By Thanksgiving 2020. The smallest gathering in five years: twelve people. Mama, Pierre, Tommy's family, Angelle's family. No Tee-Claude. No distant cousins. COVID trimmed the guest list the way nothing else ever has, and the cottage felt emptier with twelve than it ever did with thirty-two, because empty isn't about numbers. Empty is about the spaces where people should be.
But the gumbo was on. Mama's gumbo, started at 4 AM. My turkey. My bread pudding. The food was the same because the food is always the same, because the food is the constant, the thing that doesn't care about viruses or pandemics or the year we're having. The roux doesn't know about COVID. The roux just turns. And the turning is enough. It has to be enough.
After dinner, porch. Smaller crowd. Mama, Pierre, me. Colette and Rémy. Mama sang "Jolie Blonde" and her voice was weaker — the COVID had taken something from her lungs, something you could hear in the high notes she used to hit and now can't. She sang anyway. She sang because the song is not about the voice. The song is about the singing.
The bread pudding was already on the table when I started thinking about what we’d send home with people — something small, something they could carry out the door into whatever that strange, quiet night was. Pecan Sandies were what my hands knew how to make without thinking, which is exactly what I needed: a recipe that doesn’t ask anything of you, just butter and pecans and a little patience, the kind of sweetness that doesn’t try too hard. In a year that took so much from us — from Mama’s lungs, from the guest list, from the feeling of a full house — these cookies were the thing I could still get exactly right.
Pecan Sandies
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 36 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon water
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Heat oven to 325°F (165°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat softened butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in vanilla extract and water.
- Add flour and pecans. Gradually stir in flour until a soft dough forms, then fold in the chopped pecans until evenly distributed throughout.
- Shape the cookies. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place about 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand if you prefer a disc shape.
- Bake. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the bottoms are just lightly golden and the tops are set. Do not overbake — the cookies should remain pale and tender.
- Roll in powdered sugar. While cookies are still warm, gently roll each one in powdered sugar to coat. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely, then roll in powdered sugar a second time for a fuller coating.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 108 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 10g | Fiber: 0.5g | Sodium: 50mg