Best Crunchy Pecan Cookies Recipe Epicuriouscom Recipes

PECAN BROWN BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.
• Heat butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until milk solids on bottom are a dark chocolate brown. Transfer to a shallow bowl and chill in freezer until just congealed, about 15 minutes.
• Blend brown butter with sugars, flour, baking soda, salt, and eggs in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in pecans.
• Spoon tablespoons of batter onto parchment-lined baking sheets, arranging them about 1 inch apart. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through, until browned, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool (cookies will crisp as they cool).

PECAN SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Toast pecans in oven, then cool. Leave oven on.
• Pick out about 36 of the best-looking pecan halves for topping cookies and finely chop remainder.
• Blend together butter, sugars, vanilla, and salt in a bowl with a fork until combined well. Stir in flour and chopped pecans until a soft dough forms (dough will be sticky).
• Form 1-inch balls of dough and arrange 2 inches apart on 2 ungreased baking sheets. Flatten balls to 1/3 inch thick using bottom of a glass (flour it if necessary), then push a pecan half onto center of each cookie.
• Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are golden, about 20 minutes. Cool cookies on sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool.

CRISP COCOA-PECAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon (generous) salt in medium bowl. Stir butter and next 5 ingredients in another medium bowl until smooth. Stir in flour mixture, then nuts. Cover and chill until firm enough to scoop, at least 4 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.
• Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325°F. Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment. Measure 2 level tablespoonfuls dough; roll between palms into ball. Place on prepared sheet. Using fingers, spread out dough to 3-inch-diameter disk. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 5 inches apart.
• Bake cookies 8 minutes; reverse sheets. Bake cookies until flat and beginning to darken around edges, about 10 minutes. Transfer cookies on parchment to rack (cookies will crisp as they cool). DO AHEAD: Can be made 4 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
• Place rack inside rimmed baking sheet. Place chocolate chips in small microwave- safe bowl. Heat chips in microwave in 15-second intervals until smooth, stirring occasionally. Place cookies on rack. Drizzle melted chocolate over cookies. Let stand until chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.

CRUNCHY PECAN-TOFFEE COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; whisk until well combined.
• Place butter and brown sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg whites and vanilla extract, and beat for 1 more minute. Gradually add flour mixture to the bowl and mix until completely combined. Fold in pecans and toffee bits until all ingredients are well incorporated.
• Move the bowl to the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Scoop dough into heaping tablespoon-sized balls with a spoon or cookie scoop. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet and flatten just slightly with the palm of your hand.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges are set and lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

PECAN LACE SANDWICH COOKIES WITH ORANGE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• For cookies:
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Stir butter, sugar, and corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in flour. Add nuts and vanilla; stir to combine.
• Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until bubbling and lightly browned, about 11 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely.
• For filling:
• Whisk all ingredients in medium bowl until smooth. Spread 1 teaspoon filling onto bottom of 1 cookie. Top with second cookie, bottom side down, pressing lightly to adhere. Repeat with remaining cookies. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Store between sheets of waxed paper in airtight container at room temperature.)

CRUNCHY PECAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine butter, brown sugar, and sugar in a bowl and cream with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and pecan oil and beat until well combined.
• Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Add the flour mixture to the bowl in 3 additions. Stir in pecans. Use a small cookie scoop to drop portions of dough 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. These cookies spread.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Increase heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and bake until edges turn golden, about 5 minutes more. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to racks to cool completely.

RENEE'S PECAN CRUNCH COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease baking sheets.
• In a bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together. In a separate large bowl, cream the butter, 1 cup of white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth, and beat in the eggs and vanilla extract until well combined. Stir in the flour mixture, and mix the pecans into the dough.
• Drop the dough by tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Place 1/2 cup of white sugar into a shallow bowl. Moisten the bottom of a drinking glass with a wet cloth, and dip the glass bottom into the sugar. Flatten cookies with the sugared glass, dipping into sugar for each cookie.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 9 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool on sheets for a minute or two before removing to finish cooling on racks.

CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE

Steps:

• Thoroughly mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut the butter into chunks and add it to the bowl. Using two knives or a pastry blender, cut the butter into successively smaller pieces, scraping the bottom of the bowl and tossing the pieces to coat and separate them with flour as you work, until the largest pieces of butter are the size of peas and the rest bread-crumb size. (Do not let the butter melt or form a paste.) Mix the yogurt with the 1 tablespoon ice water and drizzle it over the flour mixture, tossing with a rubber spatula or a fork, folding and pressing the dough to distribute the moisture. If necessary, drizzle up to 1 more tablespoon water, until the dough is just moist enough to hold together when pressed. Dump the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and compress it into a flat disk, pressing in any loose pieces. Wrap in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or for up to 3 days.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it stand until it is pliable enough to roll without severe cracking. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 14-inch circle about ⅛ inch thick, rotating and dusting the surface with flour to keep it from sticking. Brush the excess flour from the rolled-out circle, fold the circle into quarters, and transfer it to the pie pan. Unfold, easing the pastry into the pan without stretching it. Trim the overhang to about 1 inch. Turn the excess dough under and flute or crimp the edge. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes before baking. (Reserve a few dough scraps for later patching if necessary.)
• Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 6 to 9 minutes, until fragrant and lightly colored. Set aside.
• Increase the oven temperature to 400°F and let preheat.
• Press a 12-inch square of foil, shiny side down, against the bottom and up the sides of the crust. Tent the edges of the foil over (not touching) the edges of the crust, like an awning, to prevent overbrowning. Prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork, piercing right through the foil. Fill the foil-lined crust with dried beans or pie weights.
• Bake the crust for 20 minutes. Remove the foil liner and weights. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes more, until the bottom of the crust is golden brown.
• While the crust is baking, make the filling: Combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the brown sugar, salt, rum, and vanilla. Add the eggs and stir until the mixture is well blended and hot to the touch. Set the double boiler aside, stirring the filling from time to time.
• When the crust is baked, remove it from the oven. (Leave the oven on.) If necessary, press bits of reserved dough into any holes or cracks in the crust. Pour the pecans into the crust and the hot filling over the nuts.
• Bake until the filling is puffed and cracked at the edges and brown in patches but still jiggles in the center when nudged, 10 to 12 minutes. A knife inserted in the pie will emerge very gooey. If the edges of the crust are browning too fast before the pie is done, cover with a 12-inch square of foil with a 7-inch circle cut out from its center. Cool the pie on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment or wax paper.
• Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
• Beat together butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Lightly beat 1 egg with a fork in a small bowl and add 1 3/4 tablespoons of it plus 2 remaining whole eggs to butter mixture, beating with mixer until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour mixture until just blended, then stir in chips.
• Scoop 1/4 cup batter for each cookie, arranging mounds 3 inches apart, on 2 baking sheets. Flatten mounds into 3-inch rounds using moistened palm of your hand. Form remaining cookies on additional sheets of parchment.
• Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool and continue making cookies in same manner using cooled baking sheets.