Pecan Sandies

Oh what a week it’s been!  I must apologize for the lull in posts – I wish I had a good reason (well I kind of do)  After 4 days at home and a shoddy internet connection, I’m back in the office with fully functioning internet (don’t worry HR, I had these posts ready to roll in word docs – psssssh) and  it’s  lights, camera, BLOG ACTION.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard the name Sandy in the last week or so.  Monday afternoon, Hurricane Sandy swept in and caused some serious damage along the eastern seaboard, and while Dave and I and the majority of Boston missed the brunt of the storm, never losing power (at home anyway) and passing the time  with ‘hurricane beers’ at our favorite bar down the street, it wasn’t nearly the flooding, damage and devastation that was seen in other areas along the East Coast, so to those of you out there who are just starting the rebuilding process, hang in there!

I had some serious time to toil over recipe options, and don’t cry, but I gave pumpkin and fall themed fun a break and went with the first thing that came to mind – Pecan Sandies – so cliche, I know.  She may have been a bitch of a storm, but her namesake cookie is actually pretty tasty 🙂

Pecan Sandies
*Adapted from Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS
(Halved from the original recipe – yields about 3 dozen cookies)

   1/2 cup butter, softened

    1/2 cup vegetable oil

    1/2 cup white sugar

    1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

    1 egg

    1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

    2 cups all-purpose flour

    1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 cup chopped pecans plus extra for the tops of the cookies

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2) In a large bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, white sugar and confectioners’ sugar until smooth.  Beat in the egg, then stir in the vanilla.

3) Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice and stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the pecans.

4) Take 1 tbsp of the dough and roll  into balls. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.  If you’d like, place a whole pecan in the center of each dough ball.

5)  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are golden. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

I gotta say, these were a tad off.  Perhaps it’s cuz’ I halved the recipe.  Or that the original called for cream of tartar, which I didn’t have, and after doing some research online, it seemed as though if I left it out, it wouldn’t make a huge difference.  I added the pumpkin pie spice hoping to add some fall flare, but I think I would have needed maybe a tablespoon or 2 of it vs. just 1.  I think the bottom line is that I’m just more of a straight up chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven kind of gal.  But if you’re into pecans, give these a try!

I hope everyone is safe and taking things one day at a time – and to Hurricane Sandy – thanks for the unexpected vaca 🙂