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Move over pecan pie! We’ve got pecan pie COOKIES now!!!
These cookies are pretty amazing. Soft, buttery cookies with a maple sweetened, gooey filling studded with crunchy, nutty pecans. They are melt-in-your-mouth good, and I bet you can’t eat just one.
I had no idea pecan pie cookies were a thing until one of our friends made them to share at our Friendsgiving a year ago. I saved a note to my phone and knew they would be on the top of my list to create this year. I’m so glad I gave them a shot because OMG they’re so good!
All the best parts about pecan pie are turned into a cookie. I’m pretty sure I don’t even want pecan pie ever again, just give me these pecan pie cookies!!! Also, they’re pretty sweet, but not nearly as tooth-achingly sweet as a slice of pecan pie is. Bonus points for the pecan pie cookies. Because that’s just the thing for me, pecan pie is so delicious, but WAY too sweet. Two bites in and I’m done. These pecan pie cookies are just the right amount of sweet and has just enough salt for balance.
I mean don’t get me wrong. I am not against pie, I LOVE a good pie. BUT COOKIES might just win this one.
The dough for these cookies is adapted from my soft chocolate chip cookies. I used organic cane sugar instead of my preferred go-to coconut sugar because it’s the Holidays. Also, so that the cookies wouldn’t be all one brown color. However, coconut sugar would still work great in this recipe. If that’s what you prefer, go for it.
For the flour I used almond flour and a little coconut flour, making these cookies soft and melt-in-your mouth delicious, and making them gluten free. But I promise, if you don’t need to eat gluten free you won’t even notice that they are gluten free. They’re meant for everyone.
For the pecan pie filling, without corn syrup, I had to do a little extra research. Most pecan pie fillings has corn syrup as the base of the filling, probably because of it’s super thick consistency. I really didn’t want to get corn syrup, it’s not in my accepted list of sugars ha!
I finally found a recipe on Sally’s Baking Addiction that calls for maple syrup, which is runnier than corn syrup. To add more thickness all you do is add a little cornstarch to thicken. Worked like a charm for the pecan pie cookies.
And I have a strong feeling the same method will work great for the filling of an actual pecan pie, or maybe mini pecan pies? OR pecan pie bars?! Not sure yet, but another form of pecan pie something will probably make an appearance on the blog next Holiday season. (Notice that my vow to only have pecan pie cookies forever went away fast? LOL).
Either way this maple sweetened pecan pie filling will do the job.
Did I mention that there’s butter in the pecan pie filling? Oh yes. In the pecan pie filling there is….
- butter
- maple syrup – natural, delicious sweetness
- vanilla – extra flavor
- cornstarch – is our thickener
- salt – for balance, helps to not make the filling overpoweringly sweet
- cinnamon – for that lovely warmth
- chopped pecans – because PECAN PIE!!!
Tip: don’t bother chopping whole pecans, simply buy the pecans pre-chopped; less messy and way easier.
To make the pecan pie filling all you do is melt the butter, add the maple syrup and vanilla. Make a corn starch slurry using some of the warm butter and maple syrup – add the corn starch slurry to the mixture. Simmer for 3 minutes, while whisking often. Turn off the heat and stir in the pecans.
The filling reminds me of a cinnamon roll. YUM!
Once you have your dough made roll it into balls – freeze – make indentations using your thumb – freeze again – (trust me, all the freezing is essential to having the ideal shaped cookie that won’t spread way too thin). Then fill your cookies with that luscious pecan pie filling.
And bake!
Allow the pecan pie cookies to cool. Pretty sure this is the hardest part. Because you just wanna dig right in, but you gotta wait for that molten hot lava filling to cool down.
Sprinkle with a little flaked sea salt, if desired. All that’s left to do is ENJOY!
You will absolutely love how the soft buttery cookie melts in your mouth, and then you get a bite of that gooey, sweet pecan pie filling. Those crunchy toasted pecans are incredible. Once finished eating your cookie your mouth will begin to water; it is asking you to immediately re-stock it with a second cookie….please.
These cookies would be the perfect fun dessert to share at Thanksgiving. Especially if you are wanting something a little different than pie (again, nothing wrong with pie, I love pie), but variety is the spice of life. However, these pecan pie cookies would also be a great Christmas treat.
Cookie exchange anyone?! Yes, these pecan pie cookies would be a fun addition to any cookie exchange.
Except they are sooo good that you might not care about any of the other cookies and you will want to hoard these all to yourself. True story.
I have a batch of these pecan pie cookies waiting for me as a little dessert lunch and I CANNOT wait. My mouth is watering. I mean it’s kind of torture sitting here looking at these gorgeous photos I took of my pecan pie cookies while writing about them, knowing that I have some cookies sitting on my kitchen counter, just waiting to be devoured.
It will be worth the wait. So excited to slow down for a second and enjoy a pecan pie cookie! (or two). Right after I eat my healthy salad for lunch, of course – balance! Also, I NEEEDS some greens after all of the orange and brown holiday foods I have been making.
Actually, we have two batches of these pecan pie cookies because I goofed when I was making them to photograph. I made the little indentation too big and they spread all over the place. Still edible, still delish, but not the perfection that are these pecan pie cookies you see before you.
Paul was pretty happy about this mistake I made. He said these cookies are his new favorites (although he says that about whichever cookie he is currently eating ha!). And he hasn’t even had pecan pie before. Even more of a reason to fix that next year!
I hope you enjoy these pecan pie cookies as much as we do!!! They are so fun, and cute too. I am so excited for you to make them and share them with your loved ones. Very proud cookie mama over here!
Crazy that Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK! Are you ready?
These pecan pie cookies are, they are ready and waiting just for you ;).
More Christmas cookies
- chewy gluten free molasses cookies
- peanut butter blossom cookies
- thumbprint cookies
- 3 Christmas cookies, with one simple dough
- coconut macaroons
Happy Holiday baking!
Come on, you know you want a bite of that soft and gooey pecan pie cookie!!!
P.S. This will be my last post until after Thanksgiving. I hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving filled with lots of joy and good food! Also, in the spirit of the Holiday I wanted to say thank you for being here. Thank you for making my recipes, for commenting on the blog, for sharing them on Instagram, and just for being you. I really appreciate that I get to do what I love and that’s because of you guys! Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
If you made this recipe do me a favor and leave a comment below along with a star rating. This helps my recipes to be easily found by others, and I always enjoy hearing from you. Thanks, friends!
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Pecan Pie Cookies (without corn syrup)
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 15 1x
- Category: dessert, baking, cookies
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: gluten free, vegetarian
Description
Pecan pie cookies are everything good about pecan pie in a cookie form. Soft, buttery cookie with a gooey, maple sweetened pecan pie center.
Ingredients
Cookie dough
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sugar (see notes)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg, room temp
Pecan Pie Filling
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 of a stick)
- 1/4 cup real maple syrup (see notes)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
Optional topping
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Melt the butter for the cookie dough: Add the 1/2 cup of unsalted butter in to a small sauce pan. Heat over low heat, stirring frequently, or until the butter is melted, making sure it doesn’t come to a simmer – remove from the heat and add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl that you will use a hand mixer in. Do not wash the sauce pan, we will use it later to make the filling.
- Mix the dry ingredients for the cookie dough: While the butter is cooling slightly, add the almond flour, coconut flour, corn starch, baking powder, and salt to a small bowl – gently mix so the dry ingredients are somewhat combined (no need to completely combine it).
- Cream the sugar and butter: To the melted butter add the sugar and whisk on high for 1 minute. Add the egg and the vanilla, whisk on high for 2 minutes, or until everything is well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet: Add the dry to the wet ingredients in batches of thirds, mixing on low in between. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides as needed. Once all the dry ingredients have been added and a dough has formed use a spatula to mix it one or two more times to ensure everything is well mixed.
- Chill the dough: If the dough is too sticky to handle chill it in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven: At this time pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare a cookie sheet: Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat, set aside. Note: if you are using a flat cookie sheet, like I did you can use a little cooking spray under the parchment paper to keep the parchment paper from slipping.
- Roll dough into balls: Use a small cookie scoop (or measure out 1.5 tablespoon size dough), roll them into balls, place on the parchment lined baking sheet in even lines. you should have about 15 cookies.
- Freeze dough balls: Freeze dough balls for 10 minutes (I know this is a lot of freezer time, but trust me, the dough is way too sticky to work with otherwise).
- Toast the pecans: Spread the chopped pecans out on a small baking dish. Toast in the preheated oven for 5 to 7 minutes – tossing half way, or until they begin to brown slightly and smell fragrant. Set aside to cool.
- Make indents in cookies: Pull the chilled dough balls from the freezer. Use your thumb to make an indent in each ball, only pushing halfway down – be careful not to push all the way down. If you have small thumbs, like I do, use your thumb to gently pull at the side again to make the indent just a little bigger. The indent of each cookie should measure about 2 to 2 1/2 inches (I found it helpful to measure for uniformity). See the photos in the post for a guide. If the indents are too big the cookies will spread too much and the filling will ooze out.
- Freeze dough (one last time): Freeze the cookie dough for 20 minutes. It’s especially important to freeze the dough at this step because we will be adding hot filling to the cookies and going in a hot oven, the freezing really helps them to hold their shape while baking.
- Make the pecan pie filling: While the dough chills make the filling. Measure out all your ingredients into small bowls and have them ready to go. To the already used sauce pot add the 1/4 cup butter, turn the heat on to low, and stir until fully melted. To the melted butter add the maple syrup and vanilla. Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the liquid into the bowl with the corn starch. Use a small fork to whisk the corn starch until no more lumps remain. Slowly whisk the corn starch slurry into the sauce pot. Whisk in the cinnamon and salt. Turn the heat up to high and once it comes to a boil turn the heat down to low and allow the mixture to simmer for exactly 3 minutes, whisking frequently – don’t let the mixture boil. The mixture should thicken enough to cling to the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat after the 3 minutes and stir in the pecans.
- Fill the cookies: After the dough has chilled spoon in 1/2 teaspoon of the pecan pie filling into each cookie, making sure to get an equal amount of the liquid and the pecans.
- Bake: Bake the cookies on the rack furthest away from the heat source. Bake for 10 minuets. Remove the cookies from the oven, quickly and carefully add 1/4 teaspoon filling to any cookies that need it, being careful not to overfill. Bake for another 5 to 7 minutes, or until the cookies have started to brown on the edges and the filling is bubbly. The cookies will firm up as they cool.
- Cool: Allow the cookies to cool completely before removing them from the baking sheet. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if desired.
- Enjoy/store: Once the cookies are cooled you can dig into them immediately. Or to store them, transfer the cooled cookies into an air tight container and store at room temperature for 5 to 6 days.
Notes
Sugar: Since this recipe is a holiday treat I used organic white sugar (or white granulated sugar), even though I normally opt for coconut sugar. This recipe does work great with coconut sugar, if you want it to be refined sugar free. Just know that the cookie won’t be white, it will be light brown but it will taste just as delicious and work just as well.
Maple syrup: Make sure to use a real maple syrup in this recipe, not the fake pancake syrup, grade B maple syrup works great. Since there aren’t many ingredients in the filling you really want that true maple flavor to stand out.
Pecan pie filling: You will have some pecan pie filling leftover. Store at room temp and re-heat gently in the microwave to loosen. The extra filling would be delicious on top of muffins, pancakes, waffles, in oatmeal etc. Enjoy!
Pecan pie filling recipe is heavily adapted from Sally’s Baking addiction.
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