Presto Praline Cookies
Submitted by ivory
Presto praline cookies (graham cracker pralines): graham crackers baked under a buttery brown sugar pecan toffee. Five ingredients, 40 minutes, crowd-pleaser cookies for any occasion.
YIELD
1 dozenPREP
20 minCOOK
15 minREADY
40 minPresto praline cookies are the magic trick of the holiday cookie tin. Plain graham crackers get layered with a hot brown sugar butter caramel studded with pecans, baked for just eight minutes, and transform into a crisp, candy-like cookie that tastes like a Southern praline crossbred with a butter toffee. Five ingredients. Forty minutes. Maximum impact.
The technique is one of those clever tricks that home bakers have passed around for decades. Boil the butter, margarine, and light brown sugar together for two minutes total. This brief boil dissolves the sugar fully and develops the caramel flavor without going all the way to hard-crack stage. Stir in the chopped pecans, then spoon the molten toffee over the graham crackers lined up in a jelly roll pan.
Eight minutes in a 350°F (175°C) oven is enough to bubble the caramel into the graham crackers, melding the two layers into one cookie. Pull from the oven and transfer to a wire rack while still warm. Cut or break into pieces (one cracker breaks naturally into 4 pieces) before the caramel sets fully. Once cooled, the cookies snap with a satisfying crunch. Store airtight at room temperature for up to a week. Pair with cold milk or hot coffee.
Kitchen Tips
- Use a heavy-bottomed pot for the caramel. Thin pots scorch the sugar before it boils properly.
- Time the two-minute boil precisely. Less and the toffee stays soft and sticky; more and it gets hard and brittle.
- Cut while still warm. Set caramel shatters into messy shards when you try to slice it cold.
- Use parchment paper or a silicone mat under the crackers for the easiest cleanup. The caramel can fuse to the pan permanently.
Variations
- Swap pecans for walnuts, almonds, or pistachios for different nut profiles.
- Drizzle melted dark chocolate over the cooled cookies for chocolate-pecan toffee bites.
- Sprinkle with flaky sea salt right after baking for a salted-caramel finish.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃).
In a heavy 2-quart or larger saucepan, combine the butter, margarine and brown sugar; cook over low heat, uncovered, stirring from time to time.
Meanwhile, coat the bottom and sides of a 15×10 inch jelly roll pan with cooking spray.
Line the pan with graham crackers.
When the butter and margarine melt, raise the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a boil.
Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and continue to boil, stirring constantly, for 1 more minute or until the butter and sugar are well-combined.
Remove from heat; stir until the mixture stops bubbling.
Stir in pecans.
Spoon the mixture over the crackers.
Bake uncovered for 8 minutes.
Remove from the oven, and using a spatula, carefully transfer the cookies to a wire rack.
Cut or break the pieces in half while still warm.
Let cool 15 minutes (or up to 8 hours) and serve.
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