Butter Pecan Cookies taste rich and buttery with the perfect combination of sweet and salty. The soft and fluffy cookies are packed with pecans and the entire recipe is super easy.
This rich and delicious cookie recipe come together so easily for the best homemade cookies. They are soft and buttery with the perfect balance of nuts. It is a fabulous recipe with only a few quick steps and a great Pecan Dessert.
For more tasty treats, try making Butter Pecan Cheesecake, Paula Deen Pecan Pie Recipe and Easy Cookie Recipes for Kids.
Table of contents
Why We Love This Recipe
It has all the flavor of butter pecan in a soft and fluffy cookie. It is the perfect blend of flavors and really easy to make. Each bite is the perfect texture if you love chewy cookies.
If you have extra pecans, make Air Fryer Candied Pecans.
Ingredients
- Baking Soda. If you don’t have any, try the Best Baking Soda Substitutes.
- Brown Sugar. It’s easy to make Homemade Brown Sugar Recipe.
- Vanilla Extract. Pure vanilla extract is best.
Get the entire ingredient list and recipe at the bottom of the page.
Variations
- Sprinkle with sea salt. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle with sea salt. You will love the salty and sweet combination.
- Cinnamon for extra flavor. For a different flavor, try adding 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon to the dough. You can adjust this to taste.
- The cookie on top is optional. You can leave this off if you prefer or want to save a step. However, it is so cute and lets people know the pecans are the star of the dessert!
- Chocolate Chips. Stir in ½ cup milk chocolate or white chocolate chips into the batter. This adds another level of flavor that chocolate lovers will appreciate.
- Toffee bits. Try adding ½ to 1 cup toffee bits into the dough mixture. Toffee adds a tasty combination of flavor with the butter pecans.
How to make Butter Pecan Cookies
Step 1. Melt the unsalted butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Stir in the chopped pecans.
Step 2. Cook the pecans in a single layer for about 4-5 minutes. Stir the pecans occasionally as you lightly toast the pecans golden brown. Then set aside.
Step 3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt and baking soda.
Step 4. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
Step 5. Remove from heat.
Step 6. Whisk the sugar and brown sugar into the browned butter using a large bowl.
Step 7. Mix in the vanilla extract and add the eggs 1 at a time.
Step 8. Gradually hand stir in the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until just combined. Don’t use an electric mixer. Be careful not to over mix.
Step 9. Then stir in the buttered toasted pecans to the flour mixture. Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator.
Step 10. Use a cookie scoop to drop the cookie dough balls onto cookie sheets. Top with a pecan half.
Step 11. Bake the cookies and allow to cool on wire rack.
Step 12. Serve and enjoy.
Serving Suggestions
The cookies are wonderful served with milk or a cup of coffee. You can also make ice cream sandwiches with the cookies.
We love to take 2 cookies and stuff with No Churn Vanilla Ice Cream. It is absolutely amazing!
Storage
Store the leftover cookies in an airtight container or bag for up to 5 days. Keep a piece of bread in the container with the cookies to keep them soft.
You can also freeze the cookies to extend their shelf life. Make sure to allow the cookies to completely cool. Then place inside a freezer bag or container. Separate the cookies with parchment paper.
If you prefer to freeze the cookies unbaked, for the dough balls as normal. Flash freeze for 1 to 2 hours on a cooking sheet in the freezer. Then transfer to a freezer container up to 3 months.
Frozen cookie dough will take longer to bake than regular dough. You will need to add a few extra minutes to the baking time. Learn how to Freeze Cookie Dough.
Expert Tips
- Room temperature ingredients. Make sure to use room temperature butter and eggs in this recipe. Not only will it combine better but it will make for move even baking.
- Carefully measure the flour. Spoon the flour into the measuring scoop instead of scooping it. This will ensure the flour is not packed. Scooping the flour often leads to excess flour.
- Don’t overmix the cookie dough. Combine the ingredients until just combined. Overmixing the dough will result in dough that is dense. We want the cookies to be soft and fluffy, so it is important to not overmix.
- Brown Sugar. You can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar in this recipe. However, dark brown sugar contains more molasses than light brown sugar. This will result in the cookie having a richer flavor.
- Don’t overbake the cookies. They will continue to cook on the baking sheet once out of the oven. The cookies will be slightly soft set in the middle but they will firm up as they set.
Frequently Asked Questions
The pecans are more flavorful in this recipe once toasted. While you can certainly opt to skip this step, we do not recommended it. The process of toasting the pecans adds so much flavor to the cookies.
You can make the dough ahead of time if needed. Just store the dough in the fridge up to 3 days until ready to use.
More Easy Cookie Recipes to try
- Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Easy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe
- Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Go ahead and make this chewy Butter Pecan Cookies Recipe. Then please leave a comment and star recipe rating.
Butter Pecan Cookies
Ingredients
For the Butter Pecans:
- 1 1/2 cup Chopped Pecans
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
For the Cookies:
- 1 cup Butter
- 2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 cup Brown Sugar packed
- 2 Large Eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup Pecan Halves for topping
Instructions
For the Butter Pecans:
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.ย Stir in the chopped pecans.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pecans are lightly toasted.ย Remove from heat and set aside.
For the Cookies:
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt and baking soda.ย Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium high heat.ย Heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter starts to brown.ย Remove from heat and pour into a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk the sugar and brown sugar into the browned butter.
- Mix in the vanilla extract and add the eggs 1 at a time.
- Gradually hand stir in the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until just combined.ย Be careful not to over mix.
- Then stir in the buttered pecans.
- Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Use a cookie scoop to drop the cookie dough onto baking sheets at least 2 inches apart.
- Press a pecan half onto each of the cookies on the baking sheets.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes until the outside of the cookies just start to brown.ย Notes: The center of the cookies may appear unbaked but they will continue to cook as they cool.
- Remove from the oven.ย Let the cookies sit on the baking sheets for 5 minutes.ย Then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Then the cookies are ready to serve and enjoy!
