Pecan Pie Cookies have a thin flaky crust with a layer of the amazing nutty caramely pecan pie filling we love so much! These are the perfect cookies for any occasion!
Pecan Pie Cookies
Pin it to your DESSERT board to SAVE it for later!
Follow Spend With Pennies on Pinterest for more great tips, ideas and recipes!
Pecan pie is always a favorite around here! If I’m going to have pie for dessert, it’s going to be a pecan pie any day of the year, not just at Thanksgiving!
Pecan pie is the perfect combination of a sweet, caramel-y, nutty filling in flaky pastry crust! We top it with fresh whipped cream… ahh, so rich and decadent. These cookies have the same delicious flavors!
Pecans are great in cookies but these are different than any ol’ cookie you’ve eaten before. These cookies have thin flaky crusts with a layer of the amazing nutty caramely pecan pie filling we love so much!
These are surprisingly quick and easy to prepare! 
The key to success with this recipe is the consistency of the filling. If it’s too runny, it’ll run out of the mini crusts. If it’s too thick it won’t spread to fill the crusts and caramelize on the edges.
You’ll start by combining all of the filling ingredients and then stirring constantly over low heat until the mixture slightly thickens. Low and slow is definitely the way to go on this recipe!
You’ll want it just slightly thinner than pudding so that once it is put into the crusts it will spread easily. If you happen to cook it a little too long you can mix in up to 1 tablespoon extra corn syrup to get the right consistency.
I very highly recommend baking these on parchment paper as the sugar caramelizes and the filling sometimes slightly overflows. If you don’t use parchment, they will most likely will stick to your baking pan!
I used Pillsbury refrigerated crust in this recipe however, you can use whatever crust is your favorite including homemade!
Tools & treats you’ll need for this recipe:
Karo Corn Syrup – Parchment Paper – Round Cookie Cutter – Pecans
Ingredients
- 1 single pie crust unbaked, homemade or purchased
- 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- ⅓ cup brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup corn syrup
- 2 eggs
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Optional
- ¼ cup semi sweet chocolate chips for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Combine butter, pecans, brown sugar, corn syrup, salt and eggs. While constantly stirring, cook on the stovetop over medium-low heat just until thickened. (You don’t want it dry, just slightly thickened, about the consistency of pudding). Remove from heat and set aside.
- Unroll dough and using a 3″ cookie cutter, cut out circles. Gently fold about ⅛-¼″ up on the edges.
- Spoon 1 tablespoon of the pecan mixture into each circle.
- Place on a parchment lined pan (it’s important to line it) and bake 8 minutes or until filling is just set. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
Optional
- Place chocolate chips in a small Ziploc bag (use brand name, the store brands tend to leak). Microwave about 15 seconds or until mostly melted. Snip off a tiny corner of the baggie and drizzle chocolate over the cookies. Cool until set.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
A few more recipes you’ll love
Pecan Pie (without corn syrup)
I made these and they were good. Any suggestions for eliminating the corn syrup?
I have only made them as written above. One reader did suggest Maple Syrup but I’m not sure how it worked out. If you do substitute, just ensure that your filling is the consistency of pudding before you fill your cookies.
Please let us know if you try it!
I just made these tonight and the only change I made was leaving the salt out based on what another reviewer had said about using Walmart pie dough (which is what I used). These came out delicious! They came out perfect and I didn’t have any problems with overflowing. Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Jessica! Thank you for sharing!
I made these for Christmas and they were delicious. I also had a problem with the crust staying turned up. Are you allowing your crust time to come to room temp or using straight out of fridge?
Also, I may have overcooked my filling. I cooked low and slow as other commenters suggested but it took a long time to thicken up – maybe 15 minutes. The result was a fluffier topping than yours look in the pictures. My husband is still thrilled with the recipe and I’ll be giving it a 2nd try this afternoon for a New Year’s Eve party. Thanks for the recipe. I’m so excited about it.
I did allow my crust to come to room temperature before assembling these.
I had been looking forward to making these. I’m far from novice, especially with pies, even pecan pies. However, I was quite disappointed. The filling began to burn before the pie crust completely finished baking. Up until that point, every thing went according to the recipe. For all the effort, I’m not sure I’d make them, again.
I”m sorry these didn’t work out for you Shelley, I’m not sure why your filling burnt as I have made these several times and didn’t have that issue.
I just made these and OMG they are delicious! My husband said they were decadent!
For those having trouble getting the mix to thicken in the pan…don’t stir constantly. Stir every minute or so and it will thicken…be patient as it does take a little time to get it to thicken. I used Bob’s idea of holding the bag of chocolate chips in hot water rather than the microwave and it came out perfect. I definitely need to learn how to pipe the chocolate neater though LOL I will DEFINITELY be making these again!
Thanks for the recipe Holly!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Megan! :)
Can I substitute the eggs with anything?
The eggs thicken the mixture so I think they would be needed in this recipe.
I just made these for the first time and didn’t have any pie crust so I used puff pastry. They still turned out delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Your lovely cookies caught my eye on Pinterest today; I had some pastry in the fridge and decided to make them. I ended up with a few more shells than filling, but just used jam to fill the leftovers.
Oh my, oh my, they are so delicious! What a wonderful treat to bring home for Christmas – if I decide to share, that is!
Could you tell me……..if I substituted maple syrup (I’m a true Canadian! LOL), and cooked the filling a bit longer, would that hurt/work?
I’m in the Middle East, and can’t seem to find corn syrup!
Can’t wait to make these…….though I think I will add a little vanilla and toast the pecans a bit first.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe…….may just become my new Christmas Day dessert!
I haven’t tried substituting but if you do, you’ll just want to make sure that the filling is about the same consistency as pudding before you go ahead and bake them. Hopefully that helps!
Please let us know how it works out for you Michelle! Merry Christmas. :)
Best recipe ever!!! I made two batches of these and each time they turned out perfectly. Also, I froze them for two days and they were FAB!!! THANK YOU so much for sharing.
So glad you enjoyed them Tina!!
I’ve got to try these. My son wants them. They look totally yummy!
I don’t know where I went wrong but mine seem to have no flavor! :(((
I’m not a fan of pecan pie, but decided to try these out for a variety of Christmas cookies. I am now a huuuuge fan of pecan pie cookies! They were so easy to make that I was going to forget putting this batch out and eat them all myself! I maintained control and ate only the one and left one out for the BF. I am freezing the rest so I’ll let you know how they turned out since everyone had been asking. Thanks Holly!
:) I’m so glad you enjoyed them Kel! Thank you for keeping us posted on how these freeze!
Just had a cookie straight from the freezer (don’t know if it’s a western PA thing but we all love cookies from the freezer), and it was delish! The texture of the pie crust actually reminded me more of a cookie when it was frozen. But to all those who have been asking if these can be frozen I would have to say YES. Defrosting them, they aren’t as crispy as the fresh ones but they were still really really yummy and I still have to try to refrain from eating them all right now…
Thank you SO much for coming back and sharing! I know this has been asked many times!
Made these this last weekend, were so easy to make and everyone loved them. However my filling did run out of them some more than others. I’m making these again tomorrow and I am going to try maybe just a little less filling. Thank you for this recipe will make these every holiday! If you have any suggestions on how to keep filling in please let me know ;)
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! The only suggestion I have is to be sure to fold up the edges of your dough.
I made these at Thanksgiving and they were great! Like some of the comments above though, I couldn’t get the edges to fold up properly. Is there a certain technique to get them up and to stay up? However my filling did not run off so it was fine. Also I’m curious can these be frozen? Thanks
I haven’t tried freezing these so I can’t say for sure…
As far as the dough, mine folded up quite easily (I used Pillsbury) so it may be related to the dough or even the temperature of the dough!
Maybe I should have read over all of the comments…
Can these be frozen for a week?
This recipe looks like the Pecan Pie I make especially for my sweet husband (It only makes him sweeter).
I certainly be trying this recipe in a couple of days for giving at Christmas!
I have not tried freezing these so I can’t say for sure if it would work. Hopefully someone else here has tried it!
Made a double batch for a holiday party yesterday. Skipped the chocolate. My circles were about 2-1/2″ and I got almost 4 dozen out of this. Use 3 and one half 9 inch deep dish pie crusts. I did turn up little edges but also used a very scant tablespoon. They are delicious. Got rave reviews. Almost a praline on a crust. Used parchment paper – excellent. Will do them again. Very easy, very quick. Thanks for the cooking suggestion – low and slow. And, I did mix everything together before putting in the pan. Suspect that is the best process to avoid scrambled eggs!
So glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for sharing Mona!
Do these cook as a crispy cookie? Or moist? I am wondering how to make it so I can send to my hubby on deployment. He loves pecan tarts/pie.
They do stay a bit moist.
made them … I made squares …don’t think I cooked topping enough … So kept it in over longer to cook through mmm good
Can you make the filling part the night before you need it? Will be do okay?
I haven’t tried it but I am sure it would be just fine! I would refrigerate it over night and bring it to room temp before baking.
Thanks so much!!! I am not the best baker!!!
You’re welcome Brittany! Let me know how it works out for you! :)