King Cake Cookies with Praline Pecan (2024)

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras. To celebrate, I made these King Cake Cookies with Pecan Praline on top. These cookies are a marriage of two New Orleans delicacies, king cake and pecan pralines. If these are not a celebration, I do not know what is.

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras. To celebrate, I made these King Cake Cookies with Pecan Praline on top. These cookies are a marriage of two New Orleans delicacies, king cake and pecan pralines. If these are not a celebration, I do not know what is. I originally had these incredible cookies at Mixed (the most fun conference I have ever been to), and have been patiently waiting for Mardi Gras to roll around to make them. Dixie Crystals had a bake off to kick off their Bake It Forward program. Aimee Broussard made these and won the bake off! They are amazing. I love celebrating Mardi Gras, usually I make a king cake with my children, but this year I made these instead.

They are a little more work than I normally do for a cookie, but I guarantee that they are worth the effort. And since I only would make these once a year it is completely doable. If you want to skip a step, feel free to roll the dough into balls and them roll them in the sugar mixture without rolling them into spirals. I am not sure that it a necessary step, but I followed the recipe as it was written. While I was making them, I got the idea that you could make these two ways. You could make them as the recipe states, but you could also make a simple white glaze and decorate them like a teeny king cake. How cute would those be?

Ingredients

• 1cupbutterat room temperature
• 1 1/4cupsugar
• 2teaspoonscinnamon
• 3egg yolks
• 1Tablespoonhoney
• 1teaspoonvanilla
• 1/2teaspoonlemon extract
• 2 1/2cupsflour
• 1teaspoonbaking powder
• 1/2teaspoonsalt
• 1/2teaspooncream of tartar

Cinnamon Sugar Mixture:

• 1/4cupsugar
• 1Tablespooncinnamon

Pecan Praline:

• 1cupbrown sugar
• 1cupwhite sugar
• 1/2cupevaporated milk
• 2Tablespoonsbutter
• 1 1/4cupspecan halves
• 1/2teaspoonvanilla
• yellowgreen, and purple sprinkles

How to Make King Cake Cookies with Praline Pecan

Step 1: Cream butter, sugar, and cinnamon until light and fluffy.

Step 2: Add egg yolks, honey, vanilla, and lemon extract.

Step 3: Add flour, baking powder, salt, and cream of tartar. Mix until combined.

Step 4: Roll dough into golf ball-sized balls. Combine sugar and cinnamon on a small plate.

Step 5: Roll the ball into a 6-inch log and roll it into the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Step 6: Roll the log into a spiral shape. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Step 7: Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 12 to 16 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Step 8: Get started on the praline. Add both sugars to a saucepan. Add evaporated milk.

Step 9: Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.

Step 10: Stir in the pecans, butter, and vanilla. Bring to a boil. Take off the heat and let cool for 3 to 5 minutes.

Step 11: Spoon the praline over the cookies. I made sure each cookie had a generous portion of pecans and then went back around and used the rest of the praline.

Step 12: Mix equal parts of yellow, green, and purple sprinkles in a small bowl.

Step 13: Sprinkle over cookies.