Top 100 Cake Blog

Top 100 Cake Blog

Monday, December 13, 2010

Pecan Crispies -- The Atlantis of Cookies?


Want a simple-to-make, delicious-to-eat old-fashioned and, yet unusual, cookie?  Then try these pecan crispies.  For some reason, these gems didn't make the cookie hit parade. 

Is it because they lack the novelty of the chocolate chip, the homeyness of the oatmeal or the silly name of the snickerdoodle? We may never know, but that's no reason to let these almost elegant sweets -- with their wonderfully chewy (and first) and (later) crispy texture -- languish on a yellowed recipe card.



These were a snap to make (see instructions below) and quite well received both at work and at Michaels, the Park Slope hair salon where I spend way too much time and money, but always leave very happy and up-to-date on People magazine.  


John, left, the savior of my tresses, with colleague Armani, posing with pecan crispies.

I do hope some of my readers will take a stab at these "lost" cookies.  They deserve to be rediscovered and eaten in the 21st century.


Pecan Crispies (reinterpreted)
1 c. unsalted butter
2 1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. chopped  pecans

Mix softened butter with brown sugar and combine til light and fluffy.  Add eggs and mix well.  Meantime, combine flour, salt and baking soda, blend well, and add to butter mixture.  Combine.  Fold in chopped pecans. 
Drop from spoon on cookie sheet lined with parchment.  Bake at 350 about 10 minutes until very lightly browned.
The pecans should be chopped rather fine.

At first the dough will seem too soft, but it's perfect.  Really.

19 comments:

  1. Yum. Looks good. And I just happened to have a bag of pecans sitting on my kitchen counter!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pamela: I can think of no better use for those pecans!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Susan! I love your blog and want to try those pecan crispies (eating them, that is)! I gave you a shout out on my blog: http://ogblayotspay.blogspot.com/2010/12/ginger-krinkles.html with an "antique" family recipe for ginger krinkles that my family is fighting over! Take care, Dee

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Dee: Thanks so much, and thanks for leading me to your excellent blog!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I was just wandering, to see if I could find a similar recipe to my grandmother's pecan crispy cookies. Well, violá! this is it.
    My grandmother was a Virginia Adams, raised in Richmond, until she married my grandfather, Douglas Landers, and moved out to the Piney Woods in east Texas, Mineola, where she lived the remainder of her days. She was the best cook in that part of the country, and we all use her recipes today. My sister loves them chewy, not crispy...

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Anonymous - So glad you found this recipe (and my blog). That recipe may have come from Texas - I've been buying recipe boxes on eBay. You're very lucky to have your grandmother's treasured recipes. Happy baking, and thanks for writing.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is our family's #1 traditional Christmas cookie. Slightly undercook for a great chewy texture. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for writing, Emily M. So funny that I thought no one still made these cookies, so it's especially nice to see that they're still in circulation.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am from Austin, Texas, I use to bake these cookies when I was a teenager some 35 years ago.
    I lost my recipe so I decided to google Pecan Crispies and low and behold, I am going to bake them today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lucy -- Your comment made my day (even though it took me several days to respond)! You can try this recipe here, but this was one of the recipes in the Ladies Home Journal story about my blog and they had the test kitchen refine the recipe. So, if you go to LHJ.com and search "dessert collector" you'll be able to find the tested recipe. Do report back, and thanks so much for writing!

      Delete
  10. Made these yesterday from the recipe pubished in the Ladies Home Journal article, which my mom just gave me a week or so ago. I baked them 14 and 15 minutes, like the LHJ said to do. They are very crisp, yet still a bit moist inside. And, the recipe makes loads of them (more than 40) and are delicious. Next time, I may try to bake them for a shorter period of time -- the 10 to 12 minutes suggested by the handwritten recipe, although the bake-for-about-15-minutes variety were terrific.

    BarbarainAustin
    August 2012

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad they were good, Barbara. Baking times are tough -- every oven is so different. I tend to underbake everything - a reaction to my grandmother who used to overbake everything!

      Delete
    2. Took 36 of the 40 something cookies this recipe made to my 80-something mom's house last week and put them in the freezer for her to keep for one of those must-have-a-sweet moments. I tried one of the cookies frozen, and they taste just as good frozen as not! Anyway, went by her home one week later and ALL of the cookies are gone. I must say, these are truly addictive and just wonderful. The cookie's ability to be frozen also means that you can make a batch before a holiday and unfreeze for sharing when your ready to share. Thanks, again, for the wonderful recipes you share.

      Barbara in Austin

      Delete
  11. I just made these yesterday for my hubby who was heading back to school today. Wow! These are great! They seem a bit mapley and carmely (are those words?)....must be all that brown sugar! I'll be putting these in the rotation! Thanks so much!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Anonymous. Yes, you're right - the brown sugar adds a wonderful flavor note.

      Delete
  12. my mother baked these for 50 years! This recipe dates back before the great depression. We had them every year at Christmas and I have been baking them since my mother died. They are much better using the all "oleo" recipe. That is the way my mom made them over the years. If you cook them alittle longer they are crisp cookie! If you cook them less they are a soft cookie! I love them!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm sold! They look like they'll be a terrific cookie for my non chocolate loving friend. I knew I'd find a recipe on your blog Susan! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I
    make these cookies at Christmas and the kids go crazy over them especially when I add sixlets to the batter before baking them

    ReplyDelete
  15. Delicious! I’ve been searching for this recipe and they were a hit! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete