How to Make Pecan Pie Decorated Cookies

Help us welcome our friend and brand ambassador Bridget Edwards. Bridget has been our guest on Sweetalk several times sharing her cookie decorating expertise, most recently with these sweet Fourth of July Fireworks Cookies. She’s back to show us how to make pecan pie decorated cookies for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

And now, here’s Bridget from Bake at 350!

Who says your pecan pie has to actually be a PIE? These darling little pecan pie decorated cookies look like mini slices of pecan pie and – dare I say it – taste even better.Pecan pie decorated cookies are perfect to take to a classroom party or to a family dinner served on your grandmother’s dishes.Start by mixing up the delicious pecan pie cut-out cookie dough. The pecans are going on top, so the cookie dough is flavored with traditional brown sugar and just the right amount of orange. That zesty orange zest plays beautifully with the toasted pecans and brown sugar.

For the shape, use a triangle cutter as shown here, or cut the dough into circles, then wedges.Before decorating, toast chopped pecans. Toasting brings out their nutty flavor. Place the chopped pecans in a skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently. Heat for several minutes until fragrant, then remove from heat and put them into a bowl.

To decorate the cookies, you’ll need:

Brown sugar and orange cut-out cookies, cut into small triangles

1 recipe for royal icing, tinted brown, gold, and white

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, toasted

Squeeze bottle

Piping bags (2)

Icing coupler

Icing tips: #3 and small star

Thin the brown icing with water, a bit at a time, stirring between each addition. Keep adding water until when a ribbon of icing is dropped back into the bowl, it disappears in a count of 15 seconds or so. Cover with a damp dish towel and let rest for a few minutes.

Uncover the bowl and stir gently to pop any large air bubbles. Pour into a squeeze bottle.

Working with 6-8 cookies at a time, cover the pie cookies with the thinned icing, avoiding the edges to prevent spill-over.

Starting with the first cookie iced, sprinkle with the chopped, toasted pecans.

Let the icing dry for at least one hour.Place the gold icing in a piping bag fitted with a #3 tip. Pipe on the “crust” using a zig zag motion.

Place the white icing in another piping bag fitted with a small star tip. Pipe a swirl of “whipped cream” onto the cookies.

Let the cookies dry uncovered for 6-8 hours or overnight.

Pecan pie cookies – they might even be better than the real thing!

Brown Sugar and Orange Cut-Out Cookies

3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup salted butter, cold and cut into chunks

1/2 cup Imperial Sugar Extra Fine Granulated Sugar

1/2 cup packed Imperial Sugar Light Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Zest of one orange

1 egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment.

Whisk flour and baking powder together. Set aside.

Cream butter with the sugars for several minutes, until combined and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, zest, and egg, mixing until combined.

In three additions, add flour mixture on low speed. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl as needed. Dough may be crumbly. Knead stray bits of flour in by hand if needed.

On a floured surface, roll the dough to 3/8th inch. Cut with cookie cutter and place on lined cookie sheet. Freeze shapes for 5-10 minutes before baking. (This helps them retain their shape.)

Bake for 12 minutes, or until done. Let sit on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

YIELD: 12-30 cookies, depending on size of cookie cutter

PREP TIME: 15 minutes

BAKE TIME: 12 minutes

DIFFICULTY: easy