Sand Tarts

In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, there was once a bakery called Cake Palace.  Of all its bakeries, Cake Palace was my family’s favorite.  Graduation cakes, and other special occasion cakes, came from there.  They carried a variety of wonderful confections: pecan queens, ding dongs, homemade eclairs, and so much more.  But the most coveted treat were their sand tarts, a nearly pure white cookie with a dollop of chocolate on the top.  They were beyond delicious, and any time my mother and I found an excuse to be near their bakery we would stop in, purchase a bag of sand tarts, and split the bounty with the other.

Sadly, Cake Palace closed its doors in the last few years, but their beloved cookie lives on at my house with a modified version of Ruhlman’s basic cookie ratio (Ratio, 2009).  While not exactly perfect to the original, it makes a great substitute for the real thing. (And my mom says she prefers this version.)

Sand tarts are a really easy cookie to make.  They take no more than 20-30 minutes to mix up, they require no refrigeration time, and they bake in 15-20 minutes in a preheated oven.  From start to finish you could have cookies in the time it takes you to plate your dinner and eat it.  Or do a load of laundry. Or wash a sink full of dishes.  Afterwards, you can reward yourself with these delightful little darlings.

We will start with the following ingredients:

• 6 ounces of unbleached all purpose flour (about 1 to 1 1/4 cups)
• 4 ounces unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
• 1.3 – 1.5 ounces of confectioner’s sugar (1/3 cup)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup chopped and toasted pecans

While you prepare the batter, lay your pecans on a small baking sheet or cake pan and place in a 200 – 225 degree oven to toast.  They won’t take more than 8-10 minutes to toast so don’t forget about them.  As well, this starts the preheating process for your oven.  The cookie dough whips up pretty easily too.

• Place your mixing bowl on your scale and add the butter to the bowl.
• Tare the weight on your scale to bring it back down to zero.
• Add the confectioner’s sugar until your scale measures 1.3 – 1.5 ounces.
• With your stand (or hand) mixer on its lowest setting, cream the butter and sugar together until the butter turns a lighter color and becomes a bit fluffy.
• Add the 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract and allow the mixer to incorporate it into the butter and sugar.
• By the way, don’t forget to check your pecans!  Have you checked to see if they are toasted?  No, go ahead then.  If toasted, take them out of the oven, and increase the oven’s temperature to 350 degrees.
• Next, spoon the flour into the mixer one heaping tablespoon full at a time.  The soft concoction you currently have will begin to mix with the flour and turn into something crumblier.
• Once all flour is mixed well with the butter and sugar (no clumps left), add your toasted, chopped pecans.  Allow the mixer blade to mix around the bowl another time or two to incorporate the pecans.
• Your dough is going to feel sort of sandy if you roll it between your fingers, due to the  use of the confectioner’s sugar.
• The dough will be a bit crumbly and seem like it won’t come together.  Never fear.  This gets solved in the next step.

With a cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop equal portions of dough and roll the portion around well in your palms to create a round ball.  As you roll the dough, you’ll find it goes from crumbly  to holding together in a nice smooth ball.  I find this dough needs something just short of kneading before baking.  If the portion you’re shaping doesn’t seem to want to hold together, roll it, then squeeze it back flat in your palm, and roll it again.  You’ll find the dough turns into the right consistency with that little bit of light kneading.

Measure out all the dough and shape into round balls.  Place them on a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray.  Cookies should be baked in your pre-heated oven (350 degrees) for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned.

Once your cookies are finished baking, you have a choice to make.  These cookies are perfectly fine on their own and make a great coffee cookie if left as is.  Not too sweet with that wonderful taste of toasted pecans inside.  However for that extra bit of oomph, sprinkle them with confectioner’s sugar immediately after removing them from the oven.  Sprinkle the tops, then turn them over and sprinkle the bottoms too.  The cookies are still warm and baking a bit on that hot pan.  When the sugar hits them, it will melt a bit and create a nice little sugary covering.  YUM!

Put a few on a plate, grab a glass of milk or beverage of your choice, and sigh with happiness.  These are a great memory.  I hope you enjoy them too.

Before I sign off, I have a few a note on how to modify this recipe a bit if you like.

Sand Tarts with Chocolate Dollop

• If you’d like a chocolate dollop on the top of your cookies like the original sand tart of my dreams…
• Shape the cookie portions into round balls as shown above.  Then using the back end of a wooden juicer (the round end) or your thumb, press into the cookie to make a little indentation.
• Bake the cookies as described.
• While cookies are baking, melt half a bag of semi-sweet chocolate in a double boiler.  Add corn syrup to the mix, about 1-2 tablespoons.  It will stiffen the chocolate up a bit and, as it cools, harden it too.
• Once the cookies are baked, use a spoon to dollop chocolate into the indentations of your cookies.  Allow the cookies and chocolate to cool completely.

Happy Baking, everyone!  ~Jenn of Not Exactly Bento

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Sand Tarts Recipe
adapted slightly from Ruhlman’s basic cookie ratio (Ratio, 2009)

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces of unbleached all purpose flour (about 1 to 1 1/4 cups)
• 4 ounces unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
• 1.3 – 1.5 ounces of confectioner’s sugar (1/3 cup)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans

The Process:

• Toast chopped pecans in a 200-225 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
• After pecans are toasted, increase oven temperature to 350 degrees.
• Place your mixing bowl on your scale and add the butter to the bowl.
• Tare the weight on your scale to bring it back down to zero.
• Add the confectioner’s sugar until your scale measures 1.3 – 1.5 ounces.
• With your stand (or hand) mixer on its lowest setting, cream the butter and sugar together until the butter turns a lighter color and becomes a bit fluffy.
• Add the 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract and allow the mixer to incorporate it into the butter and sugar.
• Measure your flour into a separate bowl.  Then add to the mixer, one heaping tablespoon full at a time.
• Once all flour is mixed well with the butter and sugar (no clumps left), add your toasted, chopped pecans.
• Allow the mixer blade to mix around the bowl another time or two to incorporate the pecans.
• With a cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop equal portions of dough and roll the portion around well in your palms to create a round ball.
• The dough will be a bit crumbly and seem like it won’t come together. As you roll the dough around, you’ll find it goes from crumbly to holding together in a nice smooth ball. If the portion you’re shaping doesn’t seem to want to hold together, roll it, then squeeze it back flat in your palm, and roll it again. You’ll find the dough turns into the right consistency with that little bit of light kneading.
• Place all rounded dough portions on a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray.
• Cookies should be baked in your pre-heated oven (350 degrees) for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned.
• Once your cookies are finished baking, remove from oven and dust tops with confectioner’s sugar. If you like turn each cookie over and dust the bottom as well.
• Enjoy!