Praline Pecan Cookies

Soft and thick, buttery cookies filled with crunchy and sweet caramelized pecans.

This recipe is just what  you have been looking for!
Welcome to my soft, crumbly, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookies bursting with crunchy caramelized pecans. No need to look any further :)
These cookies are perfect for any occasion. Delicious enough to serve with other traditional desserts at your Thanksgiving table. Fancy enough for your holiday office party. And easy enough to bake any day, and eat at any time. You can never go wrong with cookies, especially when they taste this good.

And did I mention how easy is to bake these? All you need are 5 very basic ingredients, which I'm sure you already have in your kitchen right now. Plus pecans, of course!!
What makes these cookies special are the nuts. Who wants just plain pecans in a cookie, when you can have crispy, golden brown, sugar-coated pecans?! Really, WHO does?!? ... I can't hear you!!! :)


So, listen to this. Use half of the sugar for the dough, and the other half to caramelize the pecans. It's all really simple: melt the sugar in a non-stick pan. It only takes a couple of minutes. As soon as the sugar turns golden brown, add  the pecan pieces, and mix quickly. Let everything cool down on aluminum foil (or parchment paper), crush in smaller pieces and fold in the dough. Easy, right?

Make sure to check out my video recipe too:

Ingredients: to make about 15 - each 1 tablespoon in size

Printable Recipe

• 1/2 cup (100 gr)  of  sugar - divided
• 3/4 cup (75  gr)  cup of pecan pieces
• 4 oz (115 gr) of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 cup (150 gr) of all-purpose flour

Preparation time: 45 minutes
Directions:
1. Remove the butter from the refrigerator and let it soften at room temperature ahead of time, and start preparing the caramelized pecans: Melt 1/4 cup (50 gr) of sugar over medium low heat in a non-stick pan for about 2- 3 minutes. The sugar will melt and turn golden brown.

2. Turn off the heat, and quickly mix in the pecan pieces.

3. Pour in a aluminum foil or parchment paper, spread a little and set it aside to cool down

4. Preheat the oven to 350° F (175° C). In a large bowl, cream the butter with the remaining 1/4 cup (50 gr) of sugar.

5. Add the egg and the vanilla extract. Mix some more.

6. Stir in the flour.

7. Crush the caramelized pecans using a rolling pin (pushing down on the pecans - no need to roll), or other similar (non-breakable) object :)

8. Fold the chopped caramelized pecans in the cookie dough.

9. Spoon the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I used a 1 tablespoon size scoop, and ended up with 15 cookies. You can sprinkle the top with more caramelized pecans if you wish.

10. Bake at 350° F (175° C) for about 15-18 minutes until slightly golden.

Enjoy :)