In a medium bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and that 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Give it a good whisk until everything is nicely combined. Set this aside for now.

In a large bowl (your stand mixer will be your best friend here!), cream together that softened butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar. Beat it until it's nice and fluffy, like a cloud! This usually takes a few minutes.

Now, beat in your room-temperature egg, egg yolk, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Mix until everything is beautifully incorporated.

Gradually add those dry ingredients you whisked earlier into the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed (or by hand) until just combined. Don't overmix – we want tender cookies, not tough ones!

In a small saucepan, combine the dark corn syrup, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of butter, cinnamon, that 1/8 teaspoon of salt, cloves, and nutmeg. Cook this over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Once it's smooth, remove it from the heat.

To that lovely warm filling, stir in your chopped pecans, the remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and the heavy cream. Give it a good stir until it's all nicely mixed. It will be a wonderfully gooey concoction!

Get your oven preheated to 350°F (175°C). Line your baking sheets with parchment paper – this is a game-changer for easy cleanup and preventing sticking.

Take about 1 1/2 tablespoons of cookie dough and roll it into a ball. Place these little dough balls onto your prepared baking sheets, leaving a little space between them.

Now for the fun part! Use your thumb (or the back of a small spoon) to gently press an indentation into the center of each cookie dough ball. You want to make a nice little well for our filling.

Spoon about 1 tablespoon of that glorious pecan pie filling into each indentation. Don't be shy!

Pop those beauties into your preheated oven. Bake for about 18-22 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden and the pecan filling looks set.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes. This helps them firm up a bit. Then, carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Patience is a virtue here, though I know it's hard!