These Brown Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies are crunchy, chewy, and SO flavorful! The perfect holiday cookie recipe. And a must try for bourbon lovers!
Brown Butter Bourbon Cookies
Yesterday I made a batch of blueberry bourbon hand pies and realized upon cleaning up that our bottle of bourbon was almost empty. It had less than 3 tablespoons left… so instead of putting it back on the bar cart, I decided to test a cookie recipe I’ve been dreaming about for a while now. Brown Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies! I figured I’d play around with the recipe and then share them sometime in the Fall, because let’s be honest… these beauties are holiday baking material! But the results turned out SO epic that I knew I couldn’t keep them from you all Summer.
Because cookies this good wait for no season! So without further ado, I present you with brown butter bourbon chocolate chunk pecan cookies!
Each bite is crunchy, chewy, flavorful, and lightly spiked with bourbon! And don’t worry… you’re not going to get a buzz from these beauties. But the bourbon does add a special flavor that really shines through! Everyone will want to know what the “secret ingredient” is!
Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success:
- First of all, let me ask you a question: do you know how to brown butter? If you do, feel free to skip this lecture. But if you don’t, I’ve got you covered! Browning butter is insanely simple and I’m going to walk you through each step! To brown butter you’ll need a skillet or saute pan, butter, and a little patience. You’ll melt the butter as normal, then continue to cook it over medium heat – stirring occasionally – until it reaches a golden brown color. Watch your butter closely as it browns, because it can burn easily! Once it’s nice and golden brown, remove it from the heat and pour it into a heatproof bowl – being sure to scrape all of the golden bits off the bottom of the pan. And that’s it! Easy, right?
- You can use any brand of bourbon you want. We use bulleit because it’s what we usually have on our bar cart.
- Make sure you finely chop your pecans before toasting them.
- For decoration, you can press a pecan on top of the cookie dough before they bake. You can also sprinkle the cookies with a little sea salt right when they come out of the oven for a sweet and salty flavor combo.
- Finally, be sure you don’t over bake these cookies! They only need about 12 minutes in the oven, and will firm up quite a bit as they cool. Over baked cookies will be dry and crumbly… not chewy like we want!
Sweet, salty, crunchy, gooey, and BOOZY… who says you can’t have it all!?
More Cookie Recipes:
- Bourbon Molasses Cookies
- Brown Butter Bourbon Butter Pecan Chocolate Chunk Blondies
- Butter Pecan Cookies
More Pecan Recipes:
- No Corn Syrup Pecan Pie
- Bourbon Pecan Brownies
- 6-Ingredient Butter Pecan Fudge
- Overnight Pecan Pie French Toast

Brown Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
For the Buttered Pecans:
- 1 and 1/2 cups (170 grams) pecan halves, finely chopped
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons (24 grams) unsalted butter
For the Brown Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies:
- 2 sticks (226 grams) unsalted butter, melted until browned
- 2 and 1/2 cups (300 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) salt
- 1/2 teaspoon (1 gram) ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup (213 grams) dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup (99 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons (8 grams) vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons (42 grams) bourbon
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 8 ounces semi-sweet OR dark chocolate, roughly chopped into chunks
- 24 pecan halves, for decoration, optional
- 1 Tablespoon flaky sea salt, optional
Instructions
For the Buttered Pecans:
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in chopped pecans and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Set aside until needed.
For the Brown Butter:
- In a saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Continue to cook the butter. swirling the pan occasionally. Keep a close eye here. The top of the butter should become foamy. And you should hear tiny popping noises. The butter will develop into a rich amber color, with tiny brown bits at the bottom. And it will have a slightly nutty aroma. Once the butter reaches this stage, remove from heat immediately and pour into a large mixing bowl.
For the Brown Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies:
- In a large bowl combine flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder; whisk well to combine then set aside until needed.
- In a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine melted browned butter and both sugars and beat on medium-speed until well combined; about 1 minutes.
- Add in the vanilla and bourbon and beat until combined.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating for 15 seconds after each addition. Turn mixer off. Using a wooden spoon or sturdy rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour, stirring only until the flour begins to disappear. Fold in the chocolate chunks and buttered pecans.
- Cover bowl and refrigerate for 4 hours.
To Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a large cookie scoop, divide the dough into 3-tablespoon sized balls and place onto prepared baking sheets, leaving about 3 inches between each ball of dough for spreading.
- Firmly press a pecan half on top of each ball of cookie dough.
- Bake, one tray at a time, in a preheated oven for 12 minutes, or until golden brown. If any edges spread out while baking, use a spatula and gently press them back in as soon as you remove the cookies from the oven.
- Press extra chocolate chunks and pecans pieces on top of warm cookies. Then sprinkle with sea salt.
- Allow cookies to cool on the pan for 15 minutes, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack.
The cookies look amazing and I can’t wait to try them. One question: I noticed you add 1 and 1/4 teaspoons of cinnamon, and I was wondering how strongly the flavor comes through in this cookie?
Thanks!
Hi Shirlett! I would say the flavor is pretty mild but does shine through. If you’re not a huge fan of cinnamon, you can reduce it to 3/4 teaspoon 🙂
Help! I’m making now is it 8 oz total of butter or two 8 oz sticks?!
2 sticks of butter are 8 oz. So it is 4 oz and and 4 oz. For a total of 8
My sticks are 8 oz each. Never seen 4 oz sticks Just to be clear approx 1/2 cup butter total?
A stick of butter is 4 oz (8 tablespoons). If your butter comes from the grocery store it’s four – 4 oz sticks which equals a pound.
These are the best cookies ever!
Can’t buy or make a better tasting cookie.
All my favorite flavors. And they never last long around the house!
I made these this evening. I will most likely reduce the amount or completely remove it. Great recipe though!
Of what? The bourbon? Just curious because I’m wanting to make these but I’m wondering if it would be better with or without the bourbon.
Think he was replying to removing the cinnamon
These are amazing!!! Can I freeze the dough?
I’d like to know if they can be frozen also. I was thinking make the balls, press the extra pecan and flash freeze before transferring to an air tight bag. Maybe increase the bake time to 11 or 12 minutes. She mentioned they get dry and crumble if over cooked. Probably just need to play around with it.
Hi Christine. Sure, you can freeze the dough. I would roll them into balls and freeze on a cookie sheet until solid. Then place then in an airtight ziplock bag and freeze for up to 2 months. You’ll definitely need to add 2 to 3 minutes onto the bake time.
Help! I’m making now is it 8 oz total of butter or two 8 oz sticks?!
It is 2 sticks of butter. I don’t know where you are but, in the US, a pound of butter (16 oz) found in most supermarkets are split into 4 sticks (that divides into 4 – 4 oz sticks). I think people get confused because 4 oz butter = 8 tablespoons. Just clearing that up. There seems to be an awful lot of confusion!
8 0z is 1 cup of butter or i you buy 1lb of butter, like we do in Canada which is 454 g, then its half of that.
These are amazing! I made them for a party and they were gone within minutes! Do you suppose they would freeze well?
Thanks so much!
I work for a group home I’m not a Baker but I would love to have some of these for the holiday party. Will someone make them I’ll pay. They look sooo good
I literally just started a business doing just that! Cooking, baking, small event planning, meal and menu plans, and shopping. If you’re in the Boston area, i’ve got you covered. Email [email protected]
The dough freezes great! Roll it up in wax paper and make like slice n bake cookies. Decrease cook time if thawed.
I froze them and they still tasted amazing !
They freeze very well.
I made these cookies this week. They were amazing. I love the soft chewy texture. I am not normally a fan of nuts in cookies. But the flavors of brown butter paired with buttered nuts nestled among the chocolate chunks was dynamite
How do you think these would taste with rum? I don’t have any bourbon, but I do have a bit of rum.
Is there a way to make these Keto using Almond flour? And is there s good substitute for brown sugar?
Made these today and OMG they are the best!
For some reason, mine didn’t spread out like the one’s in the pic & they weren’t chewy. They didn’t look anything like in the picture. Mine were pretty thick when i took them out of the oven & a little dry. I didn’t over bake them, they just never spread out. Tasted pretty good, but next time, ill flatten them out a little before baking.
Hi Andrea! Sorry you ran into these issues – I know how frustrating that can be! May I ask how you measure your flour? It sounds like the batter may have been a bit too thick, which can often be caused by “packed flour”. If you don’t already do this, I would suggest fluffing up your flour before scooping, then lightly spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling off the top with the back of a knife. Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with 🙂
try sifting your flour before you measure it and be sure to level it off with a straight edge.
Did you use LARGE eggs?
Mine did the same thing. I didn’t pack the flour but I didn’t sift it either. would have to try that. Would the flour being too packed cause them not to flatten out? Thanks.
You may have packed the flour. If you put flour packed maybe try taking out a couple Tbsp flour before you add it in mix.
Y’all tell me not to pack the flour like I don’t know! I felt like the dough was too dry before I even was finished adding the sifted, unpacked flour in the mixture. Next time I’m reducing the flour to 2 1/4 and should work perfectly.
Other than that, very happy with these.
Can I use salted butter instead of unsalted?
Try weighing the flour, all purpose flour weighs about 125 grams per cup.
Made these and they were great, but they were so big and did not spread out. I used all new ingredients. So after the 1 st batch, I decided to just make them smaller and they were still great. Will be making them again. Thanks again.
Hi Michelle. Glad you enjoyed them! How do you measure your flour? It sounds like the batter may have been a bit too thick, which can often be caused by “packed flour”. If you don’t already do this, I would suggest fluffing up your flour before scooping, then lightly spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling off the top with the back of a knife. Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with 🙂
I always weigh my flour. 125 grams = 1 cup. No worries about “heavy” or “light” cups! My little kitchen scale is one of the best investments I’ve made.
Xx a
I have a scale! Should have read ALL the comments before measuring, but I did reduce the flour to 2 1/4 cups and I did fluff my flour. Thanks for the tip!
Yes ! Yes! Yes! Measure!!!
Would you mind adding the dry weight of the flour you use, since the volume of flour can vary wildly depending on many factors? That would really really help me thank you!
Hi Billie Jean, you can convert the cups into oz. weight with this nifty conversion calculator. https://www.inchcalculator.com/convert/cup-flour-to-ounce-flour/
Make sure your oven temp is accurate before baking!
Is there a way to have the same nutty flavor of the brown butter using something like earth balance, dairy allergy
Hi Shayna. Unfortunately I don’t know how to recreate that nutty flavor without the brown butter.
Is there a nutty infused oil perhaps out there to be substituted? Just a thought.
Maybe try almond extract? But I have no idea the amount and melt the earth balance and use that with the almond extract! Wont be exactly but will be close! The nutty taste comes from the browned milk solids in butter! Now I have a dairy allergy but butter does not effect me, nor does harder cheeses and ice cream for some reason
Have you ever tried using ghee which is clarified butter with the milk solids removed? It may not brown but the butter flavor would be there.
Try vanilla nut butter flavor
Wonder if you could use almond butter or some other nut butter?
Try sesame seed oil. It has a nutty flavor to it.
Try using pecan oil 🙂
How about brown butter ghee? That would be mostly dairy free and I bet it is yummy!
Carie,
Yes you can use earth balance butter and brown it like normal butter. My boys are lactose intolerant so I have to use dairy alternatives for everything. It will work great. Happy baking.
Try toasting your flour in a 300 degree oven for about 5 minutes till it’s very lightly browned.
I read in another chocolate chip cookie recipe that they experimented using a bit of maple extract (like 3/4 tsp I think) to sub for the flavor of the browned butter. The said you don’t taste the maple, but that it mimics the flavor you get with browned butter.
Can I use pecans instead, have a bag of them?
This recipe calls for pecans, so yes 🙂
I live in high altitude. Are there any adjustments I should make for these?
What kind Bourbon to use??
When I made these I used jack Daniels bourbon. Also I eliminated the cinnamon and used espresso powder(a tsp) it. Enhances the flavor in the recipe Otherwise I followed the recipe to the t They were fantAttic thank you for this great recipe
Four Roses Small Batch.
(Jack Daniels isn’t bourbon. It’s whiskey.)
I measured my flour this way and my cookies turned out like hers. Thick and unspread with no chips or nuts showing aside from the pecan half. In addition, I used 2 TBSP acoop and yielded 31 cookies.
I made this cookies and they were AMAZING!!! I was wondering if there was a recipe without the pecans. I have a friend that is allergic but I want her to experience everything else about the cookie lol. I thought I saw a link at one point but I can’t find it now. Thanks!!
Delicious! i used 1/2 cardamom and 1/2 cinnamon! so good!
Like this idea a lot! Thank you!!
Hi! A little help please! They are li ely but a little puffier than yours.. could I have over mixed them? I didnt the flour trick you recommended to the others. Thank you and they are delicious!
If I leave out the bourbon will the recipe be ruined
I have this question also, we don’t drink and I hate to buy a whole bottle of bourbon for two tablespoons!
What about travel size bottles, sold at liquor stores?
I do drink it either but used it for our pumpkin pie last year for thanksgiving. It was a hit. And you can keep it for a long time
The cookies are tasty, but mine look like regular chocolate chip cookies. I live at high altitude so I may should have adjusted flour and soda…but they are being devoured.
How important is using unsalted butter for the browned butter?
When you brown butter, you’re concentrating the butter by cooking out all the water. If it’s salted butter, it’ll be *too* salty when concentrated. [Sad experience. I hated to waste that butter.]
When you add it to cookies, then, *they* will be too salty. It’s better to use unsalted butter, and only the right amount of salt *specifically measured* for the cookies.
If you don’t have unsalted butter, then use salted butter, but reduce your other ingredient of salt by 1/4 tsp for each stick. In this case, it would be reduced to 1/2 tsp of salt. This will compensate and not make the cookies too salty.
Thank you for this because salted butter is all I have right now.
If the butter was really dark brown does take mean I burnt it?
I keep flour in fridge dies it have to be room temp? Eggs too?
Also can butter sit out overnight ?
Butter can definitely sit out over night.
How much butter do you use when “browning” the pecans? The recipe calls for 24 pecans for decoration on top but what measurement of chopped nuts do you put in the cookie? These sound amazing and can’t wait to try!
First items in recipe ingredients say 1-1/2 Cups of pecan halves finely chopped and 1-1/2 tablespoons of unsalted butter. They are in a separate list above the longer list of ingredients for the cookie dough.
Hey! I have a family member who is a recovering alcoholic and csnt even have a drop of alcohol in food! Is there something I can use instead of bourbon??
Hi Allison! I would suggest making my brown butter chocolate chip cookies and just adding pecan 🙂
Baking or heating the bourbon evaporates the alcohol, leaving the flavor behind, but no alcohol. So, your family member will be just fine with the recipe as is.
Don’t use vanilla extract then either! Mostly grain alcohol.
This recipe far surpassed my expectations. I candied my pecans instead of toasting them. They turned out amazing!
These are the best cookies I have ever made. They didn’t look like the picture (mine were a bit fluffier and not as golden brown) but my word, this is a good cookie. Thank you.
Just took these out of the oven~ they are amazing!!!
These are amazing! And worth the extra time doing the extra steps of browning the butter and toasting the pecans. Absolutely delicious. That nutty flavor along with the bourbon and hint of cinnamon nails it.
Can you brown the butter the day before?
I browned mine yesterday so hoping it works out today!
Yes!
Browned butter keeps quite well for quite awhile.
l love it on rye toast with a sprinkle of garlic.
And since I do like salted butter for toast, I will brown half salted and half unsalted. Then I’ll spread it on toasted rye and sprinkle with Weber brand Roasted Garlic and Herbs, ground fine. Yum!
so, made these today–and they didnt relax. They stayed in a more mound shape…I used King arthur flour which may have more proten in it…but. The cookies didnt look like these. More of a scone shape. I used an exact scoop…375- 9 min.
I know they are Bourbon cookies, but I don’t drink at all, and I’d prefer to make them without alcohol. Is there a close substitute for bourbon? A way to mimic a similar taste with spices, etc.
I am searching for cookies I can send to my Marine to share with his platoon and these sound amazing!
My plan is to freeze then vacuum-seal before I ship and since it’s overseas there will be a minimum of 10 days to get there.
Do you think these will make it?
Hi Laura! That’s such a sweet idea! I might suggest leaving the chocolate chunks out, as they could melt during the journey. Unless you’re adding some sort of cooling to the package.
When I sent cookies overseas to the middle east, the usps made me sign a form that said no alcoholic ingredients were to be included in the package. Just fyi.
the alcohol cooks out 🙂
Well as the wife of a sailor who did several deployments. if you put each cookie in a fold top sandwich bag they will travel well. As a bonus if it is hot where theu are its like they just came out of oven.
try packing them in real popcorn
I have always shipped my cookies in plane popped popcorn. The popcorn will absorb humidity/moisture and keep your cookie fresh without changing their flavor or texture.
Wow thanks for the tip!
Great idea! Thank you!
Yes. Send cookies to my Navy girls over seas and they have to fight for their own box. You will be the favorite Mom. I used zip sandwich bags.
Interested in this, the bourbon cooks out, correct? so just want to make sure I don’t get my son and his group in trouble 🙂
Alcohol will cook.out only leaving the flavor behind.
Alcohol doesn’t fully cook out. That is a myth to a certain extent. You’d have to cook them for a really long time for the alcohol to completely leave the cookie.
My biggest critic. My mother said they were good. Just have to reduce the time to may be 7-8 minutes. 9 minutes in my oven was too long.
Thank you for the recipe
These cookies are AMAZING!! Enough said. They do take some work but they are definitely worth it.
Hi Michelle! So happy you enjoyed these cookies as much as we do 🙂
These are absolutely delicious… WITHOUT THE CINNAMON! The amount called for in this recipe is excessive and completely overwhelms the flavor of everything else. I made a batch without it and they were some of the best cookies I’ve ever made. If you feel you MUST add cinnamon, I seriously recommend that you use no more than 1/4 to 1/2 tsp.
I’ve used brown butter in other cookie recipes and mixed it all up straight away but then refrigerated the final dough for at least 2 hours (up to 24, ideally). Could that be done here, too?
I cut one fifth of the sugars out because we like our sweets not “that sweet” and I had only salted butter (I also doubled the recipe) and this cookie recipe IS AMAZING!!!!! Next time I’ll add more burbon, too. But the cookies are outstanding! The browned butter sure has its influence. Compliments!
Just curious, what kind of chocolate do you use?
Lindt 70% Chocolate Bars.
I usually use Lindt chocolate bars, 70% cocoa 🙂
How mportant is it the butter is unsalted?
Hi Ashley-
Huge fan, here! I’ve made these cookies before and once again, your recipe is a GEM the way it is… Question: I’m wanting to make up a couple of batches of these cookies and freeze for the holidays.
Any suggestions on the freezing method? Go ahead and roll them out into balls and freeze? I guess my biggest concern is the browned butter. I’ve frozen plenty of cookies before but none that have ever had brown butter in them.
Thanks for any advice you can give me!
-Mallory
Hi Mallory! You can totally roll these into balls and freeze them! I would just set them out on the counter as your oven preheats (this allows them to come to room temperature a bit), and maybe add an extra minute or two on the baking time 🙂
If you’re in the Boston area, i’ve got you covered. Email [email protected]
Awesome looking recipe. I would like to make this for my co=workers, but one batch will not be enough. I’m guessing that I just double everything for two batches or do I need to do them separately?
Can these be made smaller in size? And if so, should baking time be adjusted? TIA.
My daughter n law wanted me to make these for her Christmas present.
I tested a large cookie and a small cookie. The large one spread as it cooled in the tray.
I used Linders dark chocolate bars with sea salt. So I didn’t need to sprinkle with sea salt. If you like chocolate chip cookies they are the bomb.
I am not a fan I love peanut butter cookies.
Ok. I put these cookies in the freezer so they would keep until Christmas. My husband took cookie to work for the cookie connoisseurs to try. He had to cut it in to 8 pieces so everyone could get a taste. Needless to say I am making another batch. This time instead of the sea salt dark chocolate I am also doing a batch with dark chocolate with chili and adding sea salt to the top. I think the heat will be a neat surprise.
This is definitely a keeper.
I Love the idea of the dark chocolate with chili!!
I altered the recipe to make an apple salted caramel version last Christmas by using Apple Crown Royal and salted caramel chips instead of chocolate. I have a cinnamon allergy so I eliminated the cinnamon. They were soooooooooooo good! I ended up making several batches for folks at their request after trying them.
Oh my! I have both Apple Crown and Caramel chips in the pantry! I am going to give this a try! YUM! Going to try the original recipe as well!
Would measuring the flour by weight work to get the right amount instead of fluffing it? Wondering what weight that would be!
Can the dough be made a day before baking? I have an event on Tuesday that I want to make them for, but I was hoping to make the dough on Sunday and then bake them Monday. I noticed the instructions said that the dough doesn’t need to rest before baking. Will resting the dough in the cooler for 24+ hours compromise the taste or texture of the cookie?
These cookies are well worth the extra steps. I got 36 cookies out of one batch. They are still pretty large. I baked for 11 minutes. My husband raved about them and ate enough of them that I will have to make another batch for my trays! I rate these a 10+. Thanks for sharing!
I got 52 1-ounce balls out of the recipe. (Yes, I weigh them!) I baked for 9 minutes but will do 8 next time. (At 9, they were still soft when I moved to cooking rack, but they were much harder when I served them for dessert. Bottoms were brown.) The uncooked balls freeze well and I just took them out of the freezer to defrost while I preheated the oven and took a shower. Add the pecan on top if you have them; they add a whole ‘nother dimension. And don’t forget the salt at the end. Aside from the overall deliciousness, everyone commented about the extra sprinkle of salt on top. THIS IS A KEEPER!! Thank you for the great recipe!
ok i have been making cookies for at least 36 years OH My Gosh these are absoultley the most amazing flavor. followed the reciepe exactly and i will be making these alot. Thank you for sharing
Good chocolate chip cookie. I decided to reduce cinnamon, like a few recommended, down to 1/2 tsp. My husband thought they were good but only mentioned getting a hint on the bourbon after I asked if he could taste it. Next time I will reduce the chocolate down to 8oz and increase the bourbon to 3 tbsp. Hopefully the bourbon and browned butter will shine through more with less chocolate.
What if I don’t have bourban or don’t want to use it? Can I skip it? Can I use something else instead?
I was wondering the same thing.
I just finished making these & they are delicious!! Mine stayed in a mound shape so I will flatten them a little before baking next time. And, trust me, the will be a next time…. and a time after that! This is the best pinterest recipe I’ve ever tried. Thank you for posting!!
I made these for a cookie exchange at work and doubled the recipe and used a smaller scoop so there could be some left over for my personal stash. OMG delicious! I will try to be more careful about how much flour I put in the cup when measuring next time so they spread a little more. I still love them, especially warm out of the oven!
Hello!! Thanks for sharing I am super excited about these beauties. However I do have a question, How important is it to let the butter come back to room temperature? I’ve made regular chocolate chip/chocolate chunk cookies where I traditionally melt the butter and keep it melted for the entire process?
I think your cookies will have a better texture if your butter is not melted,
You want to cream the sugar and butter together; the sugar helps air get into the butter…this doesn’t happen with melTed butter.,
These cookies were divine!! Just so so good.
I changed the recipe just a wee bit by increasing the amount of vanilla extract and bourbon to 3 teaspoons full and baked them only for 8 minutes. Perfection!
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe.
You’re so welcome! Glad they were a hit 🙂
These cookies are so good! Worth every step I complained about, like browning the butter. Worth it!
Well as the wife of a sailor who did several deployments. if you put each cookie in a fold top sandwich bag they will travel well. As a bonus if it is hot where theu are its like they just came out of oven.
try packing them in real popcorn
These are, by far, the best cookies I’ve ever made. I never comment on these boards but I feel I must sing your praise!! The only mods for me were; after reading all other comments: used 1/2t of cinnamon instead of 1t and measured out the dough balls at 1.85oz aprox each. I cooked them for 9 min and yielded 28. three cookie sheets. Everyone reading, my advice is to follow directions exactly. wait the 15 seconds between eggs, for example–you will see a change in the dough. Also, do not over bake. the brown on the edges and not so much in the middle is where you want to be. Leaving on pan for 10 min will cook em to where they end up. Perfect!!
My brown butter is not getting back to a ssolid form…any suggestions? Can I keep using it?
I suggest refrigerating until at room temperature 🙂
I made these last week for my coworkers. But I initially tested the recipe the week before with a small batch so that I could perfect anything I may have gotten wrong before serving them. Nevertheless I brought the final product in …and mind you this was my first time baking from scratch… everyone LOVEDDDDDEDDDD them. You truly have a gift. Thank you so much for sharing !!!!
I am a huge fan of brown butter and your recipe looks sooooooo good. However, bourbon is not easily available in my country. What would u suggest as alternative? Brandy, whiskey and rum are more common at the stores here.
Yes! All of those should work just fine 🙂
I’m not a drinker so is there a bourbon flavored extract ir something else I can use so I don’t have to waste an entire bottle of bourbon?
The flavor is what is left after baking, if any alcohol remains will be limited
Most grocery stores sell Rum flavored extract that should work well. Also, someone mentioned the travel sized bottles if liquor that are generally sold in liquor stores. Happy baking!
These were delish! I added some caramels to the mix just because I had some on hand. And changed up the nuts to include walnuts as well as pecans…I would not have had enough otherwise. I doubled the recipe and they turned out great! Absolutely fantabulous! The cinnamon was a great addition!
Hi, sounds like a yum recipe ! i have a question however, what is a non-alcoholic substitute for the bourbon ?
These are such a tasty cookie! I have one technical question though. Mine turned out a little dry and I’m wondering if it would be possible for you to guesstimate the weight of the butter after it was browned. I suspect I could’ve ‘reduced’ the butter too much thereby drying out the mix just a little. Thanks!!!
Hi, should you measure the brown butter after it has been cooked? Because some of the water evaporates while cooking and the weight/volumn wouldn’t be the same. Also, how much grams of flour are you measuring in a cup! Thank you so much!
Made these for me and my boyfriend! Browning the butter was supper easy and it totally made for the awesome texture of the cookies. Followed everything exactly and they looked and tasted PERFECT. He finished the 8 leftover cookies in 2 days lol. Definitely going to make these again for sure!
I have made this recipe twice now and everyone likes them. I only had chocolate chips on hand but in the future I will make sure to buy the chocolate chunks….I like the appearance much better! I have enough Bourbon left for one more batch. What would you suggest in place of Bourbon? It isn’t something I usually have on hand.
I made these for Christmas and what a disaster. They were so flat and I thought I had followed the recipe to the tee.
Mine did not disappear they just sat on the plate looking so sad. I was so disappointed. They sounded and looked so good .
HI AnneMarie,
your cookies might of been flat because of the butter. There are some great posts out there on this topic.
The first time I bumped into the topic of butter was actually with regard to cupcakes (on youtube, look up Cupcake Jemma ‘Whats wrong with my cupcakes?’ She actually demonstrates different consistencies of butter and makes cupcakes, showing you the outcome. Then in the cookie world, there’s a post called ‘The Great Cookie Experiment: Butter Temperature’ from Mel’s kitchen cafe. (Ashley, I’m sorry! I hope you don’t mind me posting other sources!) At the end of the day baking is all about chemistry so don’t lose heart! I’m going to be trying this recipe today for the first time and employing what i learned about butter.
I hope this message finds you attempting to make these cookies again.
warm wishes to you and anyone else who happens across this message.
(Ashley, my site isn’t up yet so i’m not sure if the website field does anything but it’s underway i’m just slow. :D)
This recipe is similar to my KILLER chocolate chip recipe… but the browned butter will just put this over the top!
I do have one question tho! I just hunted through my liquor cabinet.., all I have is Jim Beam’s Bourbon-
Whiskey. It smells AWFUL! My hub laughed at me when I smelled it, he said i’ll Never make a good alcoholic. Is there a brand that smells, and tastes GOOD? I would literally drive to town to buy something that smells better than that……. hate to think THAT will ruin these cookies! But I know, it’s just a hint of flavor, and they will get baked!
But I am curious what brand of Bourbon you use?
Hi Laura. I use Bulleit bourbon, because that’s what we usually have on our bar cart 🙂
I have many different types of bourbon and i still used Jim beam. They came out amazing!
I made these delicious cookies after Xmas for Valentine gifts 2019. I read all the instructions and user comments.
I live 2000 ft above sea level in Canada.
The recipe was excellent but tweaked the following:
1/2 cardomom, 1/2 cinnamon; no measure reduction but
envelopes all the tastes.
3 teaspoons of Rum(liquor on hand)
2 X Bakers dark chocolate 6 oz packages
70% cacao
Salted butter to toast pecans (only)
No salt cookie topping
I pressed pecan into balls with pressure to splay out the batter; created chunky look
Cooked 8 minutes ONLY.
All flavours appear in day old cookie! YUMMY
Hi, I made these last weekend. I got 3 dozen out of the recipe, and 8 1/2 min seemed to be about right for the baking time. They turned out great. Next time I will use dark chocolate and also reserve chunks of chocolate to lay on top. This recipe turned out as expected. I’ll hang onto it. Thx for sharing it.
These cookies are so addictive! I was looking for a recipe for a cookie bake off at the end of last year and these won be the best overall cookie. I used your base recipe but as soon as they were out of the oven, I brushed a little bit of bourbon straight onto the cookie while on the hot pan and gave it a little sprinkle of pink salt. Many people have asked for the recipe so I’ve directed them here with info about my little tweaks. Thank so much for a great recipe!
Can these be frozen after they’re baked?
These cookies look absolutely divine, however, I do not drink alcohol and don’t want to buy a bottle to use such a small amount. Is there an extract or non-alcoholic substitute? I hope to hear something soon s I am eager to try these. Thanks!
Liquor stores have mini bottles of bourbon and whiskey that is just like 3 to 4 oz size.
My family loved these so much that after making them for Mother’s Day my daughter made them again just a few days later. They were still fabulous even though the 2nd batch was made with apple sauce in place of the eggs didn’t realize we ran out oops
Jenn,
Ooh! Thanks!! I was wondering if they would work without eggs. I was so happy to see your comment! 🙂
Excellent recipe! I really decreased cinnamon because I’m not fond of cinnamon and chocolate. The bourbon really balances the sweetness. Love them!
How long can I keep the dough in the freezer?
Hi I am Jane’s sailor husband. Love these cookies, especially the toasted bits when I’m off in the Atlantic sailing. Love it lol. This is recipe is killing it.
Sending all my love to Jane She is the best toasted bit around.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I followed it exactly and they came out amazing! My husband and my kids absolutely loved them. I will be keeping this recipe and possibly making them for the holidays.
These are hands down the favorite cookie in our house! They are a go-to whenever I need to bring a desert to a party and everyone raves about them!
The flavor combination is amazing! The smell of the brown butter is so rich and nutty. It definitely stands out perfectly along with the gooey chucks of chocolate and crunchy pecans. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Ashley. These cookies look absolutely delicious! Do you think gluten-free flour can be substituted for the all purpose flour? If so, what gluten-free flour or gluten-free flour blend and would any other changes be needed to the recipe? I would love to make these and would appreciate any information you can give me.
Made these for my family – absolutely delicious! Easy to make, worth the effort of browning the butter and toasting the pecans. The bourbon flavor is not strong, just a little bit of ‘something’ extra special.
I’m having some friends over to lunch in a couple of weeks, and I like to try to get as much done ahead of time as possible, so I’m more relaxed on the day of, so I decided to make these and freeze them, which I often do with cookie dough. Plus, there were some reviewers who had some issues, and I didn’t want to wait til the last minute in case I encountered any myself. So I made these today, with a couple of changes. I didn’t have bourbon, so I used Salted Caramel Kahlua, yum! I used much less chocolate, because i wanted more of the browned butter, toasted nut flavor to come through. I toasted the nuts in the oven, no butter, and I used salted butter for the browned butter, again to have more of the salty/sweet flavors come through. And I left out the cinnamon.
Well I baked a test cookie and it wasn’t too flat, and it wasn’t too puffy, and it wasn’t too dry, it was juuuust right! Lots of browned butter, toasted pecan flavor and just the right amount of chocolate. I now have a bag of “cookie balls” in the freezer, waiting to be baked, and I’m confident my friends will be doing cartwheels when they taste them. Thank you for the inspiration!
What a tasty cookie! I saved this recipe so long ago and finally made them yesterday for my husband’s birthday. The recipe is pretty involved for me as my husband usually bakes the cookies in our household, but browning the butter was definitely worth it. Next time I’ll probably just dry toast the pecans for easier clean up, and I’ll also up the salt in the batter to 1 1/2 tsp as we would prefer a little more salt in the cookie too. We couldn’t really detect the bourbon so I may play around w/ upping that a tiny bit (used Bulleit bourbon.)
Can the bourbon be left out and something else be put in in its place? We don’t drink alcohol so don’t have any on hand.
Alcohol cooks out of any recipe you put on the stove or in the oven.
The recipe says 2 tablespoon of bourbon, the comments read 3 teaspoons? Is the recipe showing it right with tablespoons?
Hi, even though I have been dieting, these are SO tempting! LOL
I have Heritage Distillery’s Brown Sugar Bourbon on hand; wonder how that will do???
Can you substitute almond flour?
I am noticing a few comments about the flour. Should I sift the flour? I can’t wait to try!
These look awesome, but I’m not a huge chocolate fan. Would they taste okay without the chocolate?
What is a good non-alcohol substitute for the bourbon?
An you adjust this to a keto/ paleo version?? Thanks
oh my gosh! I made these for my father-in-law and they were an absolute hit! I did reduce the cinnamon quite a bit and added orange zest as my father-in-law loves orange bourbon pecan pie. I, also, cut back on the chocolate so as to let more of the brown butter flavor come through. Was requested to make these for Thanksgiving for a gathering of 24 sweets loving family members. Good thing I made a huge batch and frozen them! Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Can you leave out the pecans? I have a nut allergy.
I can’t wait to try this recipe, it sounds and looks divine! Thank you so much for sharing and posting. ☺️
Would bread flour work instead of AP?
First off…let me say I’m a horrible baker and unfortunately I didnt have much luck with this recipe either. My cookies did not spread and were crumbly and dry. I did do a bit of substituting since my husband is diabetic. I used Splenda and Truvia brown sugar. With all that said the flavor was fantastic.
I made these tonight and I candied the pecans and it just takes it to a whole new level of deliciousness
I just have to comment which I never do…..I’ve made hundreds of chocolate chip cookies and they all usually taste the same and just so-so. These are absolutely amazing! I will definitely make these again. We aren’t drinkers, but, I took the idea from another reviewer about buying the travel size of bourbon. Perfect solution! I have to admit when I was mixing the ingredients I almost gagged when I added the bourbon (can’t stand whiskey!) & I thought it would ruin the cookies. Actually, not sure it really added anything since I couldn’t taste any trace of it after they were cooked. Also, I didn’t realize it called for dark brown sugar. All I had was light brown sugar and they tasted fine. However, I’ll prob try dark brown next time. I really, really believe the buttered pecans are KEY to this recipe. Such an awesome flavor with the brown butter. My daughter is allergic to nuts so I made the first half w/o the nuts and they pretty much tasted like reg choc chip cookies. Great recipe!
Has anyone frozen these cookies after baking them and how were they after being thawed? I see the comments about freezing the dough balls but would like to bake in advance also for the holidays. Thanks!!
I have. They freeze just fine. You can always warm them in the oven on very low to crisp them up a little, if you want them crispier, but mine have been ok to go, once thawed.
I’ve made these cookies a few times and they were gone quicker than I could bake them! I made 2 batches one night and my family ate them all while j was still baking. I have had the same trouble with the cookie not spreading, but I found that it may be because the cookie dough is too cold. I usually use a cookie scoop to place my dough on the tray then use a rubber spatula to flatten them out a little before I place in the oven. Since I’ve been doing that, my cookies always spread and come out perfect!
Hi Ashley, I was wondering if you or any of your followers had ever made these using Gluten-Free flour. My son-in-law has celiacs and I am always looking for something fabulous to make for him. I intend to try these using the Pillsbury Gluten Free Flour. It has done the best when making other items in giving me a traditional flour texture and taste. Just curious if you have ever gone down this road. Thanks,
As for the salt in the batter and on top…I used a grinder to lighten up smoked salt. It was delicious!!
Can these be made ahead and frozen?
I just pulled these out of the oven, and it’s a good cookie. Mine, also, did not spread like many of the other readers, which was no big deal. I used Knob Hill Smoked Maple Bourbon— I despise bourbon, but I use it often in baking. The cookie dough batter—-AWESOME!!! And I do Not like cookie dough. I was excited and thought the cookie would be even better than the dough, but it was just ok. I would make it again just for the cookie dough, lol.
what helped mine to spread just like the pictures was allowing the brown butter to cool on the counter for only 30 minutes versus for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
I am looking forward to making these soon! I have a jar of praline candied pecans that I was thinking I would like to use folded into the dough.. although I’m not sure if it’s better to let them soak up some butter as well so they are soft with the cookie dough?? Or should I just use them as the decoration topper? Cheers!!
Can Kahlua be substituted for the bourbon?
Never tried, but it’s worth a shot 🙂
These cookies are seriously THE BEST! Everyone I have given one too say it’s the best chocolate chip cookie they ever have. I will be forgoing pumpkin pie this year and bringing these to thanksgiving! Thanks so much for sharing!
These were delicious! Great recipe!
The site of these cookies were enough to bring me out of baking retirement and I am so glad I did. They are wonderful.
I’ve made them as is before and they’ve been delicious, but this time I want to give these an orange flavour. Could I use Cointreau and orange zest? Also, could I skip the brown butter?
Really yummy recipe, perfect blend of ingredients in my opinion.
Has anyone tried making these with a gluten free flour blend??
These were delicious! Only changes i made were using half the cinnamon and i made smaller cookies. I was able to get 64 average size cookies out of this recipe. Delicious!
What brand of butter do you use?
Land O Lakes unsalted.
I never review recipes, but felt I had to because these just one me first place in my office Christmas cookie contest!!!
the only thing I changed was having the cinnamon to 1/2 tsp and added a smidge more bourbon. do two tablespoons of bourbon for a conservative labor, and three tablespoons for a bolder flavor profile.
here’s the most important thing: BUY QUALITY BUTTER. I think that’s why some people end up with dry dough. cheap, store brand butter has a higher water content. when you brown it, that moisture evaporates. using a high-quality butter with high fat content in shores your butter will not vanish and leave you with dry dough.
I highly recommend Browning the butter and toasting your pecans in advance. that gives them both time to cool, and makes less work when actually assembling the dough.
I made my cookies a smidge smaller than recommended, just because I wanted more of them. 9 minutes was perfect, but make sure you use an oven thermometer to ensure it’s at the right temperature. My oven runs about 20 degrees cool. that will have a big effect on the outcome.
definitely top with course salt and a pecan! and serve with cold milk.
In these brown butter bourbon chocolate chunk cookies will the bourbon cook down.
I have a scale! Should have read ALL the comments before measuring, but I did reduce the flour to 2 1/4 cups and I did fluff my flour. Thanks for the tip!
I love the dough more than the cookies! I could taste the brown butter and the toasted nuts shining through. After baking the taste of the chocolate obliterated the taste of both the butter and the nuts.
I didn’t have pieces of nuts or chocolate peaking thru my cookies, so next time bigger pieces of nuts and milk chocolate. My daughter absolutely loved them, in spite they didn’t look anything like the picture. She reminded me that those cookies were photo shoot cookies, doctored for the camera.
So glad I found this recipe… made these cookies twice (so far) this holiday season and each time to rave reviews! Both at work and around the Christmas dinner table people were instantly asking me for the recipe. Thank you for sharing!
So happy to hear it, Jay! Happy holidays!
These cookies were absolutely amazing! It was definitely a more involved cookie that took longer to make than others, but so worth the effort. I didn’t use any cinnamon (as I really don’t like the flavor) and I used dark chocolate chunks. Delicious, especially the cookie dough! Thank you for the recipe!
I love this recipe! I did make one addition to it though – I added cinnamon chips to it. These are amazing!
My husband loves pecans, bourbon and chocolate. One of his favorite versions of the pecan pie I make uses these three, so I was excited to try these coookies. I am not a fan of nuts in my baked goods so I halved the amount of pecans. I first made 12 cookies w/o any pecans in the dough (followed recipe exactly) then added the pecans and made another 15 (I used my largest cookie scoop so probably not 3 TBSPs). My son said the version without the pecans is probably what the stairway to heaven is paved with! High praise indeed! My husband LOVES the pecan version too! Amazingly a friend picked out the cinnamon flavor in them, and I was surprised what a dominant flavor that was with all the bourbon! Thanks for a fabulous cookie recipe, these will be added to my favorites!!!!
I tried this recipe recently. The cookie has a great texture. Mine did not flatten completely, but that is okay with me. They were raised a bit in the center, but cooked through. As a result, the center is nice and soft, and makes for a great bite. I have a regular group of testers for new recipes. Everyone agreed that they could detect no flavor of bourbon in the cookies. I originally thought of cutting back on the bourbon because alcohol, like extracts, can be very strong. I am glad that I did not do that. I may try doubling the amount of bourbon next time and see how that turns out. I don’t want the bourbon flavor to be overly strong, but I want for the cookies to have a discernable hint of bourbon flavor, similar to a bourbon pecan pie. After eating three cookies, I was only able to taste the cinnamon in one bite, and it was not prominent. Although I like cinnamon, I think I would leave the cinnamon out completely, due to that fact. I think that the wonderful flavor of the brown butter may overshadow some of the other ingredients. All in all, it’s a very good recipe.
I stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest. I read someone’s comment about how these are the best cookies ever. I might almost have to agree with that statement. I was pleasantly surprised with the fantastic results from this recipe. If I change anything the next time it will be to maybe use a little bit less cinnamon since I am a bit sensitive to that space. The boyfriend said they were the best cookies ever and definitely headed the advice on the bake time. The cookies came out as pure perfection. Thank you.
Delicious cookies! Followed the recipe exactly. Our family favorite, we will be making these again! Thanks for sharing
Let me start with a disclaimer. I’m not a fan of cookies. I LOVE bourbon and pecans so I tried this recipe for a Friendsgiving. Everyone loved them and I even got requests for purchasing further batches. They were so popular that I gave them as gifts to my cookie loving friends. I’m working from home today and have a batch in the oven now.
Just made these for the second time. I left the cinnamon out both times because it just didn’t seem to go with the other flavors. I seriously think it’s the browned butter that makes all the difference in these cookies. It adds a depth of flavor and a caramely, nutty, I don’t know what amazing something that you just can’t get by using the butter as is. When people taste them, they always go, “Mmmm” like they’re trying to figure out what that flavor is. It’s the browned butter! I think browned butter would work in most baking that uses butter. I think I may try it from now on. Thanks for this recipe!
I have a recipe similar but makes bars instead of cookies. This recipe sounds much better. Would this recipe works for bars instead of cookies? If so any changes?
Hi how many days can I leave the cookies in the freezer
You can freeze the cookie dough balls for up to 2 months!
Hi. I browned my butter earlier today and it’s at room temperature but it’s not solid.it is liquid. Hope I can still use it. Tastes delicious. Can’t wait to make these. Cookies.
Your “tips and tricks” on browning butter do not match the directions in the recipe. I thought it odd you would brown butter in a saucepan and then in “tips and tricks” it says to use a sauté pan or skillet. You also mention two levels of heat. In the recipe it’s medium high and in “tips and tricks” it’s medium. My results were much better using “tips and tricks”.
This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever come across. I think the bourbon, cinnamon, chocolate chunks, pecans make this recipe. I believe the way you FOLD the flour mixture in is what makes these cookies so fluffy, which I love about them. I do not like flat chocolate chip cookies. Again, best recipe EVER!
I made these and they are AMAZING! I did a few things differently and when I make them again I will tweak the recipe just a bit. But thank you for sharing!! The brown butter flavor was amazing and made my kitchen smell divine while baking them!
What I changed: I only used 1/4 tsp salt in recipe because I used salted butter AND added a little pinch to the pecans when I toasted them in the pan.
I used 2 1/4 cups of loose flour and the texture was perfect – moist and chewy but maintained shape and didn’t “melt” all over the pan.
Omitted the bourbon b/c I didn’t have any and used a 1/4 tsp of caramel flavoring.
Next time I will omit the cinnamon – I just didn’t care for the mix of it with the chocolate- and only used 1/4 tsp but could still taste it. Also next time I will only use 1 c pecans and 1 c chocolate chips/chunks for a better cookie dough to chip/nut ration. It was a little over loaded for my taste.
Cookies were delicious! The only comment/question I have is about the pecans. The recipe says finely chop, but the pictures show large pecan pieces. I felt like there were too many nuts. I will definitely decrease the amount next time and not chop them so finely. I know the recipe says you can add a pecan half, but there seems to be more larger pecan pieces in the post.
I followed the recipe exactly and they were amazing! Totally worth the extra steps of browning the butter and toasting the pecans! The bourbon adds an extra special warmth to these flavorful cookies.
Hi, I’ve made these before, and they are delicious! This time round I was thinking of adding half chocolate chip and half butterscotch chips. I “think” the flavors would still work. Is there anything else I would need to change? Or do you think it might not work in terms of flavor profile? Thank you!
I only have bourbon syrup, will that work with these cookies?
Hi. I have had the browned butter in the fridge all day. It is solid. Should I bring it to room temp before using it in the cookies? Thank you.
These are so yummmmaaazzzing! They are my “go to” cookies, and I always get requests to make these! thanks for sharing!
SO GOOD!! I only had golden brown sugar and decreased the pecans but it still turned out GREAT! It’s a keeper for sure! Even the kids liked them!
Has anyone tried using an egg substitute? I made this recipe as is and loved it now want to make again for a group that has an egg allergy.
Thank You very much for sharing this perfect recipe! I made these with great pleasure and there were no fails! And what is most amazing – my daughters, who usually don’t even taste cookies (because they don’t like them at all), tried it and left me speechless by commenting ” these are REALLY good”! I made it for Christmas and send to my friends and relatives as a small gift, ALL of them just loved it! You are absolutely right – these cookies are EPIC!
I made these, yesterday, and they are amazing! This will be my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe from now on.
I read several comments stating that the cookies did not spread. So I made a change and let the brown butter mixture cool for only 30 minutes on the counter. I also used a round baking stone and baked for 11 minutes. I also cut the cinnamon in half. The results were an awesome cookie that was absolutely perfect!
How long can they be at room temp? Making several items for a bday and would like to know how far in advance can I make them and still be “fresh” quality.
The world needs to know: this cookie paired with Private Selection Bourbon Truffle ice cream = a match made in cookie & ice cream heaven. I didn’t have the patience to make them into ice cream sandwiches…
This recipe is fabulous. I love bourbon, pecans, cinnamon and who doesn’t love chocolate? 1 cup of flour is 120g. The measurements on the recipe are perfect. Yield 40 cookies based upon a heaping tablespoon of batter for each cookie. Absolutely YUMMY!!! If only I didn’t live with the Cookie Monster. Definitely 5 Star go to recipe.
One of my favorites!
Did the recipe recently change?? I was under the impression to bake them for only 9 minutes instead of 12?
Regardless these cookies are the BEST!!! I make them for any dish to pass event I attend and they are the spotlight of the show
These are my go to cookies. Everyone LOVES these. I usually substitute a sweeter, dark rum for bourbon.
Hi! Did this recipe change recently?
It seems a bit different from when I’ve made it prior….
I am going to make these with a friend who is coming to my house for the occasion. We don’t have four hours to wait while they cool in the fridge.
1. Can we skip that part?
Or
2. Can we cool them in the freezer instead for less time? If so, how long do you think they would need?
Or
3. Can we roll them in balls w/o putting them in the fridge and freeze the balls and cook them later?
Thanks for the advice!
I am looking for a recipe that is for Brown Butter Bourbon Pecan Cookies without the Chocolate! Nowhere have I found such a recipe! Do you just add more pecans instead of the chocolate? And how do you get the cookies large and thick without making them doughy or under-cooked, but still chewy and light? Like a 3-4 inch cookie that is about 1 inch tall or so! I tasted such a cookie at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort! But it had the texture of maybe a Pecan Flour instead of regular flour, and the coloring was darker like a dark brown sugar. It was so delicious! Your recipe is the closest I can find to what it might be.
Do you have such a recipe?
The BEST cookies we’ve had. They came out PERFECT!! One question, if I add one more tablespoon of bourbon, will that affect the recipe??? We wanted more bourbon flavor.
Hi Jean! I’m so happy you enjoyed them! Adding more bourbon may cause the cookies to spread more, since they’ll contain more liquid.
Yes, I thought that, I won’t chance it. They’re perfect the way they are. Thank you for your reply.
Hello again, on one of your replies someone mentioned that they could not serve to someone that cannot have alcohol. You suggested your Brown Butter Chocolate Chip cookies. I did a search but all I could find was a Soft Batch chocolate chip cookies. are those the same as the brown butter? Baking for children this weekend so I wanted to make sure. Thank you so much.
Hi there, sorry, so many questions. Lol can I make these cookies without the Bourbon? I love the chunks of chocolate and the pecans in it. Thank you
I must have done something wrong. My dough is not think, it’s too runny. I’ve put it in the frig but I don’t know what to do if in the morning it’s still too thin. Maybe I added too much browned butter? Please help, anyone! What should I do? I hate to waist all these ingredients.
Hi Stacy. The dough will be thin at first, because of the melted brown butter. That’s why the recipe calls for a 4 hour minimum chill time 🙂 It will firm up a lot in the fridge!
I am comparing a copy of this recipe that I printed at some point to the recipe listed here. It looks like that are several differences. How can I tell which one is the “new, improved” version? My printed one calls for 1 tsp. of baking soda, and no baking powder. The one here calls for 1/2 tsp. baking soda and 1 tsp. baking powder. There are several other minor differences.
Just made these for the first time and my husband said “hands down the best cookies you’ve ever made”! And I’ve made a lot a lot of cookies! The brown butter and toasted pecans take this cookie to another level. So good!
I dropped a piece of cookie on the floor but I dusted it off and still ate it. Every bite is mouthwatering.
This is a wonderful recipe! They always come out perfect whenever I make them and people love them.
This recipe looks great. But, I want to make 1T cookies rather than the 3T in the recipe. What is your advice on cooking time? Thank you.
I’d just keep an eye, when they’re spread out and set at the edges but still slightly soft in the center, they’re done! They’ll continue to cook as they cool.
These cookies are amazing!!! They are one of our favorites. My daughter is a cadet in her high schools AFJROTC program and this year they are doing a cookie drive as part of their commitment to the community. The cadets will be giving the cookies to our cities first responders, so I will be making several batches of these for the cookie drive.
I did this recipe last Christmas and so many asked for the recipe, huge hit, so of course I included this cookie in this years cookie trays! It is a new favorite that will be made for years to come!
OMG these cookies are insanely delish! Everyone raves over them. I never make less than a double batch and usually do that twice to share the yumminess! Thank you for this delicious recipe
I just wanted the person who came up with this recipe or whatever you did with this recipe, to know that these cookies are truly amazing. I made these as a Christmas gift for my cousin. By the way she is a picky eater lol. She really loved them. This was my first time making these cookies and the recipe is a keeper. Oh and a couple of other people tried them and loved them as well. Good job to you. Thank you for your recipes that you share with the rest of us who don’t know how to make up recipes. Lol. Happy New Year to you!!!
Made these twice in the past month. Everyone loves them! Will probably make them again this weekend : )
The house smells amazing between the browned butter and the aroma of freshly baked cookies.
The cookies are delicious but I might skip the cinnamon next time (used 1/2 tsp according to recipe) since I think it overwhelmed the taste of the bourbon.
There is good reason why this recipe is 5 stars even with over 100 reviews, it is the formula to make some really spectacular, crowd pleasing cookies. It does take some time, but good things do! Worth the effort, boyfriend loves as did my guys at work. Will make again and again.
This is the most clear incredible recipe i ever had ..thank alot for sharing
I followed the directions to a T, but when I took the dough out of the fridge to bake, they were too cold/hard to scoop onto my baking sheet. Do you know why? How can I fix this?
Can I use a a brown sugar substitute in place of the white sugar?
This is my go to cookie recipe! They are so amazing that I’m always asked to make more! Thank you so much for the recipe!!
My pleasure! So happy you enjoyed the recipe, Kimberly 🙂
These cookies are so good! I have made them multiple times with great results every time and always get rave reviews. Definitely worth the 4 hour chill time!
Awesome! Cookie dough alone tasted so good. Once cooked, so good. Favorite cookie recipe now.
Yay! So happy to hear that!
Could this dough be refrigerated overnight, or should it be limited to four hours for best results?
These are awesome! Rather than refrigerate for 4 hours, I popped the browned butter (using a kitchen aid mixer metal bowl) in the fridge for 25’ish minutes, then finished making the dough, then popped it back in the fridge for another 30 minutes before baking. They turned out perfect! Spread out while baking just the right amount and saved me about 3 hours of waiting! Thanks for the wonderful recipe. This is a perfect cookie for Fall & winter!
You’re so welcome! Happy you enjoyed them!
These are some of the best cookies I have ever made! The flavor is complex and delicious. This recipe is a keeper!
Absolutely delicious! I made them last year and gave out as gifts. Made them again tonight just for us. Everyone loves them
I haven’t made these yet, but I know they will be well received just because of the bourbon!!! I am also thinking about making a batch with Kaluha. What other types of alcohol have you added to this recipe??????
Butter Update: 1 cup of butter is required to make these cookies successfully. Anything less will result in dry, crumbly cookies. The amount of flour is correct in this recipe; please adjust the butter. The are so amazingly DELICIOUS!
I have one quick question.
My 1 cup of packed brown sugar wasn’t even close to 213 grams by weight.
213 grams got me close to 2.5 cups.
I stuck with the 1 cup measurement because 213 grams looked like a ton of sugar.
Can you clarify for me?
These cookies are amazing! Does anyone know if we can premake and freeze the cookie dough? Or store in the fridge for a few days?
You can definitely freeze the cookie dough balls. Then add an extra few minutes onto the baking time (they’ll take longer to bake when being baked from a frozen state).
I’ve made these several times and they are always amazing. Do you have to refrigerate for 4 hours if you let the brown butter come back to a solid? I always forget about that part and have been up til midnight baking, lol.
OMG these were absolutely amazingly scrumptious! The only thing I changed was I used walnuts instead of pecans and I added 1/2 cup dried cranberries. Next time I will probably also add 1/2 cup of toasted coconut. I thought these were a lot of work to make, but worth every minute.
Also, mine made 4 dozen (I don’t like huge cookies) and 4 dozen made the perfect size in my opinion.
I would love to add pictures but not sure where I can add them.
Has anybody made this with MORE bourbon than the recipe calls for? Just wondering how much I can push it before they taste TOO bourbon-y.