Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

This Sand Tart Cookie Recipe is our family recipe perfect for the Christmas & Holiday season making a big batch of cookies. These cookies are easy to customize to your tastes with various toppings and make a fun activity for everyone involved. Check out our family home video of our cookie-making session below!

Hi Everyone, we have made a tradition of making this Sand Tart Cookie Recipe every year.

After Eric and I got married, it started with my husband Eric asking his mom, Linda, about these favorite cookies that her mother used to make when Eric was a little boy.

Linda found the recipe in her recipe box of hand-written recipes.

Many of the recipes in the box were written by her mother and passed down to her.

This sand tarts cookie recipe is classic Pennsylvania Dutch baking.

I have a selection of recipes that I plan to share on Life's Little Sweets.

It feels so good to share these recipes with everyone and have a permanent place where we can all reference them.

Each recipe brings back fond memories and continues the tradition.

Sand tart cookies on a holiday plate overhead, with antique metal cookie cutters

I have pictured here antique family cookie cutters that have been passed down in Linda's family.

She said this kind of cookie cutter with a sharp edge is good for this Sand Tart Cookie Recipe.

antique metal cookie cutters, overheard view with burlap cloth underneath on a butcherblock table surface — Antique family cookie cutters

Sand Tart Cookies on a wire baking rack cooling

Ingredients

1 pound (about 2 ¼ cups) of white granulated sugar
1 pound (about 4 cups) all-purpose flour, plus extra for the lightly flouring surface when rolling out
8 ounces (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, room temperature/soft
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 eggs, separated, plus 1-3 eggs as egg wash for brushing on the tops of the cookies before decorating and baking
½ teaspoon baking soda
dash of Kosher salt, (¼ teaspoon)
sugar sparkling sprinkles, for decorating
ground nuts of your choice, (walnuts and pistachios are great!)

sand tart cookies on a plate — each recipe of these sand tarts makes many cookies!

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a selection of cookie cutters
rolling pin
parchment paper
cookie baking sheets
mixing bowls
a brush for brushing on the egg wash

sand tart cookies tied up with red and white twine on a gold rimmed plate with a star shaped antique cookie cutter

How to Make Sand Tart Cookies

I have included recipe process photos to help guide you through the process of making these cookies.

The full, printable recipe with instructions is at the bottom of the post.

Step 1 collage of how to make sand tart cookies — 1. Separate the eggs from the yolks in separate mixing bowls.

Step 2 and 3 collage of how to make sand tart cookies — 2. Beat egg yolks until they are combined and slightly bubbly. Beat the egg whites until they are white and foamy.
3. Mix room temperature butter and sugar thoroughly, add beaten egg yolks, then beaten egg whites. Add vanilla.

Step 4 collage of how to make sand tart cookies — 4. In a separate bowl, blend the dry ingredients with a whisk: flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture gradually in 4-5 parts to the butter mixture, mixing well. This makes a very thick, sticky cookie dough.

collage of how to make sand tart cookies

If you like this Sand Tart Cookie Recipe, make sure to check out my Perfect Snickerdoodle Cookies recipe and check out the "Cookie" category on LLS 🙂

This Sand Tart Cookie Recipe is also great as a family/kids activity because the decorating part is like an art project!

This recipe is ideal for cookie swaps or when you have to make a huge amount of cookies.

star-shaped sand tart cookie on holiday-themed table surface

It is sure to become your family's favorite Holiday cookie recipe!

family photos of making sand tart cookies together, a child and mother in white, a vintage recipe box with family recipes, a grandmother and her adult son — Here's a collage of some photos from our recent cookie-making session! From top to bottom: My daughter M and I, Eric rolling the dough, Eric, M and Linda, the famous recipe box! and Linda's mother's handmade apron.

Our Other Recipes and Posts

sand tart cookies decorated with sprinkles

What’s your favorite family cookie recipe?

If you try this recipe, please give it a rating in the recipe card below and let us know in the comments below!

horizontal, overhead image of a stack of star-shaped sand tart cookies ties up with bakers red and white twine with a star-shaped antique cookie cutter

Thank you for reading and following along!

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a stack of sand tart cookies and one on top with a bite taken out

sand tart cookies recipe with text overlay

Sand Tart Cookie Recipe

Name: Sand Tart Cookie Recipe
Prep time: 3 h 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 3 h 40 min
Yield: 100
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 pound (about 2 1/4 cups) white granulated sugar; 1 pound (about 4 cups) all-purpose flour, plus extra for lightly flouring surface when rolling out; 8 ounces (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, room temperature/soft; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 3 eggs, separated, plus 1-3 eggs as egg wash for brushing on the tops of the cookies before decorating and baking; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; dash of Kosher salt, (1/4 teaspoon); sugar sparkling sprinkles, for decorating; ground nuts of your choice, (walnuts and pistachios are great!)

Yield: 100

Prep Time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours 40 minutes

This Sand Tart Cookie Recipe is our family recipe perfect for the Christmas & Holiday season making a big batch of cookies. These cookies are easy to customize to your tastes with various toppings and make a fun activity for everyone involved. These sand tarts are a thin, crisp sugar cookies topped with crunchy nuts.

Ingredients

1 pound (about 2 ¼ cups) white granulated sugar
1 pound (about 4 cups) all-purpose flour, plus extra for lightly flouring surface when rolling out
8 ounces (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, room temperature/soft
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 eggs, separated, plus 1-3 eggs as egg wash for brushing on the tops of the cookies before decorating and baking
½ teaspoon baking soda
dash of Kosher salt, (¼ teaspoon)
sugar sparkling sprinkles, for decorating
ground nuts of your choice, (walnuts and pistachios are great!)

Instructions

Separate the eggs from the yolks in separate mixing bowls.
Beat egg yolks until they are combined and slightly bubbly. Beat the egg whites until they are white and foamy.
Mix room temperature butter and sugar thoroughly, and add beaten egg yolks, then beaten egg whites. Add vanilla.
In a separate bowl, blend the dry ingredients with a whisk: flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture gradually in 4-5 parts to the butter mixture, mixing well. This makes a very thick, sticky cookie dough.
Refrigerate the dough wrapped in plastic wrap for 3 hours or overnight (if overnight, allow the dough to come to room temperature before rolling, however, if the dough becomes too soft to work with return to the refrigerator until the dough becomes easier to handle).
After chilling, roll the dough out (about ⅛ inch) on a floured surface, cut out cookie shapes, brush egg wash on, then decorate with colored sugar, cinnamon sugar, and chopped/groundnuts of choice.
Bake cookies at 350 degrees (preheated oven) for 8-10 minutes.

Notes

Makes about 100 cookies (depends on cookie cutter size/shape)

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 100 Serving Size: 2
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 21Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 7mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 1g

Please note that the Calculated Nutrition is an estimate at best. If you make this recipe and love it, remember to stop back and give it a 5-star rating – it helps others find the recipe!

This post was originally published on 12/13/2016 and updated and republished on 11/12/2020, and 8/29/2021, 11/7/2022. (New Photos were added on 8/29/2021 by Sue Kvale), new live-action video added 12/22/2022, 7/25/2023, 6/6/2024, 12/23/2024

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Sara Maniez

Owner at Life's Little Sweets

Sara is an architectural designer turned work-at-home Mom. She lives in New Jersey by way of New England and New York, with her husband and 3 kids under 8. She loves design, being creative, and spending time with family and friends. She loves checking out local businesses and eats and being apart of the local farm to table community.

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Comments

Ruth Soule says

December 15, 2017 at 10:48 am

I can’t believe that you use 1lb of Sugar and Flour! Comparing recipies and I have 2cups of Sugar & 5Cups of Flour

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- Sara says
  
  December 15, 2017 at 12:06 pm
  
  Hi Ruth, I know it sounds like a lot. 1 pound sugar is 2 1/4 cups. This recipe makes a large amount of cookies, ideal for cookie making parties or if you are making cookies for a large crowd/family gathering. This is a recipe from my husband's family and those kinds exactly what this type of sugar cookie recipe was used for. You can try making it with a little less sugar if you want, I haven't tried it with less. You could also try the "Lil' Sugar Cookies," "Perfect Snickerdoodle Cookies," or "Easy Funfetti Sugar Cookies" (just search in the search box in the top right) both which require less amounts of sugar. I hope that helps! Thank you!
  
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- Sara says
  
  December 15, 2017 at 12:12 pm
  
  Ruth, I also checked the recipe with my husband's mom, she said 2 cups is totally fine by the way.
  
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Lucille Arslanian says

October 04, 2020 at 9:29 am

Why do my cookies turn out hard? I used the same recipe last year and they turned out great.

Why does the dough need to be refrigerated as the dough is hard to roll out? How long do I need to let the cookie become room temperature so I can roll them out? I had to put the dough in the microwave to make it soft enough to roll out.
Thank you

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- Sara Maniez says
  
  October 04, 2020 at 10:23 pm
  
  do you mean they turn out hard when they are cooked?
  
  It depends on the temperature of your room. If you are finding that the dough is too soft to work with, some people find it easier to refrigerate it (1/2 hour) to make it less sticky. I find that it takes 20 minutes-1/2 hour after taking it out of the refrigerator to get it to room temperature to work with it again. The only thing with the microwave is that it might cook some of the dough if it's in there too long. Good luck, I hope that helps!
  
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Carol says

October 21, 2022 at 6:30 pm

These cookies and cutters look exactly like my grandmother’s who made these every Christmas in the 1970s. She was Pennsylvania
Dutch. I have the cutters now but never made the cookies as the recipe makes so many. Can this recipe be halved?

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- Dawn says
  
  December 21, 2022 at 12:23 pm
  
  I grew up in Lancaster County with Mennonite and Amish relatives. This is very similar to my great grandma's recipe. I don't see why you couldn't halve it. Or make the batch and freeze half the dough for a bit to make later
  
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Richard Todd says

December 01, 2022 at 11:42 am

Both my Pennsylvania grandmothers made these for ages. They used to roll them so thin they turned out almost like a potato chip in crispness. When I started making them, I discovered any easy way to get them really super thin - put the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll it out. After rolling out the dough, we stick it in the refrigerator to chill for about 10 minutes to stiffen up. Then pull out of the fridge, pull off the top layer of paper and cut , decorate and bake as usual. Unfortunately, the really thin cookies do not survive shipping very well.

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- Sara Maniez says
  
  December 01, 2022 at 11:49 am
  
  Thank you for sharing your experience, Richard! My mother-in-law, showed me this way too, exactly as you describe! Best wishes!
  
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Chad says

December 11, 2022 at 6:50 pm

I have my mothers cutters and they are exactly the same as yours except the tree cutter was broken years ago but mine has a big gingerbread man. Which is my favorite. The recipe is close except it is 2 lbs sugar and flower and 4 sticks of butter. And 4 eggs. And no seperating the eggs and all you do is combine all ingredients in a bowl and knead by hand till mixed together. (Very hard on your hands!) and ours we leave thicker and they come out more chewy than crisp. This recipe was my grandmothers moms recipe. Which takes it back to the 1800’s!

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Paul says

December 16, 2022 at 2:59 pm

What pattern / maker is the plate with blackberries and blossoms? Beautiful!

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