Aunt Inez's Sand Tarts

These cookies go by many names, like "Pennsylvania Dutch cookies," "Pecan Snowball Cookies," “Sandies,” and "Mexican Wedding Cookies." But for writer Megan Broussard, they will always be known as Great-Aunt Inez’s Sand Tarts.

Inez LeBlanc Vincent dedicated her life to the preservation of Cajun language and culture, winning the prix d’honneur from Université Sainte-Anne in Church Point, Nova Scotia, for her mastery of the Louisiana French language. She reunited her Canadian relatives that were separated during Le Grand Dérangement by hosting a reunion in Louisiana. She was even flown to Philadelphia as a featured Cajun cook for a magazine. 

While this cookie might not originally be Cajun, Aunt Inez added her own touch to the passed-on recipe. Instead of keeping the tarts sphere-shaped, she pinched them into rounded rectangles (and sometimes half-moons) so she could monitor the edges. Golden corners meant they were ready.

She also added five times the amount of nuts the recipe called for. She didn’t have pricey ingredients or high-tech appliances, but she had plenty of pecan trees. She made Pennsylvania Dutch cookies—or sandies or whatever you want to call them—with the ingredients she had on hand. That’s the Cajun way.