What’s better than cookies and pie? How about cookies AND pie, wrapped into one delicious and decadent holiday cookie?
Pecan pie is a favorite with my family during the holidays… so I thought, why not blend our favorite pie into cookie form for my first year participating in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap for a great cause?
These Bourbon Pecan Pie Cookies are gooey, sticky and nutty with a hint of chocolate and the aroma of vanilla and bourbon to bring it all together. I thought they would make great batches to send to three of my fellow food bloggers to whom I was assigned to send holiday cheer… in the form of cookies, of course.
I also baked some more of these cookies to share with my fellow Los Angeles-based food bloggers at our annual holiday cookie swap. Last year I made red velvet gooey butter cookies, and these pecan pie cookies seemed to be just as big a hit! In fact, all my fellow food blogger friends brought something irresistible to the table.
Check out this one-minute Tastemade video for an overview!
The most delectable cookies made in L.A. all crammed into a 1-minute video!
Being especially short on time this year due to family circumstances, instead starting from scratch in formulating this cookie-pie mashup recipe, I decided to do a little background research first. After all, reinventing the wheel is not the greatest use of time, right?
Thank goodness for this Spend With Pennies recipe, because it provided me with a solid base and allowed me more time to adapt the recipe to my taste… and to dress it up with a little bourbon love!
You can definitely modify the recipe below however you would like, depending on how much time you’ve got to do your holiday baking this year. Hope you enjoy these as much as we did. Perhaps you can even start your own cookie swap tradition!
Bourbon Pecan Pie Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 prepared pie crust (check out Crazy for Crust’s all butter from-scratch recipe here)
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 cup pecans, lightly toasted & chopped
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup corn syrup
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 large eggs, beaten (set aside 2 tablespoons for egg wash)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup bourbon (or more, if desired!)
- 1/4 cup semi sweet or milk chocolate chips (optional)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (optional)
Method
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large non-stick pan, combine butter, pecans, brown sugar, corn syrup, maple syrup, bourbon and salt. Over low heat, slowly stir in eggs (minus the 2 tablespoons for egg wash). Continue to slowly stir on stove over medium-low heat just until slightly thickened (just about the consistency of pudding). Stir in vanilla, remove from heat and set aside.
- Roll out dough and use a 3″ cookie cutter (I used the rim of a glass) to cut out circles. Gently fold the edges in, about 1/8-1/4″
- Brush the egg wash around the pie crust edges for a glossy finish. Sprinkle with granulated sugar for a golden brown crust, if desired.
- Spoon about 1 heaping teaspoon of the pecan pie filling into each circle. Top with chocolate chips, if desired.
- Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until filling is just set and crust is lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
- Enjoy!
Speaking of cookies, the L.A. Cookie Con & Sweets Show is coming in January! Stay tuned to receive a discount code for Tanaya’s Table followers, plus a behind-the-scenes video of the newest bakery to open in Hollywood serving unique, internationally inspired baked goods!
Tanaya's Table 
Yum! I might have to try making these 🙂
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Yay! I hope you get a chance, Meaghan! Let me know how they turn out, and enjoy. Happy holidays! 🙂
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Great cookies, thanks for sharing at the FBLA meeting. Fun video too.
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Thanks so much, Kathy! Good to see you at the FBLA meeting 🙂 Happy holidays!
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Hey Tanaya! I just found your lovely blog through Ello. So glad I found this recipe before Christmas. I’ve been looking for something to take to our friend’s house next week. Thanks for the idea!
V
Life+1
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Thanks so much, V! I’m so glad to connect with you here and on Ello. I hope you and your friends enjoy these cookies! Happy holidays to you and yours 🙂
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Really cute recap of a fun afternoon. Thanks for putting us in the video– it’s our debut performance. And we agree– the cookies were delicious. I love pecan pie, so your cookie recipe is a great way to have a portable bite of pecan pie. Happy Holidays.
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Thanks, Dana! Glad to have you gals be part of the video 🙂 And thanks, I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies! Happy Holidays to you, too.
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Reblogged this on Tanaya's Table and commented:
** Note: I usually don’t get too personal on the internet, but I realized I wanted to share with you all a part of me that I don’t share with many too often… I realized I wanted to share when I started writing the words below and it just flowed… **
The countdown to Thanksgiving is on, and it’s crunch time! And by crunch, I mean putting a crispy twist on the traditional pie for dessert by turning it into a cookie! If you still don’t know what to make for Thanksgiving dessert, try this cookie recipe out. Or, bake these to send home as a little goodie bag showing your loved ones how grateful you are for them every day.
Speaking of being grateful, although this past year has been an incredibly trying time for me, it’s also taught me a lot about life and myself. I’ve also truly seen how many people love and care about me, and how much family I have all around me, doing their best to support me and love me in so many ways with the loss of my best friend, my mother.
It was exactly a year ago on Thanksgiving morning when she got the call to go to the hospital due to alarming test results. Her cancer that she fought all year to beat had not only come back, but it had spread to the bones. From then, the majority of her final couple months were spent in the hospital in so much pain and heartbreak. We started to realize our time was limited with her, although we were in denial about it. I think she started to realize she would have to leave us, that will never get to see my wedding, or know her grandchildren. Still, she remained strong through it all, enduring the worst with the best attitude. We held on to hope like no other, praying for a miracle every moment of every day.
She came home around Christmas, only because the doctors had completely given up on her. Her final day of mobility and being able to fully communicate was on Christmas, as she tried to muster up all her strength and hide the excruciating pain to make it one last happy holiday for me and our family. She proudly and nostalgically explained each ornament (“Tanaya made this when she was 7 years old in art class”) to my friend as we decorated the tree for her one last time, asking her opinion on where to place each ornament.
Each year prior, she and I would decorate the tree together, and she would be so particular about the placement of each piece, hanging each ornament in the perfect spot.
The very day after last Christmas, things took a turn for the worse, and by the night before New Year’s Eve, my mother — my best friend — was gone.
The holidays which she raised me to cherish and love, with all our festive family traditions and warm happy memories, will never be the same. Nor will my life, but that’s a given.
This year, as I do the annual holiday baking we used to do together for family and friends, she’s not there by my side. It breaks me, but as she taught me, I just try to keep going, keep smiling.
I’m grateful I had her as my mother, because she was truly an angel to not just our family, but to all she touched here on earth. Yet this year more than ever, I’m also grateful for the love I’ve received from the family that is not just blood, but in the form of family friends, lifelong friends, and the new friends who got to meet my mom and know our bond. And I’m grateful for all those who have come into my life this year, allowing me to see that there must be more that lies ahead to look forward to… despite going it alone without my best friend and hero (in physical form) from here on out.
And last but definitely not least, I’m so very grateful for each one of you, who have followed me, read my work, supported me, helped me grow and encouraged me to follow my dreams without judging me.
I’m on my way, and I could not do it without you guys. So, truly, thank you if you’re still reading this, and I hope you continue on this journey with me… because I don’t know exactly what will happen, but I do know we’re in for one crazy ride! Love you all. Sending lots of love and delicious moments to you and your loved ones.
Happy Thanksgiving ❤
Love,
Tanaya
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