Pecan Praline Cookies

Pecan Praline Cookies ~ these irresistible chewy brown sugar cookies are topped with a layer of caramel pecan praline ~ you won’t be able to keep your hands off them!

Praline is a confection made with caramelized sugar, nuts, and cream.  The French invented it, but the American South took it and ran with it ~ you can make it into a candy, a glaze, or a soft, fudgy frosting, and it’s heavenly.

The hot caramel praline topping spreads like lava over the surface of this cookie…it may slide off the side a bit, but will firm up as it cools.  It’s delicious.  You may or may not want to take a big spoon to the pan after you’ve finished frosting your cookies.   I use a similar method to frost my PUMPKIN PRALINE CAKE ~ I pour the praline hot from the pan right onto the cake and firms up to a luscious caramel topping as it cools…it’s irresistible.  In the summer I make a BROWN SUGAR PEACH CAKE frosted the same way.

This recipe is easy and straightforward,  there’s no chilling of the dough, all you do is scoop and bake.  The brown sugar insures that they spread nicely.

My 3 secrets to perfect cookies~

1.   I use a cookie scoop (1 1/2 inch for this recipe) to insure that the cookies are the same size.
2.  I also use a heavy duty USA baking sheet for all my cookie recipes, the pan bakes evenly and never warps.
3.  I keep an inexpensive oven thermometer in my oven at all times so I know exactly what the temperature is.

These three tools go a long way toward eliminating baking fails during the busy holiday season.

If you’ve never made praline before, don’t be intimidated.  This frosting is very forgiving, you can make it thicker or thinner, as you like.   If it starts to harden up before you’re finished with it, just heat it up again.  Eventually it will dry so you can stack the cookies for easy gifting or storing.

TIP: These pecan praline cookies are really good all on their own, even without the frosting.  The brown sugar gives them great flavor and keeps them nice and chewy.  They might just become my go-to sugar cookie.

Pecan praline cookies provide a delicious change from oatmeal or chocolate chip recipes, and the rich caramel flavor is distinctive.  They are sturdy enough to pack and ship, and stay nice and chewy for days.  Add them to your holiday assortment this year!

*recipe adapted from Paula Deen’s Fall Baking

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4.25 from 28 votes

Pecan Praline Cookies

Course Dessert, Snack

Yield 24 cookies

Calories 206kcal

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar you can use light brown
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

praline frosting

• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/3 cups confectioner's sugar sifted
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans

Instructions

• Set oven to 350F
• Line a heavy duty baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
• Toss the flour, soda, and salt together to blend well, and then add to the butter mixture, beating just until the dough comes together and everything is well incorporated.
• Use a 1 1/2 inch cookie scoop to scoop out the dough onto the baking sheet. Space the cookies 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes (mine took exactly 11 minutes.) Cool the cookies for a few minutes on the pan so they can set, and then transfer to a cooling rack.
• To make the frosting put the cream and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Break up any lumps in the brown sugar while you stir. Once it comes to a boil, boil for 2 minutes (set the timer.)
• Remove from the heat and whisk in the confectioner's sugar until smooth.
• Let the praline cool a little bit so it thickens up, and then spread onto the cookies. Note: if your praline is very thin, beat in more sifted confectioner's sugar.
• Top right away with the chopped nuts. The praline will harden as it cools.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 206kcal

Make it your own ~

• Use the hot praline mixture as a topping for ice cream.

Don’t forget to pin these pecan praline cookies!