I have always enjoyed a good dessert, even if it is in small doses, and one thing I have found is that nuts can elevate a dessert to the next level.

They add additional tastes and textures that pair well with the ones of the dessert at hand.

Perhaps the best of these, in my opinion anyway, are pecans.

I have always loved pecan desserts.

Pecans have a distinct, Earthy flavor that is noticeable among the sweetness of the desserts.

I always loved my grandma’s pecan pie and would ask for it every Thanksgiving and/or Christmas.

But for this column, I wanted to venture outside of the run-of-the-mill desserts such as pecan pie. I want to offer up some new and fun suggestions to help take your dessert game up a notch.

The first is pecan pie muffins.

I like muffins, and I have tried numerous flavors, but I must admit that, until preparing for this column, I had never had pecan muffins. I didn’t know what I was missing.

I immediately fell in love with the flavor and texture of the snack. I might also add that I made my muffins in bite-sized form, but you are free to make them regular sized as well.

I thought the contrast between what you expect a muffin to be and what I was eating was interesting. There is an added crunch from the pecans and the distinct flavors definitely come through.

I would definitely recommend the dish for any pecan fanatics out there.

The next dish I wanted to mention is snowball cookies.

These cookies are amazing!

They are shortbread cookies with bits of pecan in them, and the whole package is held together with the powdered sugar coating.

I love these kinds of cookies, and I find myself always going overboard with them. There is definitely no moderation.

The last dessert I wanted to mention is pecan cobbler.

Now, I will admit I am not a huge cobbler person. I have not eaten many at all.

But this one was something different. Using nuts as a base instead of fruit is what made the difference for me, I believe.

I am not a fan of the canned fruit that is often used in desserts and as such, I do not care for any of the fruit cobblers.

With the pecan option though, there is a noticeable difference in all aspects of the dish.

So, if you want to try something new for dessert, I would recommend any one of these “nutty” options.

PECAN PIE MUFFINS

1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup all purpose flour
2 cups chopped pecans
2/3 cups butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten

■ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
■ Grease a mini or regular muffin pan.
■ In a medium bowl, stir together the brown sugar, flour and pecans.
■ In a separate bowl, beat the butter and eggs together.
■ Stir in dry ingredients until combined.
■ Spoon batter into muffin cups, about 2/3 full, and bake for 12-13 minutes, 15-17 minutes for regular sized muffins.
■ Run a knife around the edges of each muffin and pop it out.

SNOWBALL COOKIES

1 cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup confectioners sugar

■ Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
■ Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and cream with an electric mixer. You can also use a stand mixer.
■ Add in the water and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
■ Add flour and mix thoroughly.
■ Add the chopped pecans and gently stir to combine.
■ Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
■ Roll the chilled dough into 1-inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
■ Bake for 20 minutes.
■ After baking, transfer to a wire rack and cool for 5-10 minutes.
■ Roll in the confectioner’s sugar.

PECAN COBBLER

6 tablespoons butter
1 cup pecans
1 ½ cup self rising flour
1 ½ cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cup brown sugar
1 ½ cup hot water

■ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
■ Add butter to a 9-by-13-inch cake pan or casserole dish and melt in the oven.
■ Once butter is melted, sprinkle the pecans in.
■ In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, milk and vanilla. Stir to combine, but don’t over-mix.
■ Pour batter over the butter and pecans, but do not mix.
■ Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the batter, again, do not stir.
■ Pour the hot water over the mixture, do not stir.
■ Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.