Pecan praline cookies are soft, chewy brown sugar cookies topped with creamy praline frosting. Buttery and caramelized, the praline soaks into the cookies, for irresistible flavor and pecan crunch in every bite!
Buttery pecan praline cookies are soft, chewy, and packed full of rich caramelized brown sugar, topped with creamy homemade praline in all its glory. A hint of vanilla and a touch of salt take this easy cookie recipe totally over the top! Here’s why you’ll love them:
- Easy to make. Since these are drop cookies, you simply mix the dough, drop it onto a baking sheet, and bake! There’s no chilling required and your cookies are ready for the oven in 10 minutes or less.
- Soft, chewy cookies. Despite being simple to make, these praline cookies are anything but simple in terms of texture and flavor. The base is a buttery soft sugar cookie, topped with an irresistible molten praline frosting filled with sweet, nutty pecans.
- Praline frosting. Just to emphasize: Praline. Frosting! The mixture soaks into these cookies as it cools, drenching every bite with caramel flavor.
If you love the flavor of praline, try my no bake coconut praline cookies, too!
What Is Praline?
Traditionally, praline is a confection made from pecans coated in a mixture of caramelized brown sugar, cream, and butter. The consistency is similar to fudge, and the flavor is rich, creamy, nutty, and melt-in-your-mouth. Spreading it over a chewy sugar cookie in the form of frosting is basically bliss!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Take a look at the important ingredients and some notes on what you’ll need below. For a printable ingredients list, don’t forget to scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Butter – At room temperature. You’ll need it for the cookies and the praline.
- Brown Sugar – I use light brown sugar. Granulated sugar is also fine, though the flavor won’t be as caramelized.
- Egg
- Vanilla – Real vanilla extract has the best, most natural flavor.
- Baking Soda and Salt
- Flour
- Heavy Cream – The creamiest praline calls for full-fat heavy cream (or whole milk).
- Powdered Sugar – Not to be confused with regular sugar. Finely powdered sugar, also called confectioner’s sugar, gives the praline frosting its velvety smooth texture.
- Pecans – Chopped up. They can be raw or toasted.
Here’s a short step-by-step to make these insanely scrumptious praline cookies. You’ll find printable recipe instructions in the recipe card.
- Make the cookie dough. First, cream together the butter and sugar, then mix in the egg, vanilla, and leavening with a pinch of salt. Afterward, slowly mix in the flour to form the dough.
- Scoop the dough. Next, use a cookie scoop to portion balls of cookie dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake. Bake the cookies at 350ºF for 8-10 minutes. The secret to keeping these cookies soft and chewy is to take them out right when the edges start to turn golden.
- Make the praline. While your cookies cool to room temperature, combine butter, cream, brown sugar, and salt in a saucepan on the stovetop. Bring the mixture to a boil. After 1 minute, take it off the heat and stir in vanilla and powdered sugar. Lastly, fold in the pecans.
- Frost the cookies. Let your praline rest and cool for a few minutes, and then spread it over each cookie. Now, we’ve reached the hardest part about this recipe: waiting for the praline to set before digging in!
Recipe Tips and Variations
Below are the tips and tricks I picked up while perfecting this cookie recipe that you may find helpful, plus some easy variations to try:
- Leave the cookies underbaked. Just like my chocolate chip cookies and Amish sugar cookies recipes, the key to soft-baked cookies is to take the cookies out before they’re fully baked. If they’re already browned at the edges, they’re overbaked!
- Don’t boil the frosting too long. Make sure that you only let the praline frosting boil for 1 minute before taking it off the heat. This allows it to thicken to a creamy consistency once it cools. Boiling the mixture for longer can cause it to harden.
- Pumpkin. Try my pumpkin praline cookies for a fun and festive fall variation.
- Candied pecans. Make the praline with candied pecans, though the frosting will be much sweeter.
- To store. Store these pecan praline cookies airtight on the countertop for up to 7 days.
- Freeze. To freeze, store the cookies in an airtight, freezer-safe container and freeze them for up to 2 months. Defrost the cookies at room temperature.
More Praline Recipes
Print
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Pecan praline cookies are soft and chewy brown sugar cookies topped with rich, buttery praline frosting. Every bite is filled with irresistible pecan crunch!
Ingredients
Cookies
- 3/4 cups butter, room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Praline Frosting
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Cookies: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the egg, vanilla, baking soda, and salt and mix until smooth, scraping the sides, as necessary.
- Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour until just combined.
- Scoop out the dough using a medium (2-tablespoon) size cookie scoop and place onto a lined baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes until edges begin to golden.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Frosting: While cookies cool, prepare praline frosting.
- In a medium saucepan, combine butter, cream, brown sugar, and salt over medium heat. Heat mixture until it comes to a boil, stirring frequently. Once it comes to a boil, allow it to boil for one minute, and then remove it from the heat.
- Immediately add vanilla and powdered sugar, stirring until smooth. Finally, stir in nuts.
- Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes and then spread onto each cookie. Let the cookies set and enjoy!
Notes
- Store airtight at room temperature for up to 7 days.
- Freeze airtight for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.
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Oh love the addition of a praline topping – yummo!
These cookies look so delicious!
I love pecans period. Pralines, OMG!!! Love them too, and I agree with Bri, makes my teeth hurt thinking of them. 😉
Pralines are so delicious! I’m sure the cookie version is even better!
Ahhh! I went to school in Charleston and love those pralines. You can almost feel the sugar hurting your teeth 🙂 Can’t wait to try these cookies!
I love pralines. These cookies sound and look fabulous. Heading over to the recipe now.
i can definitely devour a whole batch of these cookies right now.. they look seriously divine. love praline!
In the ingredients for the flour, there is an asterisk by it. What does the asterisk mean?
Good question.. I just used all purpose flour. Not sure why they put the asterisk.
Thank you for the reply. I see Imperial added the asterisk explanation
Great!!
Being from New Orleans, I have been obsessed with praline anything since my childhood.
These are being made ASAP. Seriously, they look so divine!
Praline frosting! These look unbelievable.