So this is what happens when you go through the pantry and you realize that you had a lot of open and half empty bags of things… pecans here, Hershey’s Caramel Kisses there. Sea Salt and bourbon are constants. So, you put them all together and you get these beauties. Delicious with a hint of bourbon and salted caramel. The Kisses melted to add on the pecans halves. Pretty ingenious, I’d say.
Ingredients
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
48 unwrapped Hershey Caramel Kisses, chilled in the freezer
48 pecan halves
sea salt, for sprinkling
Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat.
In the work bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, egg, powdered sugar, bourbon, vanilla and salt until light and fluffy. Add in the baking soda and flour, and mix until combined.
Shape dough into 1″ balls and bake for 12-13 minutes (until very lightly browned just around sides). Let cookies sit on cookie sheet for 1 minute or so before topping with a Hershey’s Caramel Kiss. Cookies should still be warm so the kiss will stick. After about 30 second, mush a pecan half over the Kiss. At this point, the kiss should almost be melting anyway, and the pecan will essentially create caramel “glue” for the pecan to stick. Sprinkle with sea salt and remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
