Pecan Pie Thumbprint Cookies

We are currently midway through the holiday season of this year and I've been dying to share one of my favourite cookie recipes.  This has been the second time I've made these cookies during the holidays and they always get really great reviews.

I absolutely adore pecan pie (as seen here and here) but I'm not a huge fan of how long and involved it can be to make pie.  So I am in love with the simplicity of this cookie.  It has the same flavour components with less work and the cookie base itself is really buttery and flaky at the same time.  I believe that the secret ingredient is the cream cheese which gives the cookie so much tenderness.

Another convenience that I really appreciate is that it can be stored for a long time without going stale and sometimes I double the filling recipe and keep it in the fridge and remake another batch of dough during the week.  If I'm serving it at home to guests, I like to dress it up with a drizzle of homemade salted vanilla bean caramel but otherwise they taste delicious on their own and they package really well for holiday goodie bags.  All in all, this cookie is such a winner that I have to do what I always love doing whenever I have a good recipe and that is to share it with everyone!

I prepared the filling mixture while the dough was chilling in the fridge.

I portioned the cookies with a small cookie scoop.

Then, I shaped the cookies into flat discs.

Using a wine cork, I indented each cookie to create my "thumbprint".

The filling was added to the cookies.

Here are the cookies once they are fully baked. 

Pecan Pie Thumbprint Cookies

Yield: about 30-40 cookies

Ingredients

For the dough:

1 cup (8 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For the filling:

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 large egg yolk 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or bourbon)

pinch of salt

1/2 cup toasted pecans, coarsely chopped

Optional: caramel for drizzling

To make the dough, combine the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed until well blended, about 1 minute.  Mix in the sugars and beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes more.  Blend in the vanilla extract.  With the mixer on low speed, mix in the pecans, salt, and flour just until fully incorporated.  Cover the bowl and transfer to the refrigerator.  Chill the dough for about 30-60 minutes.

While the dough is chilling, make the filling.  In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter, sugar, corn syrup, egg yolk, vanilla, and salt.  Whisk just until blended.  Stir in the pecans.

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.  Scooping about 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll the dough into balls. Place the dough balls on the baking sheet 2-3 inches apart.  Use your thumb (or a wine cork) to make a small round indentation in the center of each dough ball, about 1 inch in diameter.  Fill  each indentation with some of the pecan filling mixture (I like to fill it using a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of the pecan mixture).  Chill dough in freezer for 5 minutes if ever the dough becomes too soft and pliable.

Bake the cookies, rotating the pans halfway through, until light golden and set, about 16-18 minutes total.  Cool briefly on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.  Drizzle over caramel if desired.

Source: slightly adapted from Annie's Eats