252 butter pecan recipes

Strawberry muffins with fresh berries and lemon zest, topped with a pecan-cinnamon streusel and drizzled with lemon glaze. Three layers of flavor in every bakery-style bite.

These rich chocolate-toffee bars from Mary Lueke of Menasha were our top pick in the bar category.

Espresso nut cookies with a slice-and-bake shortcut. Buttery dough loaded with real espresso and chopped pecans or walnuts, chilled and sliced thin for crisp, coffee-scented edges.

Raspberry pecan thumbprint cookies spiced with cinnamon and allspice, filled with seedless raspberry jam and topped with chopped pecans. Better the next day.

Buttery shortbread bars topped with pecans, dried cherries, mini chocolate chips, and orange marmalade. A two-step bake that turns simple cookies into festive holiday treats in about an hour.

Buttery lemon tea cake with chopped pecans, soaked in a hot lemon zest and juice sauce while still warm. A tender, citrus-drenched cake with crunchy pockets of toasted nut.

Fudgy Southern chocolate cake with melted unsweetened chocolate, pecans, and a two-temperature baking method. Dense, rich, and brownie-like with a cocoa-dusted pan for extra chocolate flavor.

Traditional German sand tarts rolled paper-thin, cut into diamonds, brushed with egg white, and topped with cinnamon sugar and a pecan half. Crispy, buttery holiday cookies.

Jello rolls are sweet yeast rolls filled with dry Jello powder, sugar, and pecans, rolled up cinnamon-roll style, and drizzled with a powdered sugar glaze. A colorful, retro treat.

Midnight muncher bars with a marbled chocolate and vanilla base, caramel pecan frosting filling, and a glossy chocolate ganache topping. Three decadent layers in one rich bar cookie.

Praline apple waffle cookies baked right in a waffle iron, with shredded apple, chopped pecans, and a cinnamon-sugar dusting. A two-minute cookie shortcut with crisp patterned edges.

Brown sugar cookie dough balls pressed onto pecan halves arranged like tiny turtle legs, then baked and topped with glossy chocolate frosting. Adorable, crunchy, and completely addictive holiday cookies.

Mother's Christmas cheese cakes: cream cheese pastry tartlets with two fillings, one pecan-brown sugar and one coconut-vanilla. A classic holiday cookie tin stalwart.

Cinnamon apple popcorn with dried apples, pecan halves, brown sugar butter, nutmeg, and vanilla. Baked low and slow for a crispy, spiced snack mix.

A vintage date bread baked right inside empty beer cans with maple syrup, pecans, and real beer in the batter. Yields perfectly round slices and makes a charming homemade gift.

Mexican wedding cakes are always a holiday favorite but this recipe takes it up a notch or two, writes Mary Wilhelm of Sparta.