Pecan Pie Cookies with a Gooey Caramel Center
Pecan pie is wonderful, but it asks for a crust, a filling and most of an afternoon. I wanted the same flavors in something I could pick up with one hand, and that is what this cookie does. The dough is a soft brown sugar cookie with plenty of chopped pecans folded in, and each ball gets a little well pressed into the middle for a teaspoon of caramel sauce.
Tips before you start
- Cream the butter and both sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy. That is where the cookies get their tender texture.
- Stop mixing as soon as the flour disappears, then fold the pecans in gently.
- Make the indentation fairly deep with your thumb or the back of a measuring spoon. A shallow dent lets the caramel slide over the side.
- Leave about 2 inches between the dough balls, because they spread.
Bake them until the edges turn golden, then give them a few minutes on the sheet before you move them. Warm caramel is runny and the cookies are fragile right out of the oven. Once they cool on a wire rack, the caramel settles into a gooey center that reminds me of the filling in the pie. Store-bought caramel sauce is fine here, and a thick one stays put best.
There is more where this came from: my dessert index, pies first.
PrintPecan Pie Cookies with a Gooey Caramel Center
Soft brown sugar cookies loaded with chopped pecans, each one filled with a spoonful of caramel sauce before baking. The flavor of pecan pie in a cookie you can eat out of hand.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped
- 1 cup caramel sauce
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract, and mix until well combined.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Gently fold in the chopped pecans.
- Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Make a small indentation in the center of each ball.
- Fill each indentation with a teaspoon of caramel sauce.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
- Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
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