LED's are current driven DC devices. If you have the dropping resistor in series, the standard way of operation is to run them on DC. However, I have experimented driving LED's with the resistor an a 12V AC voltage and so far my LED outdoor lighting is working fine afterof the dropping resistor. three years.
Note :If the LED "bulbs" are rated for 12V I would run them at exactly that. Going higher or lower in voltage requires changing the inline resistance