Best Praline Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Arrange the chopped pecans on half of the prepared baking sheet and place the pecan halves on the other half. Bake the pecans until toasted, about 10 minutes. When done, set aside to cool, keeping the chopped pecans and pecan halves separate.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar with an electric mixer. Add 1 egg at a time, beating to combine, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture in 2 batches, beating well to combine. Fold in the toasted chopped pecans.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. With an ice-cream scoop, scoop 1 1/2-tablespoon rounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheets (making sure you leave at least 1 inch of space between each). Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour and up to overnight. Chilling the dough helps prevent it from spreading during baking.
• After your dough chills for at least an hour, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes, then bake the cookies until slightly golden brown around the edges, 11 to 12 minutes (12 to 13 minutes for crispier cookies). Add a pecan half to the middle of each cookie and cool to room temperature.
• For the praline sauce: While the cookies are cooling, add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter and milk to a medium saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil, whisking continuously. Boil and whisk for 3 minutes more, or until the sauce is thickened slightly and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat. Let cool for 4 to 5 minutes.
• Drizzle the sauce over the cookies before serving. The cookies and any leftover praline sauce will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days stored separately. Spoon leftover sauce over ice cream or stir into hot coffee.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Beat in egg, vanilla and maple flavoring. Beat in salt and flour until a smooth dough is formed. Shape dough into a log 12 inches long, wrap in wax paper, and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Slice dough into 1/4 inch slices. Place slices on cookie sheet. Top each cookie with a pecan half. Bake for 10 minutes in preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture. Mix well. Cover and chill until dough is easy to handle, about 1 hour. , Form into 1-in. balls; place 2-in. apart on greased baking sheets. Flatten cookies slightly with fingers; sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon pecans. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks. , Meanwhile, for icing, combine the brown sugar and cream in a saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture comes to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; blend in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Drizzle over cookies.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
• With an electric mixer (or Kitchenaid with paddle attatchement), cream butter and 1 1/2 cups brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Add egg and vanilla. Beat until fully combined.
• Add dry ingredients, and beat on low speed until combined.
• Drop batter by rounded teaspoons on to an ungreased baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
• Bake until firm and barely golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Wait 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack.
• In a small saucepan, combine remaining 1 cup brown sugar and cream.
• Bring to a boil over a medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.Remove from heat.
• Add powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth.
• (If frostening thickens too much, thin with heavy cream.).
• Add pecan pieces.
• Place cookies on a cooling rack over a lined baking sheet.
• Spoon about 1/2 teas praline mixture onto each cookie.

Steps:

• Grease a large baking sheet with butter; set aside.
• Stir together the 1/3 cup granulated sugar and water in a heavy medium saucepan. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until boiling.
• Cook for 2 -/2 to 3-1/2 minutes more or until syrup is a deep golden brown. Remove from heat.
• Stir in nuts. Immediately pour onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Cool completely on a wire rack until firm.
• Transfer the firm praline to a heavy plastic bag.
• Using a rolling pin, crush the praline into small pieces; set aside.
• For cookies, beat the 1 cup butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
• Add brown sugar, the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and baking soda; beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.
• Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can. Stir in remaining flour and crushed praline.
• Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 13 to 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to wire racks and cool completely.
• Drizzle melted chocolate over cookies.

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan combine the sugar, brown sugar, and cream and bring to a boil. Cook on medium heat to softball stage (238 degrees F), then add the butter and pecans. Continue cooking until hardball stage (245 degrees F). Spoon large dollops of it onto a silicone mat or parchment lined baking tray. The pralines will spread and crystallize as they cool.

Steps:

• Mix light brown sugar, granulated sugar, heavy cream, butter, water and salt in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until sugar dissolves. Stir in pecans and cook over medium heat until mixture reaches the soft ball stage, 238 to 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer. If you spoon a drop of boiling syrup into a cup of ice water, it will form a soft ball that flattens easily between your fingers.
• Remove pan from heat and stir rapidly until mixture thickens. Drop pralines by the spoonfuls, 1-inch apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Let cool completely until firm. Store in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a small bowl, combine the pecans and flour. In a small saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir the dry ingredients into a pan. Transfer the batter to a bowl and stir occasionally until it thickens into a dough and is cool enough to handle, about 25 minutes.
• With moistened hands, roll the dough into various size balls, depending on whether you're making cookies, cups or coronets (see below). Place on ungreased baking sheets, 3 to 7 inches apart, depending on size-they spread quite a bit. Bake about 12 minutes, or until the active bubbling subsides. Place the baking sheet on rack and let cool until the cookies are firm enough to lift with a flexible metal spatula but are still malleable, 3 to 5 minutes. Working quickly, mold each into shape and set on a wire rack to cool completely. If the cookies get too cool and brittle to mold, put the try back in the oven for a minute to soften.
• To make 9 dessert bowls: With moistened hands, mold each ball using a rounded tablespoon of dough. Place only 2 balls on the ungreased baking sheet. Have 2 small soup bowls measuring 4 1/2 to 5-inches across the top ready by the oven. Follow the baking instruction above. When set but still malleable, lift the cookies, one at a time, and place each in a bowl, nutty, bumpy side up. Gently press the bottom to flatten. The sides will ruffle prettily. Wipe the excess butter off the baking sheet and continue with the remaining dough. If you have more than 1 baking sheet, stagger the baking so that you can mold 1 tray while the other is in the oven.
• Fill with butterscotch ice cream, pumpkin mousse, bananas and cream, or anything that strikes your fancy and goes well with pecans.
• To make 9 ice cream cones: Follow the baking instructions above for dessert bowls, but when you lift a cookie off the baking sheet, roll it into a cone with the nutty, bumpy side facing out, and hold it for a few seconds to set. Lay it on the cooling rack, seam side down, and place a cylindrical object, such as a pill bottle, in the opening to set until you roll the next cookie.
• Fill with scoops of any flavor ice cream or sorbet that complements pecans.
• To make 18 coronets: With moistened hands, mold rounded teaspoons of the dough into balls. Place about 9 balls on an ungreased baking sheet. Follow the baking instructions for ice-cream cones; you're making a smaller version of the same. Repeat with a second tray.
• Fill with mousse, ice cream, or berries and cream. Place a little dab of cream on the plate to anchor the coronets, and place 1 or 2 coronets on each plate with fruit sauce or hot fudge spilling out of the opening.
• To make 24 cookies: With moistened hands, mold level teaspoons of dough into balls. Place about 12 balls on an ungreased baking sheet. Follow the instructions above. When the cookies are set but still flexible, transfer to a cooling rack. Repeat with a second tray.
• To make 24 cigarettes: Follow the baking instructions for cookies, but when you lift a cookie off the baking sheet, roll it around a chopstick or the handle of a wooden spoon. Lay it on the cooling rack, seam side down. If the cookies get too brittle to mold, put the baking sheet back in the oven for a minute to soften them. To dip the ends in melted chocolate, immerse 1 end of a cookie, then the other, shake off the excess chocolate, and dip the end into a small bowl of grated chocolate.
• Lay it on a sheet pan lined with parchment or waxed paper. When all the cookies are dipped, place the tray in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes, just until the chocolate sets.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Praline:
• In a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stir together constantly the sugar and water. Cook until boiling for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes or until the syrup is golden brown in color. It is important to remove the saucepan from the heat just as the sugar begins to darken to an amber color. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup pecans. Carefully pour the hot mixture onto a parchment lined sheet tray. Let cool until completely firm. Transfer to a plastic bag, crush with a rolling pin, and reserve for the cookie dough.
• Cookies:
• In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together with a hand mixer. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and beat until combined.
• Stir in the flour and baking soda and mix until incorporated. Fold in the reserved crushed praline until combined. Drop 1 tablespoon or a small ice cream scoop of the dough onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned.
• While the cookies are baking, melt the chocolate in a double boiler and stir until smooth. When the cookies are done drizzle the white chocolate over the cookies and sprinkle with the chopped pecans.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C).
• Place crackers on 10x15-inch sheet cake pan, covering bottom.
• Bring sugar, butter, and cream of tartar to a boil in a saucepan. Add nuts; pour mixture oven the top of the crackers.
• Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Cool for a few minutes in the pan; remove from pan while still warm.

Steps:

• Set oven to 375°F.
• Cream butter and brown sugar together with an electric hand mixer, or if you would rather do it by hand, a heavy spatula will work.
• Add the baking powder and egg until the mixture looks smooth and creamy.
• Beat in the vanilla extract.
• Slowly beat the flour into the mixture, a quarter cup at a time until you use all the flour.
• Add your pecans or walnuts. (I have used both together, and apart, either way they taste wonderful! In fact I have even altered this recipe and used ground almonds).
• If you think the dough is too warm you may want to put it in the freezer. When I bake in the winter I often will put all my cookie doughs in the freezer for fifteen minutes before working with them. If the dough is too warm, it will spread while baking and you will get pancakes rather then cookies :).
• Take the dough from the freezer and drop it by the teaspoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet approx 2 inches apart.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes until the cookie looks golden, when you lift the cookies they should have an even color on the bottom.
• Cool the cookies on a wire rack until they are cool to touch.
• While the cookies cool gather your semisweet chips and vegetable shortening in a small sandwich baggie. If you want you can use a chocolate melting double boiler. Personally I like to do things the quick and easy way, so take your baggie of chocolate and shortening and seal it closed, then put it in a bowl of warm water. Wait approximately five minutes and the chocolate should have melted. If not repeat with warmer water. Use your finger to make sure the chocolate and shortening have mixed.
• Using a scissors snip the corner of the sandwich baggie and drizzle the chocolate over the cooled cookies. For small drizzles make only a slight cut in the corner of the bag, for larger chocolate lines, make a larger cut. I usually make designs on the cookies with the chocolate. Simple criss cross lines look elegant and sophisticated.
• These cookies are one of my favorites, and I often bring them to parties or special occasions because of their beautiful appearance and interesting flavor.
• **To Toast Nuts**.
• Set oven to 350°F.
• Place nuts on baking sheet in a single layer.
• Bake for approximately 5-8 minutes checking frequently, and stirring them about on the sheet. They should become a golden bronze color, depending on the nut. The toasting of nuts will allow for a richer flavor usually.

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• In large saucepan over medium heat, combine pecans, sugar, butter, brown sugar, milk and vanilla. Heat to between 234 and 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface.
• Drop by spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Let cool completely.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix the topping ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
• Cream together butter and sugar, then add the egg.
• Sift dry ingredients together, then add together.
• Roll dough into half-inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet.
• With the end of a wooden spoon, or with a dowel, make a small well in each ball.
• Place 1/4 teaspoon pecan topping in each cookie.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, keeping an eye on them towards the end as they can burn quickly.
• Cool on a rack and store in an airtight container.
• Note: Original recipe called for 1 Tablespoon whiskey, bourbon or orange juice to be added along with the egg, but I've never used it and found they turn out fine without.

Steps:

• Have ready 4 oiled large baking sheets. In a heavy 2-quart saucepan combine the sugars, the cream, the salt, and the cream of tartar, cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring and washing down any sugar crystals clinging to the side with a brush dipped in cold water, until the sugar is dissolved, and boil it over moderately high heat, undisturbed, until a candy thermometer registers 238°F. Remove the pan from the heat, let the mixture cool until the candy thermometer registers 220°F., and stir in the butter and the vanilla. Beat the mixture until it is creamy and stir in the pecan halves. Working quickly, drop the mixture by tablespoon onto the baking sheets and let the pralines cool. Remove the pralines carefully and store them, wrapped individually in wax paper, in airtight container in a cool place. The pralines keep for 2 weeks.

Steps:

• Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well at medium speed of an electric mixer. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in vanilla and praline liqueur.
• Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture, mixing well. Shape dough into 1 inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Press a pecan half into center of each cookie. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and 1 1/2 cups light-brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until fully combined. Add dry ingredients, and beat on low speed until combined.
• Drop batter in rounded teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake until firm and barely golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies from pan to wire rack.
• In a small saucepan, combine remaining 1 cup light-brown sugar and cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add confectioners' sugar, and whisk until smooth. (If frosting thickens, thin with cream.) Add pecan pieces. Place cookies on a cooling rack over a lined baking pan. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon praline mixture onto each cookie.