Pecan Pie Cookies

I was tasked with making cookies for Thanksgiving (so that there was a "less heavy" option than pie--I would like to note that this was for my Irish side of the family, obviously not the Italian side because...no such thing as "too heavy")--but, even though I was making cookies, I decided I wanted one of them to be a classic Thanksgiving dessert. Which is why I decided to try pecan pie...in cookie form.

So...um...how exactly do we make pecan pie into cookies? Actually...they're sort of like little flat mini pies when you get down to it. You cut out circles of pie crust dough, curl up the edges to form a little well, and you put in some pecan pie filling. Bake 'em up, drizzle some yummy chocolate on there, maybe a touch of sea salt because...well...you know me and how I feel about that. And there you go-pecan pie cookies!

My picky family were fairly wary of these guys at first, but I am happy to say that they won over my aunt, who thought she didn't like pecan pie, and my grandma-who brought a bunch home-and my cousins. Pretty much everyone tried one, which is a pretty big feat. And I was so excited I had some leftovers to bring home, because then Michael and I got to enjoy them---because yeah we loved 'em. Especially chilled! Pecan pie is usually served chilled so it really shouldn't be surprising that these are better that way too.

I love how flaky and chewy the pie crust base of these cookies is. I love the sweet and nutty pecan filling. And I love how the chocolate drizzle adds a bit of extra decadence and the bit of sea salt balances all the sweet. And it's cookie season. AND pie season. So...what I'm saying is...'tis the season for you to bake these pecan pie cookies! Santa would certainly appreciate them ;)

Pecan Pie Cookies

From Spend with Pennies

Makes 10-12 cookies (recipe can be easily doubled-which is what I did).

Ingredients:

• Prepared single pie crust dough (I used this recipe for homemade or you can use storebought)
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup corn syrup
• 2 eggs
• 1/8 tsp. salt + extra sea salt, for sprinkling
• Optional-1/4 cup chocolate chips, for drizzling

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 400F degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a non-stick pot melt butter over medium-low heat. Once melted, add in pecans, brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs, and 1/8 tsp. of salt and cook until thickened to a pudding-like consistency (this will probably take around 10 minutes or so.) Remove from heat and set aside.
• Unroll or roll out the dough and, using a 3 inch cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out about 10-12 circles. 
• Place on prepared cookie sheet, leaving at least 1-2 inches in between. Gently fold about 1/8-1/4 of an inch up around the edges. Spoon approx. 1 tbsp. of the pecan pie filling into the center of each of the cookies. 
• Bake 8 minutes, or until the filling is just set. Let cool on the pan for a couple minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
• Place chocolate chips in a small Ziploc bag and microwave on high in 30 second increments (squeezing the chips around after each) until fully melted. Snip off a tiny corner of the bag and carefully drizzle the chocolate over each of the cookies. 
• Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. Cool until set. Serve at room temperature or, as I like to do, store in the refrigerator and serve chilled. 
• Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week (I highly recommend serving them chilled).

Yum yum yum, yum yum yum, yum yum yum YUM YUMMM!

(to the tune of "Jingle Bells")