Shelly's Recipe

* Pecan Pie Cookies*

Category: Cookies

Cookie Ingredients:
1 C brown sugar
3/4 C butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1 tsp baking powder

Filling Ingredients:
1 C pecans, chopped
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Scrape bowl as needed. Add flour and baking powder, mix well making sure all dry ingredients are encorporated well into batter. Transfer bowl to refrigerator to chill for at least 15 minutes.

Begin making filling by chopping pecans. There are many ways to do this: chop in a food processor, use a knife and cutting board, or toss pecans in a plastic bag and beat with a meat tenderizer or other heavy object such as a rolling pin. I chose the bag and meat tenderizer method. As you transfer chopped pecans to a medium bowl, check for any large pieces that need to be broken down. Pecans are soft enough you can easily break them with your fingers as needed. Add brown sugar, whipping cream and vanilla to bowl with pecans. Stir well.

Remove cookie dough from the fridge. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop balls of dough into your hand and roll into a smooth ball. Transfer balls to a baking sheet lined with a silpat or piece of parchment paper. Place balls at least 2 inches apart. Normally this variety is called a thumbprint cookie because you use your thumb to make the indentation. I've honestly never used my thumb to make any indentation in a single cookie. I always use a rounded measuring spoon. Using a measuring spoon (or your thumb), press down on the center of each ball of dough to create a nice cavity.

Return remaining dough to fridge until you are ready to bake the next batch - chilled dough is far easier to work with, at least with this particular dough. Or package and label to store in the freezer for up to several months.

Fill each cookie with pecan filling. I used a small cookie scoop for this. The handy dandy little eject feature of cookie scoops is what makes them so awesome for so many things, including adding filling to the top of a thumbprint cookie. Scoop enough pecan mixture to fill the small scoop halfway full, no more than that or you'll have oozy dripping overfilled cookies.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes or until just lightly golden around the edges. Cool on the pan for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.