Pecan Pie Cookies
Ingredients
Pecan pie filling:
½ cup (110g) packed light or dark brown sugar
2 tablespoon (30ml) 35% heavy whipping cream
1 large egg
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon (15ml) corn syrup or maple syrup
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup (85g) coarsely chopped pecans
Cookie dough:
½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup (65g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (55g) packed light brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon (15ml) whole milk
1 ⅓ cups (190g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
For topping:
¼ cup (30g) chopped pecans (optional)
4 oz (113g) melted dark chocolate (optional)
Instructions
Make the pecan pie filling. Combine all ingredients except for pecans in a small 1-quart stainless steel saucepan and whisk to combine. Add the pecans and place over medium heat. Cook while whisking constantly until it just begins to bubble and thicken, then let it bubble for 30 seconds. This will take 5-7 minutes. Immediately take it off the heat and pour it into a clean bowl. Let it cool completely and then refrigerate for about 1 hour until thoroughly chilled.
Make the cookie dough. Combine softened butter, sugar and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand with a wide rubber spatula using the “creaming” method, or use an electric hand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolk and vanilla and mix well. Mix in milk until combined.
Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend well. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and fold it in until evenly incorporated and the dough is smooth.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate, or (here’s what I like to do) turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap and shape and roll it into a log that’s about 10-inches long. Use floured hands to handle the sticky dough. Wrap it well and refrigerate for 1 hour or place it in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
If you kept the dough in the bowl, use a 1-oz cookie scoop to scoop up about 2 tablespoon of dough and roll into smooth balls. Make sure you divide the dough evenly to make exactly 13 cookies. If you shaped the dough into a log, slice it into 13 equal portions. Roll each portion into smooth balls and place on prepared baking sheets spacing them 3 inches apart.
Press a 1 teaspoon measure spoon down in the center of each cookie to create a deep divet. Push the sides up or squeeze the cookie towards the center just a bit to contain it as you make the divet. If the cookie dough cracks, just press it together. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of filling right into each indent. You will not use all the filling, and reserve the rest of the filling for finishing the cookies after they’ve baked. Place the trays in the fridge for 15 minutes while the oven preheats.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
Bake the cookies 8-10 minutes until the cookies are nicely golden brown around the edges and the filling starts to bubble. Transfer trays to a wire rack and let cookies cool for 5 minutes before transferring individually to the rack to finish cooling.
Once cool, spoon a bit of the remaining filling on top of each cookie and sprinkle more chopped pecans on top if you’d like. I like to also drizzle with melted dark chocolate, but this is optional.