Pecan Pie Cookies
These pecan pie cookies have a tender brown sugar cookie base and a chewy center filled with toasted pecans. Shaping the dough into thumbprints gives you the flavor of pecan pie in an easy-to-share holiday cookie.
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 113g
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, 100g
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour, 180g
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
Pecan Filling
- 3/4 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped 85g
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 28g
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar 67g
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
- Flaky sea salt optional
Instructions
- Toast the pecans: Heat the oven to 350°F. Toast the pecans on a baking sheet for 6 to 8 minutes, until fragrant. Cool and finely chop. Leave the oven on if you are baking soon.
- Make the dough: Beat butter and brown sugar until creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla. Mix in flour and salt just until combined.
- Shape and chill: Scoop 24 approximately 1-tablespoon portions. Roll into balls and space 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Press a deep well into each, leaving the bottom intact. Repair any large cracks. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Cook the filling: In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and cream until melted. Let the mixture bubble gently for about 1 minute, stirring. Remove from the heat. Stir in pecans, vanilla, and salt. Cool about 10 minutes, until thick and spoonable.
- Fill and bake: Heat or maintain the oven at 350°F. Deepen wells if needed. Add about 1 teaspoon filling to each cookie, without overfilling. Bake one sheet at a time for 11 to 13 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden and the filling bubbles gently.
- Cool: Leave on the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack. Cool completely before storing. Add a few flakes of sea salt while warm, if you like.
- Recipe notes: Measure flour lightly or by weight. Pecans should be chopped small enough to sit inside the wells. Baking sheets and ovens vary, so use the appearance of the edges as your final cue.
Notes
Per cookie, based on 24 cookies: Approximately 130 calories, 15 g carbohydrates, 8 g fat, and 1 g protein. These are rough estimates based on the full ingredient list; the amount of filling used in each cookie will change the final values.
Recipe Notes
- Measure the flour carefully. Spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off, or use a kitchen scale. Too much flour can make the dough dry and prone to cracking.
- Chop the pecans finely. Smaller pieces fit inside the thumbprints and make the cookies easier to bite.
- Make a deep well without pressing through the bottom. This gives the filling room to sit inside the cookie.
- Chill the shaped dough for 30 minutes. If the wells become shallow while chilling, gently press them again before filling.
- Let the filling thicken before using it. Spoon it into the cookies when it can mound slightly rather than run off the spoon. Start with about 1 teaspoon per cookie; you may have filling left over.
- Watch the edges when baking. Take the cookies out when the edges are set and lightly golden. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before moving them.