*2nd Place Winner of Pearson Farm Pecan Recipe Contest at the 2019 Georgia National Fair- Paula Smith*

Ingredients

2 cups Pearson Farm Pecans (1 1/2 cups chopped, 1/2 cup finely chopped for frosting)

1 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter (for pecan toasting)

2 eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter (for cookie dough)

1/2 cup 10x sugar (for frosting)

2 Tablespoons maple syrup (for frosting)

milk to thin frosting (if needed)

Directions

Prepare Pecans- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in chopped pecans and cook, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes or until lightly toasted. Set aside until needed.

Cookie Dough- In a large bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda; whisk well to combine then set aside until needed. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat; continue cooking stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Remove pan from heat and pour butter into a large heatproof mixing bowl. Add in both sugars and whisk well to combine. Add in vanilla. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until eggs are just combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour, stirring until just combined. Fold in the toasted pecans. Cover bowl and refrigerate 1 1/2 hours.

Baking Cookies: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop 1-2 tablespoon-sized rounds of dough onto the prepared sheet, leaving 2 inches in between each cookie for spreading. Bake in preheated oven 8-9 minutes or until edges are set and center is still a little jiggly. Allow cookies to cool on the pan 5 - 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack.

Frosting: Mix together the 10x sugar, finely chopped pecans and maple syrup. Add milk SLOWLY (if needed), stirring to desired thickness. Frost cookies and enjoy!