I’ve been a bit conflicted over posting this recipe.
Generally speaking, every recipe I post is something that I’ve either developed completely from scratch, or made as a “Frankenstein” recipe, utilizing bits and pieces of ingredients and techniques of several recipes – like my Jamaican Beef Patties recipe.
This recipe? I’ve had it for years, but I now have NO idea where it came from. I’m pretty sure it came from one of the posters on a cake forum I used to frequent, but who specifically, or where SHE got it from? No idea. It looks like it’s since become a popular recipe out there on the interwebs, though!
| Anyway – way back when – I asked for permission to use this recipe as a holiday offering through Celebration Generation… and the cookies always got rave reviews. I can’t count how many times I’ve been asked for the recipe! What with the weather cooling down, I figure it’s cookie making season, and time to share it!
I have not contributed any major changes to the recipe, but I like to add a couple pinches of spice to the filling, as noted. Hope I’m not losing any baker’s cred by posting this, but I know it’ll make a bunch of people happy. Plus, I think the photos are just too pretty to NOT share. |
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Pecan Pie Cookies
Makes about 20 cookies
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1tsp baking powder
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
Pinch each of ginger, cinnamon, and/or cloves – optional*
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, continue beating until egg is fully incorporated and mixture is once again smooth and fluffy.
Add baking powder and flour, continue beating until mixture is uniform, with everything incorporated. Set dough aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, mix pecans and brown sugar with spices, if using. Add in heavy cream and vanilla, mix until well combined.
Roll cookie dough into balls that are about 1.25″ in diameter, and place them on cookie sheets – leave about 2″ between the cookies.
Gently use thumb to press down in the middle of each cookie, making an indentation. Roll thumb slightly to stretch the indentation out a little. Fill each indentation with about 1 tsp of pecan filling
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned. Allow to cool on sheets for 5 minutes or so, before gently transferring to
* If you’re looking to make these exactly as we did for our cookie trays, I used a pinch each of all 3 spices in the filling
[...] been a bit conflicted over posting this recipe, much like I was for posting the Pecan Pie Cookies [...]
Oh. My. Gawd!! These look so darn yummy I can’t stand it! I’ll have to make them for the next business pot luck just so I can have some. Thanks for posting.
I was so excited to see this recipe on Pinterest. My husband loves pecan pie. I attempted to make the cookies but found the dough just ran when baking. I thought it looked too wet (like it needed more flour) after mixing it, but since it was my first time making it, decided to follow the recipe. Any suggestions?
Hi Deborrah.
Hrm.. no idea what to suggest, I’ve never had that happen before, or heard from anyone who has. After the flour is mixed in, it should definitely be dry enough to roll balls from – if it happens again, I’d add more flour.
I made these cookies a couple of weeks ago for the first time — my husband informed me I never needed to make pecan pie again.
I am now on my third round of making these cookies, this time for a bake sale benefiting a local family whose home burned down. What a DELICIOUS recipe. Thanks for sharing!
I saw these on Pinterest and just made these today, and I must say that they are fabulous! The only change I made was to add 1/2 tsp. salt to the dough. I was a little skeptical and didn’t think they would taste like pecan pie, but holy smokes they do! Thanks for the recipe!