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups pecans
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar, plus more for coating
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. On a baking sheet, toast the pecans until they are fragrant, about 6 minutes. Let them cool completely then finely chop them.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and 2/3 cup sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in the vanilla, salt, and flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl, just until the dough comes together. Fold in the pecans.

Roll the dough into balls. Roll each ball in sugar. Place the balls 3 inches apart, on a baking sheet. Gently flatten them with the bottom of a glass, reshaping the sides if necessary. Sprinkle the flattened balls with additional sugar.

Bake the cookies until they are golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 3 minutes then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container.