Pecan Sandies
Crumbly, buttery shortbread cookies filled with toasted pecans, half-dipped in semisweet chocolate and finished with chopped pecans. Batch yield: 48 small, half-chocolate-dipped pecan cookies. One serving: 1 finished cookie, approximately 16 g after baking, cooling and decorating. Allow approximately 304 minutes total elapsed time, or 5 hours 4 minutes. Prep time is all non-oven elapsed time: 45 minutes butter softening, 65 minutes active preparation and decorating, 60 minutes dough chilling, 30 minutes final-batch cooling and 45 minutes chocolate setting. Cooling_minutes includes the final cooling and chocolate-setting periods. Cook time is 8 minutes to toast the pecans plus three sequential 17-minute cookie batches, totaling 59 oven minutes. Preheating overlaps softening or chilling; the pecans cool during mixing, earlier cookies cool during later baking, and waiting trays stay refrigerated during oven batches. These overlapping periods are not counted again. Appliances: Oven; Electric hand mixer; Refrigerator; Microwave. Equipment: Three 33 × 45 cm baking trays; Baking paper; Digital kitchen scales; Measuring spoons; Mixing bowl; Spatula; Sharp knife; Chopping board; Ruler; Cling film; Cooling racks; Small microwave-safe bowl; Teaspoon. Allergens: Contains wheat, butter and pecans. Semisweet chocolate may contain soy lecithin and milk; check its label for ingredients and additional allergen warnings. Storage: Store fully set cookies in an airtight container, with baking paper between layers, in a cool room at 18–20°C for up to 5 days. In warmer conditions, refrigerate for up to 10 days and let individual cookies stand briefly before eating. Freeze finished cookies for up to 2 months; thaw in their closed container at room temperature for 1–2 hours to limit condensation. Unbaked wrapped dough logs can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months; thaw frozen logs overnight in the refrigerator before slicing and baking.
245 min
Prep
59 min
Cook
48
Serves
92
Calories
Macros · per serving
1g protein
8g carbs
7g fat
Ingredients
For 48 servings
- 227 g Unsalted butter
- 79 g Granulated sugar, divided
- 3 g Fine salt
- 5 ml Pure vanilla extract
- 250 g Plain all-purpose flour
- 130 g Pecans, divided between dough and topping
- 113 g Semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- 1
Cut the butter into small cubes and leave at room temperature for about 45 minutes, until easily indented but not oily or melted. During the final 15 minutes, preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F conventional or 150°C/300°F fan. Have three 33 × 45 cm baking trays ready.
- 2
Spread the pecans on one tray and toast for 8 minutes, stirring halfway through, until fragrant and slightly darker. Leave to cool for 10 minutes while beginning the butter mixture. Reserve about 20 g for the topping and finely chop them; chop the remaining pecans into small, roughly 3–5 mm pieces for the dough.
- 3
Using an electric hand mixer, beat the softened butter, 67 g of the sugar and all the salt for 2–3 minutes, until smooth and slightly lighter, rather than very fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour and mix on low just until clumps form. Fold in the cooled dough pecans with a spatula. Press the mixture together gently; it should hold when squeezed without becoming sticky. Do not taste raw dough because uncooked flour is not ready to eat.
- 4
Divide the dough equally into two portions, approximately 331 g each. On cling film, shape each into a straight, even log about 4 cm in diameter and 22 cm long. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for 60 minutes, until firm enough to slice cleanly. Allow about 25 minutes for mixing, chopping and shaping after the nuts leave the oven.
- 5
If the oven was switched off, preheat it again during the final 15 minutes of chilling, using the same temperature. Once the trays are cool, line all three with baking paper. Cut each log into 24 slices, approximately 9 mm thick, giving 48 cookies of about 14 g raw dough each. Repair any cracked edges by gently pressing them together. Arrange 16 cookies on each tray, leaving at least 3 cm between them. Sprinkle the remaining 12 g sugar evenly over the tops and press it on lightly. Allow about 15 minutes for slicing and arranging; refrigerate trays awaiting baking.
- 6
Bake one tray at a time on the middle shelf for about 17 minutes per tray, rotating halfway through. Complete all three batches, allowing 51 minutes of cookie-baking time in total. The cookies should have matte, set tops and pale golden edges and undersides; they will still be delicate when hot.
- 7
Leave each batch on its tray for 5 minutes, then transfer carefully to cooling racks. Allow the final batch 30 minutes total cooling time from leaving the oven, including its 5 minutes on the tray. All cookies must be completely cool before dipping; earlier batches can cool while the later trays bake.
- 8
Put the chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, then continue in 15-second bursts, stirring thoroughly each time, until just melted and smooth. This usually takes 60–90 seconds in total. Do not add water or overheat the chocolate.
- 9
Dip half of each cookie into the chocolate, tilting the bowl and using a teaspoon to help coat the half-disc as the chocolate level falls. Let excess drip back into the bowl, then place on the baking paper. Distribute the chocolate across all 48 cookies, about 2.4 g each. Immediately scatter the reserved chopped pecans over the chocolate before it sets. Allow about 20 minutes for melting, dipping and topping the batch.
- 10
Leave the dipped cookies in a cool room, ideally 18–20°C/64–68°F, for about 45 minutes, until the chocolate is firm and no longer transfers to a light touch. Pack only once completely set.
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