Pecan Sand Tarts are 6-ingredient, not too sweet, buttery, 2-bite shortbread cookies that are blissfully addicting.
Addicting as in, I-can't-stop-eating-these-but-I-don't-care-because-every-single-bite-is-worth-it.
This one pecan sand tart recipe can be made three delicious ways: plain, with mini chocolate chips, or topped with a chocolate kiss.
Three Delicious Ways to Make Pecan Sand Tarts {Pecan Shortbread Cookies}
Oh, lawdy. I have eaten way to many of these little cookies just while sitting here writing this post. They are just so... eatable.
These buttery little shortbread cookies are small - 2 or 3 bites - so, you know, practically no calories at all. Or so I tell myself as I reach for just. one. more.
Part of their addictiveness is that they are not too sweet. Also, the melt-in-your-mouth buttery part doesn't hurt.
The pecans are ground into very small pieces, like sand, so that the nuts contribute flavor without messing up that lovely fine texture of really great shortbread.
This is My Grandma's Sand Tart Recipe
My Grandma was the cookie making queen of our family and an amazing cook. She was one of those people who showed you she loved you by caring for you.
From the day I was born, she cooked for me, sewed stuff for me, watched over me, attended every single birthday party, school event, and performance I was apart of, sent cards and gifts for every occasion, and hosted countless parties, dinners and other gatherings. For her, love was an action, and she loved us well.
One year for Christmas, her and my Grandpa painstakingly typed and printed out a huge binder full of her most prized recipes. Every recipe has a little blurb reminicing about when she made it and who loved it.
That recipe book is seriously one of the few things I'd grab if we had to run from the house with only what we could carry. It's priceless.
This Sand Tart Recipes is included in that recipe book. In her introduction to the recipe she writes that for many years she made Spritz Cookies at Christmas. (I remember.)
Then, she made these sand tarts and decided that they were just as good but so much easier, so they became her new Christmas shortbread cookie staple.
Three Ways to Make Sand Tarts
Along with the original recipe, my grandma suggests topping the sand tars with a chocolate kiss or adding mini chocolate chips for variety.
In this recipe, I include instructions for all three versions, because I seriously can't decide which I like the best.
Plain Sand Tarts are such a satisfying two-bite treat. But, adding chocolate is also delicious because, well... chocolate + butter + pecans = Yum.
I feel strongly that the best case scenario is to make a few Sand Tarts of each variety - keep some plain, stir in some mini-chocolate chips to others, and top a few with a chocolate kiss.
Life requires a lot of sacrifices. Which kind of Sand Tart you make (and eat) should not be one of them.
Making sand tarts is one of those times when you should have it all.
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #ofbatteranddough on Instagram.
Happy baking!
Pecan Sand Tarts
Ingredients
- 1 cup (4oz) pecans, chopped
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (16 tbsp/ 8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 tablespoon (29g) + 1 cup (115g) powdered (confectioners) sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Optional:
- Chocolate kisses (I prefer using dark chocolate, but milk is delicious as well)
- 1 cup (semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (Use 1 cup of chocolate chips for the entire batch. If you're only adding chocolate chips to a portion of the dough, scale down accordingly.)
Instructions
- Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C).
- Add the pecans and 1 cup (120g) of the flour to a food processor and pulse 4 or 5 times to grind the pecans into a coarse powder, the consistency of sand. Dump this mixture into a bowl and add the remaining 1 cup (120g) of flour and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Cream the butter and 4 tablespoons (29g) of powdered sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy - about 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.
- Add the flour and pecan mixture to the butter and sugar and beat on low just until all the ingredients are combined. If you are adding mini chocolate chips, stir them into the dough now.
- Add the remaining 1 cup (115g) of powdered sugar to a bowl. Form the dough into 1 to 2-inch balls, rolling each piece between your palms, then rolling the ball of dough in the powdered sugar to coat.
- Lay the balls of sugar-coated dough on the parchment lined baking sheets, spacing them about 2-inches apart.
- For plain sand tarts and sand tarts with mini-chocolate chips, press a fork into the balls of dough, pressing down across the cookie in one direction, then again perpendicular to create a grid pattern.
- For sand tarts topped with a chocolate kiss, press a chocolate kiss into the top of each ball of dough, pressing the dough down a bit to cradle the chocolate kiss in the cookie dough.
- Bake cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and set the cookie sheet on a wire rack. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store Sand Tarts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 42 Serving Size: 1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 88Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 28mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 0gSugar: 3gProtein: 1g
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Bonnie Repp says
I made he recipe but forgot and used salted butter so I did not add the salt and they were good. I sifted the power sugar onto them insta of rolling the in it. Yum
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Bonnie! I'm so happy to hear that these cookies came out well for you. Sifting the powdered sugar over the cookies is a great idea! Thanks for sharing! xo