When it comes to planning your Thanksgiving menu, pecan pie for dessert (with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, obvi) is a no-brainer. But what if we told you that this nut deserves more than to be pigeonholed into a single confection? In addition to classics like sticky buns and Southern-style pralines, pecans can also work wonders in brownies, cheesecakes, cookies, doughnuts, ice cream and so much more. Read on for 33 pecan desserts that prove the underestimated ingredient’s versatility, timelessness and deliciousness.
33 Pecan Desserts That Prove the Underestimated Nut Can Do So Much More Than Pie
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Published Oct 19, 2022
Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Erin McDowell
Katherine Gillen
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
That gooey, buttery pecan pie topping is truly revelatory, if you ask us. So much so that none of your guests will know you started with boxed brownie mix.
Katherine Gillen
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes (plus chilling time)
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, special occasion-worthy
If you’re going to stick with the O.G. this holiday, make this version. We swap out corn syrup in favor of maple syrup, so it’s seasonal and just sweet enough, rather than gloppy and cloying.
Rebecca Firth
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 50 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, kid-friendly
Chocolate chips could never. Make the caramelly pecan-dark chocolate bark, chop it up and toss it into the cookie dough (but be sure to save a few pieces for the baker to snack on).
Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Erin McDowell
4. Easy Cranberry-Pecan Sandwich Cookies
- Time Commitment: 2 hours and 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: make ahead, special occasion-worthy
With these Christmas-inspired goodies on your side, you’re bound to be the talk of the cookie swap. If you’re short on time, feel free to use store-bought jam instead of making your own. We won’t judge.
Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Erin McDowell
- Time Commitment: 3 hours and 5 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, make ahead
These are decadent enough to serve after dinner, but we won’t tell if you have one for breakfast instead. Pumpkin puree in the dough makes the rolls extra soft and moist (and turns them orange).
Photo: Jon Cospito/Styling: Erin McDowell
6. Mini Caramel Pecan Pies with Cinnamon Roll Pie Crust
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, kid-friendly
They’re almost too cute to eat—almost. Use store-bought cinnamon roll dough and caramel sauce to save time; the filling is the most important part, after all.
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
- Time Commitment: 3 hours and 10 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, make ahead, <10 ingredients
Slice-and-bake cookies are a busy hostess’s best friend. Supplement the maple syrup in the dough with a dash of maple extract to really drive the flavor home.
Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Erin McDowell
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
Another breakfast beauty that can hold its own at the dessert table (especially because there’s pie crust folded into the dough). No one will mind washing these beauties down with mulled apple cider or slow cooker spiked cinnamon lattes.
Grandbaby Cakes
- Time Commitment: 4 hours and 20 minutes (includes chilling time)
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Behold: Thanksgiving in pie form. Save time by using store-bought pie crust instead of your own, then make up for the shortcut with a scoop of butter pecan ice cream.
Sally’s Baking Recipes
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, make ahead, crowd-pleaser, one bowl, <10 ingredients
It doesn’t get simpler (or less messy) than a one-bowl cookie recipe that calls for pantry staples almost exclusively. Make them even cuter by adding festive sprinkles to the confectioners’ sugar.
Broma Bakery
- Time Commitment: 3 hours
- Why I Love It: kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
Hello, decadence. Nothing beats serving these pillowy soft buns with a side of presents on Christmas morning, but we’d be just as psyched to eat them post-dinner too.
Half Baked Harvest
12. Apple Pecan Pie Cronuts with Apple Cider Caramel Drizzle
- Time Commitment: 2 hours
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, special occasion-worthy
Our favorite thing about this recipe (besides the Honeycrisp filling, cider caramel and cream cheese frosting, that is)? You can start with refrigerated Crescent roll dough.
A Cookie Named Desire
13. Turtle Cheesecake with Almond-Oat Crust
- Time Commitment: 5 hours and 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: make ahead, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Despite the heavenly chocolate ganache, pecan-dappled caramel sauce and turtle candy garnish, this cheesecake isn’t overwhelmingly sweet, thanks to tangy sour cream in the filling.
Sally’s Baking Recipes
14. Pecan Shortbread
- Time Commitment: 4 hours
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, make ahead
Leave your rolling pin alone—you’ll only need your go-to bowl and a mixer to pull off these buttery, nutty cookies. They’ll stay fresh at room temperature for up to a week, so make them ahead if you have time.
Broma Bakery
15. Sour Cream Apple Coffee Cake with Maple Pecan Streusel
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, make ahead
The brown sugar swirl, peppered with pecan and cinnamon, is optional, as is the three-ingredient maple icing…but we can’t imagine why you’d nix them.
Well Plated by Erin
Grandbaby Cakes
17. Classic Southern Pecan Pralines
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, make ahead, crowd-pleaser
We’d prefer a tin of these for the holidays over a gift basket any day. Replace the molasses in the recipe with dark corn syrup if you prefer thicker, chewier pralines.
Half Baked Harvest
18. Butter Pecan Frosted Fudge Brownies
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, beginner-friendly
The look of the frosting is enticing enough, but if you need more convincing, the pecans are candied in bourbon, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla before being added to the mix.
Sally’s Baking Recipes
19. Brown Butter Pecan Pie Bars
- Time Commitment: 4 hours
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser
All the satisfaction of pecan pie, minus the fussy crimping. Instead, the brown butter crust is simply pressed into the pan and baked.
Half Baked Harvest
20. Chocolate-Covered Pecan Butter Truffles
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 50 minutes
- Why I Love It: make ahead, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, <10 ingredients
The recipe calls for making your own pecan butter in a food processor, but you can easily substitute store-bought if you don’t have the gadget (or the energy).
A Cookie Named Desire
21. Caramel Apple Pecan Muffins
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
The filling is made up of diced apples, chopped pecans, golden raisins and caramel. It’ll work with any baking apple you like (although we’re partial to tart-sweet varieties), and you can substitute dried cranberries for raisins too if you’d prefer.
Broma Bakery
22. Browned Butter Pecan Biscuits
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
Sweet-and-salty stans, this one’s for you. Serve ’em up at breakfast time or pile them high with ice cream, whipped cream or baked fruit for dessert.
Grandbaby Cakes
23. Turtle Candy
- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, kid-friendly, <10 ingredients
These chewy, crunchy delights will be our go-to hostess gift ’til the end of time, TYVM. You’ll be shocked how quickly and painlessly they come together.
Sally’s Baking Recipes
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: make ahead, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
If vanilla icing isn’t your thing, serve the cake plain or substitute confectioners’ sugar. Either way, you can freeze it for up to three months and thaw it before serving.
Half Baked Harvest
25. Pecan Pie Cookies with Butter Pecan Frosting
- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, make ahead, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
Seasonal cookie cutters can take a dessert from basic to beautiful in an instant. As if their shape and the frosting don’t make them Insta-worthy enough, the cookies are also finished with chopped pecans and chocolate drizzle.
Well Plated by Erin
26. Honey Bars
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
This better-for-you dessert is just what your diet-obsessed relative is craving. Made with unsweetened applesauce, honey and white whole wheat flour, these bars clock in at 147 calories a piece.
Grandbaby Cakes
27. Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
The filling is very fudgy in texture, but you can help it set (and slice easier) by covering and refrigerating the pie for a couple of hours before serving it.
Half Baked Harvest
28. Slice-and-Bake Vanilla Brown Butter Pecan Cookies Dipped in Chocolate
- Time Commitment: 3 hours and 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, make ahead
BRB, drooling. The brown butter offers plenty of nuttiness to the cookies, but you can up the ante by toasting the pecans before adding them to the dough.
Sally’s Baking Recipes
29. Maple Pecan Snickerdoodles
- Time Commitment: 2 hours and 50 minutes
- Why I Love It: make ahead, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
This autumnal trifecta is basically impossible not to like, so these cookies are just the ticket if you don’t know what to serve for Thanksgiving dessert. Be sure to set aside at least two hours for the dough to chill.
Broma Bakery
30. White Chocolate Maple Pecan Cookies
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, make ahead
They’re as simple to prepare as your favorite chocolate chip cookies. Dare we add crushed pretzels or potato chips to the dough to make the cookies even saltier?
Half Baked Harvest
31. Coconut Pecan Caramel Butter Cake
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser, make ahead
Oh, hi, brown sugar icing and coconut-vanilla whipped cream. Where have you been all our life? You can make this stunner up to four days in advance of the big feast.
A Cookie Named Desire
32. Brown Butter Pecan Madeleines
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
As fancy looking as these French treats are, they actually require minimal time and ingredients to come to fruition. Serve them warm for maximum deliciousness.
Grandbaby Cakes
- Time Commitment: 15 hours and 15 minutes (includes resting time)
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, special occasion-worthy
Don’t let the prep time discourage you—most of those 15 hours are chilling time. Pro tip: Start with room temperature ingredients to ensure your filling is lump-free.
Taryn Pire is PureWow’s associate food editor. A former bartender and barista, she’s been writing about all things delicious since 2016, developing recipes, reviewing restaurants and investigating food trends at Food52, New Jersey Family Magazine and Taste Talks. When she isn’t testing TikTok’s latest viral recipe, she’s having popcorn for dinner and posting about it on Instagram @cookingwithpire.
