Make the pecan pie topping

• Into a saucepan, over medium-low heat, add the brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, heavy cream, vanilla extract, kosher salt, honey, and corn syrup.

• Cook the mixture, stirring frequently using a wooden spoon, until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat. 

• Add the chopped and toasted pecans to the caramel mixture and mix well. Set aside to cool while you make the cookie dough.

Make the cookie dough

• Into a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and kosher salt. Mix with an electric hand mixer until smooth.

• Add the eggs and mix until well combined.

• Add the flour, baking powder, and mix until just combined. Don't overmix the cookie dough for moist cookies and not dry cookies.

• Scoop 18 cookie dough balls with a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop and place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet (on two separate baking sheets). Roll each cookie dough into a ball using your clean hands.

• Use a tablespoon or a teaspoon to create indents in each cookie dough ball. Dip the tablespoon in flour to prevent the spoon from sticking to the cookie dough. Fill each cookie with 1 teaspoon of the pecan pie topping.

• Bake the cookies in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Use a cup or a large biscuit cutter to swirl around the cookies while they are warm to create perfect circles.

• Add another teaspoon of the filling on top of each cookie. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, and then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely and to allow the pecan pie topping to set.

Notes

• Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.

• Don’t overmix the cookie dough, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.

• Use fresh pecans. Start with fresh, high-quality pecans to ensure a rich and nutty flavor. Stale nuts can diminish the taste of your cookies.

• Ensure your butter is at room temperature before making cookies. Remove it from the fridge an hour or two beforehand. The butter should be soft to the touch. Cold butter is harder to mix and may leave lumps in the dough.

• Create a deep well. Use the back of a spoon which has been dipped in flour to prevent sticking to make a deep indentation in each cookie to hold plenty of filling.

• Don't overfill. Add just enough filling to each cookie to prevent overflow during baking.

• Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.

• Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your brown butter chocolate chunk cookies release easily from the pan.

• Use a cookies scoop to scoop out the cookies, that way you will have even-sized cookies, plus it ensures that your cookies bake evenly.

• Be patient! It's tempting to eat cookies fresh from the oven, but let them cool for 30 minutes for firmness. Cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack for at least 10 more minutes to prevent soggy bottoms.