Pennsylvania Dutch Sand Tarts Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read the disclosure policy to learn more.
Thank you for supporting this blog!
Comprised of butter, sugar, and flour and decorated with fun toppings, this old fashioned sand tarts recipe is a Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas cookie baking tradition. Thin, crispy, and oh-so-delicious, sand tarts make the perfect Christmas Eve baking project. Not only will they fill your kitchen with the scents of the season, but they also look just lovely when arranged on a cookie platter for Santa!
What are Sand Tarts?
Sand tarts are traditional Pennsylvania Dutch cookies made from a handful of simple ingredients: butter, flour, and sugar. Featuring a thinly rolled dough (often cut into fun holiday shapes like stars, trees, and stockings), a layer of egg wash, and a generous sprinkling of cinnamon sugar, sand tarts are especially popular during the holiday season.
This sand tart recipe is not just a Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas tradition, but a family tradition as well. For as long as I can remember, my family has used a recipe from The Amish-Dutch Cookbook by Ruth Redcay. This cookbook was printed in the 1960s, and is little more than a stapled-together collection of recipes from various Pennsylvania hotels and restaurants.
I’ve adapted the above recipe slightly, and updated the instructions to fill in a few of the blanks. (The original instructions simply say to “roll very thin and cut with cookie cutter,” which isn’t much to go on if you’ve never made these before!)
Key Ingredients
- Butter – I usually make sand tarts with unsalted butter, but because there is no additional salt in this recipe, you should be fine with salted butter, too. Allow plenty of time for the butter to soften before making the dough. And make sure to use real butter for this recipe, not margarine or vegan butter.
- Sugar – For best results, use granulated sugar for both the cookie dough and the cinnamon sugar topping. If you’re making these in the UK, you can replace the granulated with caster sugar, measured by weight rather than volume.
- Flour – All purpose flour (plain flour) forms the base for the sand tart dough. Do not use alternate or gluten free flours.
- Egg – You’ll need two large, room temperature eggs to make the dough, plus the white of a third egg for brushing. Keep your egg wash very light. Too much, and your sand tarts will be gummy, not crispy! And don’t omit the brushed egg white on top—even though it’s just a very thin layer, it’s very important. The egg white gives the baked cookies their shiny top, and also allows the toppings to adhere to the dough.
- Toppings – Popular toppings include cinnamon sugar (you can buy it or make your own with granulated sugar and ground cinnamon); colored sugar or sanding sugar; Christmas sprinkles or nonpareils; walnuts or other chopped nuts; silver cake decorating balls; or even cinnamon red hots left over from a batch of cornflake holly leaf cookies.
Sand Tart Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Make your own toppings. You can make colored sugar with granulated sugar and gel food coloring, or even liquid colors from the grocery store. Similarly, you can make cinnamon sugar by combining granulated sugar and ground cinnamon.
- Roll the dough very thin. The key to getting these just right is to roll the dough VERY thin (you want crispy sand tarts, not soft or chewy ones!) If you haven’t made sand tarts before, it will take a some trial and error to get the thickness just right. Don’t worry if you burn the first tray but rolling the dough too thin—it happens to all of us!
- Use just the tiniest bit of egg wash. You want just enough to add a bit of sheet on the cookies and allow the toppings to adhere, but don’t go overboard. (It’s not like egg-washing puff pastry, where you can be fairly generous with the amount used.) Too much egg wash and your sand tarts will be soft and gummy, which isn’t very appealing. I suggest using a natural-bristled pastry brush rather than silicone; the silicone brushes just aren’t as precise.
- Keep the dough cold. If it starts to feel warm or soft, pop it back in the fridge for a few minutes.
- Have a few tools handy. You’ll want to have a silicone rolling mat and a wooden rolling pin on hand, as well as a selection of cookie cutters. If possible, I suggest using sharp metal cutters rather than duller plastic ones.
- Keep an eye on the oven. Because they’re so thin, sand tarts burn very easily.
Sand Tarts
- Total TimeAbout 2 hours, plus chilling time
- YieldApprox. 150 2-inch cookies
Comprised of butter, sugar, and flour and decorated with fun toppings, this old fashioned sand tart recipe is a PA Dutch Christmas cookie baking tradition.
Ingredients
For the Dough:
454 grams unsalted butter, softened (1 pound; sticks)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
454 grams granulated sugar (1 pound; 2 1/4 cups)
680 grams all purpose flour (1 1/2 pounds; 5 1/4 cups)
To Decorate:
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Cinnamon sugar
Walnuts
Other toppings* (other nuts, sprinkles, colored sugars) as desired
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, mix butter on high speed until smooth and creamy. Mix in the eggs, followed by the sugar. Add the flour and mix on low speed until just barely incorporated, with no dry spots remaining.
Flatten into discs. Wrap in clingfilm/plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350° F (176° C).
With a wooden rolling pin, roll dough very, very thin, less than 1/8-inch thickness. Dough should look almost translucent, but not be so thin that it tears when you move the cookies.
Cut shapes with a metal cookie cutter.
With a metal spatula, transfer cookies to a large, unlined, ungreased baking tray.
With a pastry brush, brush tops with a very thin layer of egg wash. Sprinkle with desired toppings.
Bake in preheated oven for 8-11 minutes, or until lightly brown around the edges.
Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Recipe adapted from The Amish-Dutch Cookbook by Ruth Redcay.
This recipe will make lots and lots of sand tarts! The exact amount will depend on the size of the cutters you use. You can easily halve the recipe and still have plenty of cookies to share. I find that a half batch typically yields about 75-80 smaller (2-2 1/2-inch) cookies.
*Traditional sand tarts are topped with cinnamon sugar, and sometimes walnuts. However, there are lots of creative toppings you can use instead. Some suggestions include colored sugars, sprinkles, or other kinds of nuts such as pistachios or pecans.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Chilling Time: 1 hour, or overnight
- Cook Time: 8-11 minutes
- Category: Biscuits and Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Dessert
Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions
Sand tarts will keep well at room temperature for about two weeks. Store in an airtight cookie tin or plastic storage container.
To freeze: Layer cooled cookies between sheets of parchment and freeze in an airtight container. Because they are so thin, sand tarts will thaw very quickly (10-15 minutes) at room temperature.
More About PA Dutch Cuisine
While studying for my MSc in Culinary Innovation, I wrote my dissertation on Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine. During the research process, I read quite a few books and cookbooks on Pennsylvania Dutch food and culture. These are a few that I recommend:
Pennsylvania Dutch Cookbook, by J. George Frederick
As American As Shoofly Pie, by William Woys Weaver
Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking, edited by Richard Hartmetz
The Amish-Dutch Cookbook, by Ruth Redcay
Tasty thin sand tarts are a family tradition. Our grandkids enjoy helping to decorate them each year!
My family has made sand tarts for at least 100 years! We use brown sugar rather than white. The dough is chilled, formed into several “logs”, sliced very thin and baked. Both the dough logs and baked cookies freeze beautifully. I can’t imagine Christmas without sand tarts!
I agree, sand tarts are a holiday tradition!!