Pecan Praline King Cake Cookies
In a few weeks I’ll be heading to Mixed, a food bloggers conference held at the historic Mountain Lake Hotel in Virginia. Remember the resort in the movie Dirty Dancing? Yep, that’s where it’s being held and I can hardly contain my excitement that I’ll also be meeting up with some of my favorite foodie friends there as well.
In preparation for the conference, the folks at Dixie Crystals have teamed up not only as a sponsor and advocate for their Bake It Forward program, but as host to a mini BAKE OFF contest. If you’re unfamiliar with Bake It Forward and you love to bake, please take a moment to head over to their website and see how you can participate. There’s nothing more special than baking up something wonderful for someone deserving and sending some happiness to their mailbox!
Pecan Praline King Cake Cookies
Winner of the 2013 Dixie Crystals Cookie Bake-off, these Pecan Praline King Cake Cookies are the marriage of pecan praline sauce and the beloved cinnamon kissed king cake... wrapped into a bite-sized cookie.
Ingredients
- For the Cookies:
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 3/4 cup sugar, divided
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
- 2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon, divided
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- For the Pecan Praline Topping:
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 1/4 cups pecan halves
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- *optional sprinkles/edible glitter for garnish (purple, green, gold)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In large bowl, cream butter, 1 1/4 cups sugar, and 1/2 Tablespoon ground cinnamon until light and fluffy.
Beat in the egg yolks, honey, vanilla and lemon extracts.
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cream of tartar and gradually add to creamed mixture; mix well.
In a shallow bowl or baking dish combine remaining sugar and cinnamon. (Depending on how much you like cinnamon you may adjust your cinnamon and sugar mixture to taste.)
Shape a heaping tablespoon of dough first into a golf ball size ball, then roll a 6″ log. Roll the log into the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Loosely wind the roll into a circular pattern.
Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks and cool completely.
For the topping:
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar, white sugar and milk. Bring to a boil.
Stir in butter, pecans and vanilla. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool 2-5 minutes. Unlike making an actual praline, you want the consistency to be liquid enough to "glaze" over the cookie but thick enough to set. Continue stirring until desired consistency is reached. Pour over your spiral lovelies.
TIP: Place wax paper, aluminum foil, etc under the wire rack to catch the excess praline topping. Otherwise, you'll have a mess.
Sprinkle with purple, green, and gold sprinkles! A little or a lot, just give the sprinkles a shot.
Notes
PRO TIP: To evenly distribute the colored sprinkles, use individual ramekins and pinch from there rather than sprinkling directly onto the cookies.
I debated and debated the cookie recipe I’d submit for the bake off. But in true New Orleans inspired Southern spirit, I modified several recipes of the snickerdoodle-ish likeness and created something that is delicious as it is sassy; an absolute representation of the state I’ll be representing.
I mean, after all, I’m pretty sure I’ll be the only Louisiana girl in attendance. And besides, who can wait until Spring for king cake? Not this girl!
Wish me luck!
UPDATE: Cookie Bake-off Recap
These are super cute! My husband is from New Orleans and we are there twice a month. I love all things Cajun. And the Mardi Gras colored sanding sugar is perfect! So cute! I’m posting mine later today I hope. Although I think it’ll be totally awesome to win, I’m a little intimidated by the bake off!!!
Hi Christy! I’m so glad you appreciate the sanding sugar- I went back & forth on adding it, how much to add, etc. It really didn’t need it, but you can’t call something king cake and NOT have color. 🙂 I am TOTALLY intimidated by the bake off, but couldn’t not at least give it a try. I’ll be looking for your cookies and can’t wait to meet you!!!
These cookies sound beyond YUMMY! Best wishes for the contest…sounds like you have a winner!
Thank you, Shannon! Win or lose they are delicious and one of my new favorites.
Hi. Can you make these as drop cookies and not roll them into a rope before dipping into the cinnamon / sugar mixture? Thanks!
Hi! Absolutely! I rolled them to somewhat resemble a king cakes’ layers, but you most certainly skip the rolling. Just shape the dough into a ball then press into a circle to bake. In fact, it’s waaaaaay easier. Happy baking!
These cookies are AMAZING!! Better than King Cake, I believe! I even love them without the topping!
Is there a substitute for the evaporated milk?
You could use heavy cream. 🙂
I have never commented on a recipe before but I just had to today. We lived in south Texas for several years and LOVE king cake. King cake season is my favorite and I can never find a decent one in Nebraska. I have tried to make several recipes for the cake but none match the goodness. Until your cookies. I cannot believe how perfect they are. My grown kids went nuts over them. Thank you!!
This makes my heart so happy! It’s the recipe that sparked my food blogging/writing journey so it’s extra special to see it continuing to be enjoyed. 🙂