Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour (250 grams)
¾ cup coarsely chopped pecans (80 grams)
¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (170 grams)
¾ cup plus 2 tsp. powdered sugar (90 grams)

I am always looking for eggless cookie recipes and when I read the description in the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook for these Pecan Sandies, I could not wait to make them with my son. This is the first time I have actually used my scale to measure the ingredients beforehand and I have to admit it was much easier to work clean. Plus, it takes the guess work out of measuring flour and salt. Beginners will have more success baking if they measure the ingredients with a scale.

If you do not have the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook, you really should treat yourself. One of my dear friends who is one of the most generous person I have every known gave me a copy when she was buying one for herself knowing I would love it and I do. I understand why this book has one so many awards including the James Beard Foundation Book Award. There are some excellent tips on how to become a better baker and the recipes are absolutely divine. I will figure out how to make some of them without eggs so my son can enjoy them; he has the biggest sweet tooth in the family.

Southern Living was lucky enough to have Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel come to their test kitchen and bake a batch of these cookies. They mentioned the importance of measuring the ingredients with a scale, using heavy baking sheets to transfer the heat evenly, and laying the cookies on a diagonal so the air will flow around them and bake evenly. Do not look at how I placed mine below; I will not lay the cookies in a straight lime next time!

Directions

1) Position your racks to the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Set oven to 325 for convection and 350 degrees standard.

2) Measure 170 grams of pasture butter and add it to your mixing bowl with a paddle. Beat on medium-low until smooth for about 2 minutes. Note: Hold down on top of the Cuisinart mixer to get all the butter to cream. I will double the recipe next time so the mixer will blend better with the larger quantity of ingredients and to freeze half of the dough.

2) Add the 90 grams of powdered sugar and mix until fluffy for about two minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure thoroughly mixed.

3) Measure the 250 grams of all purpose unbleached flour and 80 grams of coarsely chopped pecans. Blend together. Add the flour and pecans to the butter and sugar until thoroughly mixed for about 30 seconds. As you can see my son was very excited to make these.

4) Use a small scooper to create consistent balls or measure 30 grams per portion. You will need to roll them in your hands to get the balls smooth. Place on a piece of parchment paper and lightly press on the balls to flatten into disks. Leave about 1 1/2 inches between the disks for air flow. Note: I used a large scooper to divide the dough so I only baked 14 cookies. There would have been 15 if my son had not eaten so much pecan sandie dough.

5) Bake at 325 degrees on convection for 15-18 minutes and 350 standard for 22-25 minutes. Reverse the position of the pans halfway through on a standard oven to ensure they brown evenly. Remove when the edges start to brown. Do not overcook. Transfer to a wire rack or cool on the parchment. Dust with some sifted powder sugar after they have cooled. Enjoy!