My mom used to make a ton of cookies every Christmas. One of my favorites is her Pecan Sandies recipe. Pecans are expensive, though, so they’re definitely a luxury cookie.

I haven’t had them in years.

But then, my mom and I found tremendous bags of pecans on clearance for $2. My mom bought one instantly, then twisted my arm by saying I could freeze a bag and would be happy to have it when I needed it.

So when I was deciding on a dessert for Christmas, that bag of pecans popped into my head. And so did these Pecan Sandies.

Pecan Sandies Recipes

To be honest, I’m not sure whose recipe this is. It’s my mom’s homemade recipe book, on a photocopied page that maybe (or maybe didn’t) come from a magazine.

So, we can just say this is her recipe because if anyone asked me for my mom’s Pecan Sandies recipe, this is what I would give them. The ingredients are straight from that recipe, the words are my own.

Pecan Sandies Ingredients:

• 2 sticks butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla
• 2 teaspoons water
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• Powdered sugar

How To Make Pecan Sandies:

Pre-heat the oven to 325 F.

In your stand mixer, cream together the butter (at room temperature) and sugar.

Add vanilla and water. Gradually add the flour (add one-third, mix, add one-third, mix, add the rest, mix).

Stir in the chopped pecans.

Mix everything together until you can form a dough ball.

Roll them into small dough balls and put them on an ungreased cookie sheet. You should be able to get 36 dough balls out of the recipe.

Bake about 20 minutes.

Slightly cool on a wire rack, then roll in powdered sugar. Let them cool completely on the wire rack.

Now, small aside. My mom said that after you form the dough balls, you can put them on a cookie sheet and put it in the freezer. Once they are frozen (after about 30 minutes), you can put them in a freezer bag and they won’t stick together.

Then, when you need them, you can take out what you need, bake them, and roll them in powdered sugar.

That’s an amazing tip. It means you can make the dough when you have a free evening, then save them until you actually make them. That’s a lot better than trying to make the dough and bake them all at the same time. This time of year, who has time for that?

Have you made this Pecan Sandies recipe? Let us know what you thought in the comments.