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Thick, chewy, and insanely delicious Butter Pecan Cookies! Made with brown butter, brown sugar, and plenty of toasted butter pecans, these cookies are so flavorful. A must bake cookie recipe for the holiday season!
Butter Pecan Cookies
Do you follow me on Instagram? If yes, you may have seen me make this recipe on Instastories last week. I posted a couple of pictures of these pecan cookies when they came out of the oven and within just a few hours I had over 100 requests for the recipe! So while I wasn’t planning on posting these until Fall, I decided to shuffle around my editorial calendar and share them with you today. Because I love giving you what you want! And according to my inbox… you definitely want these butter pecan cookies!
So bust out your baking sheet and let’s get baking!
As I mentioned earlier, I was originally planning on sharing these cookies with you in October… when my first book is released! I’ll be sharing 5 recipes from the book with you, so that you can get a sneak peak and see if it’s right for you. Of course this recipe will be in the book, along with chapters and chapters more! I’m pouring my heart and soul into this project. And I’m really excited to share more details about it with you soon.
But for now, let’s focus on these cookies. Because they’re incredible! Each bite is super chewy, perfectly crunchy, and so flavorful. The flavor comes from brown butter, a pinch of cinnamon, and plenty of toasted pecans. Pecans toasted in BUTTER, that is.
Because when it comes to butter pecan cookies, more butter is always better. Warm from the oven, these cookies basically melt in your mouth. But after an hour or so, they firm up and are chewy in the middle and crunchy at the edges. If you’re a butter pecan fanatic (like me!) I highly suggest buying some butter pecan ice cream and making homemade ice cream sandwiches with these cookies
Pecan Cookie Recipe
Ingredients:
- pecans (I suggest tasting your pecans to ensure they’re fresh. They should be golden in color when you purchase them. For optimal freshness, I suggest storing your pecans in an airtight container in the fridge – they’ll keep for 9 months, or up to 2 years in the freezer.)
- unsalted butter
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- sugar
- cinnamon
- cornstarch
- flour
- baking soda
- and salt
You’ll also need a large bowl, an electric mixer, and a baking sheet with parchment paper.
How to Brown Butter
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 saucepan, butter, and a little patience. You’ll melt the butter as normal, then continue to cook it over medium heat – swirling the pan 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?
Assembly
- There are 3 steps to assembling this cookie dough: making the buttered pecans, browning the butter, and then making the cookie dough. And it should be done in that order. The good news is each step is quite easy and only takes a few minutes!
- Because the butter is in a liquid form when we add it to the cookie dough, this recipe does require chilling. But just for 4 hours! During this time the butter is basically coming back to room temperature, which helps our cookies hold their shape as they bake. Of course you can chill it longer, or scoop it and freeze the cookie dough balls until needed. But if you refrigerate over 4 hours, you’ll need to allow the dough to slightly soften before scooping.
Baking
- I prefer making these cookies BIG. So I use a large cookie scoop (about 1/4 cup) tp scoop up the raw cookie dough. But you can definitely make them smaller. Just adjust the baking time, as smaller cookies will bake faster. And larger cookies might need an extra minute or two.
- 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 granulated sugar right when they come out of the oven for a sparkly effect!
- Unlike most cookie recipes that instruct you to preheat oven to 350, these cookies call for a slightly higher oven temperature of 375. The higher temperature yields cookies that are crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside.
- Finally, be sure you don’t over bake these cookies! They only need 10 to 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!
I had my family over for dinner last night and everyone loved these cookies! Even my brother, who typically refuses anything that doesn’t involve chocolate, ate 3 of these chewy pecan cookies for dessert. Oh, and he took a few home, too!
If you try this recipe for Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies, let me know! Leave a comment below and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram! Seeing your kitchen creations makes my day.
More Pecan Recipes:
- Brown Sugar Butter Pecan French Toast
- White Chocolate Butter Pecan Blondies
- Overnight Pecan Pie French Toast
- Brown Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- 6-Ingredient Butter Pecan Fudge
- No Corn Syrup Pecan Pie
Butter Pecan Cookies
Ingredients
For the Buttered Pecans:
- 1 and 1/4 cup pecan halves, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
For the Butter Pecan Cookies:
- 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, melted until browned
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 16 pecan halves, for decoration, 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 Butter Pecan Cookies:
- In a large bowl combine flour, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda; whisk well to combine then set aside until needed.
- In a small 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.
- Add both sugars into the mixing bowl and whisk well to combine.
- Add in vanilla. Beat in eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating until eggs are just combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour, stirring until just combined. Fold in the buttered pecans.
- Cover bowl and refrigerate for 4 hours.
To Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 375 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 10 to 11 minutes. 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.
- Sprinkle warm cookies with granulated sugar.
- Allow cookies to cool on the pan for 15 minutes, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack.
Notes
- Cookies will stay "fresh" for 3 days when stored in an airtight container.
- Cookie dough will keep in the fridge for 48 hours. Alternatively, you may scoop and freeze the cookie dough for up to 2 months. You will need to add an extra minute or two to the bake time if baking frozen dough.
- You can make smaller sized cookies, but you'll need to decrease the bake time by a minute or two.
- For decoration, you may sprinkle granulated sugar on the cookies right when they come out of the oven.
Hey! Can I use almonds or other kind of nuts instead of pecans ?
I think that should work just fine 🙂
These are great! I used a silicone ice cream scoop dipped in water. Also great. I baked The for 10 minutes as our oven tends to run hot.
I’ve made them four times. I find they are better the.next day. Also, I weigh the flour. The other stuff can be measured, Utah the flour seems to have a mind of its own. Great recipe. Thanks!
Are these a soft cookie?
Yes, so chewy and oh so good! Nice little crunch on the outside layer My 10 & 14yo daughters request them regularly, lol.
My cookies came out cakey as opposed to chewy, what did I possibly do wrong?
Hi I might be wrong you probably overmixed the flour when you added it! If you overmix the flour when it is added it can make it have a more cakey texture – the tip with cookies is to always mix in all of the ingredients until they are just combined! Hope that helps x
Hi! Yum! I’m going to make these right way! After browning the butter, do you wait a for it to cool before adding the sugars, vanilla and eggs?
Thanks,
Ann
No need to wait 🙂 Just be sure to add the sugars first, then quickly whisk in the eggs!
Hi Ashley!
My name is Anna and I’m from Barcelona. First of all let me tell you that I’ve done several of your recipes and they are all fantastic!! So for sure I will include your book to my Xmas Wishlist this year. Just a small suggestion about your recipes… Have you ever thought about the possibility to write some of them also on “grams”?? cups, sticks, tbs and ts are a chaos for me… thanks for reading!
Hi Anna! Thanks so much for the kind comment 🙂 The book will include weight measurements for all recipes, and we may make that switch on the blog soon too!
Will u leave the cups and teaspoon measurements also?
Of course! Those will always be included 🙂
Can I use gluten free flour instead?
How many cookies does this recipe make? I see you have 16 pecan halves for the tops. Hoping the recipe makes more than that.
She stated that the recipe makes 16 large cookies. However, she also stated that you can make more smaller cookies, but would need to decrease baking time. It’s all spelled out in the recipe. Reading is knowledge.
A little rude
I thought so too. These cookies are delicious!
I agree – rude. When I read recipes, I do it in spare time and I am usually tired from working all day or other obligations. Browsing recipes is suppose to be enjoyable and relaxing. We are not always as attentive as maybe we would like to be until we actually begin to cook/bake.
I loved your answer
I made smaller cookies for a New Year’s party for 4, about 30 cookies. They are OK, but I think a larger cookie would be more moist and chewy. I also think that I did not brown my butter enough. My pan was too small so it was difficult to see the stage of the browning. But I love the idea.
Hi Anna, these sound delicious. I’d love to incorporate maple into these cookies some how. Would you omit the vanilla and add in maple flavoring ? Or would you toast the pecans in pure maple syrup in place of the butter amount required to toast them? ThAnks so much
Domino makes a maple flavored pourable sugar, try using that instead of brown sugar
I would replace the 1/2 c granulated sugar with 1/2 c pure maple sugar. It’s so good and works well in a 1:1 swap. It’s simply dehydrated pure maple syrup. You can find it on amazon. It’s also amazing in a latte!
Hi Ashley, i’d like to add maple to these cookies. Would you suggest omitting vanilla and adding maple flavoring in its place? Or would you feel that using pure maple syrup to toast the pecans? Using the same amount of syrup instead of butter ? Thanks so much. I can’t wait to try these.
I read your recipe, I live in Australia and we don’t get sticks of butter, so how much butter would I use?
One cup
250 grams equals 2 sticks which is half a pound.
Hi I live in Australia, your recipe sounds fab. question how much butter as we don’t get sticks of butter? is it Just 8oz or 16oz
1 stick equals 1/2 cup so you’ll need 1 cup for this recipe
In the U.S. a stick of butter is 1/2 cup
8 oz
4oz stick is a quarter pound
Do I have to wait four hours to chill? Yes
Can’t wait to make these
Thank you Ashley for sharing – these look absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to bake some! I have one question, it appears you may have something sprinkles on top of the cookies, like sugar, but I didn’t see anything mentioned about this on your blog or recipe?
She mentioned at the end to sprinkle granulated sugar on top if you choose, to give a sparkly effect. Made these and they are dangerously delicious.
Try a little kosher salt instead of sugar. Omg. They re to die for!
I will try the salt. I am baking them tonight. I think that sounds like a sweet/salty combo and I was thinking of trying that instead of sugar. I’m glad to see someone already did and it turned out!
I sprinkled coarse kosher salt per your suggestion and these are my new favorite cookies ..do yummy!
When does the cornstarch get added in? With the flour?
Hi Anna. Yes, please see step one for making the cookies. It’s included in the list of dry ingredients that are combined 🙂
Hi there, just wondering why you use cornstarch in this recipe. 🙂
Hi Laura! It makes the cookies extra thick and chewy.
Can you out the corn starch if you don’t want the thickness
Hello. These look fantastic. I was wondering if these could be made with almond flor. I am a celiac and have to stay away from gluten. Thanks
Hi Penny. Unfortunately I do not think this recipe would work with almond flour. However a gluten free cup for cup flour replacement could!
I’ve been looking for a great pecan cookie recipe! I finally found it! I made the dough a day ahead and baked the cookies the next morning and…wa la….they are to die for!!!! I will be making these cookies again and again. I guess it’s time to delete all the other cookie recipes. No need to hang on to them. Thank you for posting this recipe! On a scale from 1 to 10. These cookies are a 10!
Hi,
Did you turn out 16 cookies when you made them?
In the photo, it looks like there is sugar sprinkled on top of the cookies. Is the true?
Yes! It’s just granulated sugar, but you could use fine sea salt, or leave them as is 🙂
Hi I have made several of your recipes just would like to know can these cookies be frozen and if so how long?
Hi Ashley,
These look AMAZING!!
I’m kind of new to this, quick question.
If I use my medium cookie dough scoop, which holds 1.5 TBSP of dough, I’m assuming that effectively will make double the amount of cookies, is that correct? Because 3 TBSP of dough is a really large cookie? I’m sorry, I’m trying to picture it in my head.
I noticed you said to shorten the bake time by one or two minutes. Does that apply to the size I’d get when using a 1.5 TBSP cookie dough scoop?
Thank you!!
I made these last night and everyone loved them took some that I left at home to work the next day and they want more!. My cookies turned out more flat then the picture. I would probably test bake a couple. I might have messed up measuring I will definitely try again
Hi Kristi! The longer you chill the dough, the thicker the cookies will come out 🙂
Made these today and the flavor is amazing, but they cookies spread waaaaayyy too much. Next time I will either add more flour or just add the chopped, buttered pecans to a brown butter cookie base that’s consistently worked.
Hi Emily! I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor. These cookies bake up super thick… so I’d love to help troubleshoot why yours spread so much. Did you chill the dough? Another possibility could be your oven runs low. The high heat helps keep the cookies from spreading too much. If you have any questions, just let me know 🙂
You are very helpful. I can’t wait to get your cookbook. I’m going to order it today!
I had the same issue. I even froze the dough balls and baked them straight from the freezer. Every last one was like a pancake.
Hi Meghan. Was your cookie dough thick and scoopable?
I have made these like 7 times because the flavor was so good, but I had trouble getting the texture too. For me it was a combination of things. One was that the pecans were still a little to buttery/wet when I added them to the batter. I cook them for a little longer now, and make sure my pecan pieces are chopped really well to absorb the butter.
My other problem was that I was pressing the cookies into a cookie shape (when I added the pecan), now I make them into weird little towers, and they turn out perfectly.
In the photos, its look like there is salt on top of the cookies, yet the recipe says. What did you use in the pics that is not in the recipe?
Hi Stacey. It’s just plain granulated sugar, which is mentioned in the notes section 🙂 However you could sprinkle sea salt on top; I’m sure that would be delish!
These are exactly what I expected- they taste so much like Pecan Pie. Yummy! They are fantastic cookies. A new favorite. Thank you for sharing your recipe. My family is grateful.
OH MY GOD
these cookies look out of this world-so thick and I lovelovelove pecans and brown butter in cookies, always!
I’m confused about the scooping of dough onto the cookie sheet. Am I suppose to scoop 1 tablespoon at a time and STACK two more on top of the first scoop? or is it only 1 scoop to make one cookie????
Hi! Just scoop it for your liking! I would do 1 spoon at a time. Just take a table spoon. It’s depends on what size of cookie you want! Be creative!
These sound wonderful! I always associate pecans with fall, so I’m glad I found these now that the weather’s cooling off. I’m looking forward to trying them!
Can I bake these cookies in a moon pie pan? My cookies never look uniform size.
Do I put it on the top or bottom inside the oven?
I always bake cookies on the middle rack 🙂
I made these cookies for dinner night with the in laws and they were delicious. My husband has the idea of next time putting a Hershey kiss on top instead of a pecan. We can’t wait to try that!
I only have salted butter, will that work for these cookies? Or is it a must I use unsalted butter. Well it affect the taste?
Even though it’s not recommended by professional bakers, I always use salted butter. Honestly I can’t taste a difference!
Why only 3 at a time
To make the scoop of three tablespoons of dough, use a measuring spoon. Measure one tablespoon of dough at a time. Take the three lumps of dough and mold them together. This should be the size of the scoop mentioned in the recipe, right?
Yes!
I just prepared these last night and so excited to try them! Right now they are in the fridge. How long should I keep them out to be scoopable?
Usually 30 minutes will soften it up enough 🙂
I made them yesterday. Delicious!
Yay! Happy holidays 🙂
Would using Vegan butter and vegan egg still work I. This recipe?
I made these vegan successfully. Earth Balance doesn’t “brown,” but I melted it and heated it up to develop some flavor. I used Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer. Very delicious and they are out very thick and chewy as described.
Hi! Can you freeze the baked cookies?
Hi Ashley from deep East Texas!! My great Grandmother baked a cookie every Xmas almost exactly like this and it was an absolute FAVORITE!! I can’t wait to make them!
I have just one question. I have gone to using raw coconut sugar and this is a very dark and damp sugar all alone. Would you suggest using it in place of Only the brown sugar and using a stevia baking blend for the white or using it for the total amount?? What are your suggestions?? I have MS and have to stick primarily to a very regimented “no refined sugars” diet” however , we do make exceptions when absolutely necessary……!!
I would say, the way you presented the substitution is exactly what you should do…is pure organic cane sugar considered refined…if so, then the monkfruit/stevia/erythritol option is your best bet.
For a while I’ve been seeing all kinds of recipes using brown butter but I haven’t tried it. Today seems like the perfect time!! I’m using large pecan pieces simply because they’re more affordable and I have them. Thanxabunch for sharing!!
Love the cookies Thank you for sharing I made them can they be frozen after they have been baked?
Can you use lite brown sugar and lite brown syurp?
I love to cook and bake and share so when I saw these cookies I decided that was what I was going to make for husband’s co-workers and him. I go make it and my “cookies” came out flat! Really flat. So I read comments and re-read the recipe multiple times and I believe I found the error I committed. Others may have done this as well. When it came to the butter, I read 2 sticks (8 ounces). I must of misinterpreted this as meaning 2 sticks 8 ounces each instead of total. I believe this is the error I made. I believe when I try again they will be delicious. Unfortunately hubby and co-workers will have to wait.
These cookies are excellent!!! The browned butter provides a rich and savory flavor that pairs well with the sweetness of the brown sugar. The crunchy exterior and chewy interior is what makes this cookie a perfectly delectable treat. Highly recommended!
These look amazing!! They will be added to my wedding baking list! Do you think they will work to slice and bake? I am hoping to stock pile some cookies before for easy baking! I can not wait to try them!!
Hi Taylor! I honestly don’t think they’ll work as slice and bake, but I can’t say for sure as I haven’t tried. If you do try, I would suggest dividing the dough in two logs and placing them in the fridge to chill for at least 6 hours.
I made these gluten free with America’s test kitchen blend. They turned out delicious. I stacked two 1 1/2 scoops. Still came out flatterthan I would like. I will try less butter next time. I used the 8oz specified. I know gluten free sometimes uses less butter I chilled them 2 1/2 hours.
Hello. Found your pecan browned butter cookie recipe yesterday and made them right away. Followed your recipe exactly and the cookies turned out perfectly! They look just like your photos! I baked half of the dough and froze the remaining dough balls. This recipe is very adaptable because it is such a great foundation. Next time I’m going to add dried cranberries and I might add chocolate chips to a batch. Might be my favorite cookie recipe yet! Thank you for sharing!
Mine was a success! They’re just like the pictures (although I must say mine a bit thicker…lol) . I have no problem making this, only need lots of patience making the melted butter. I made gumbo last time, making the melted butter and gumbo roux almost similar… gotta have patience to do it. Thank you for the recipe, I like it a lot!
I plan to try these very soon. If you put a slice of fresh bread into a sealed container along with your cookies, they should stay moist longer than three days. They would not last in my house that long due to all of the little grand babies..lol!
Can you please clarify the butter amount? Is it two 8-ounce sticks, or a total of 8 ounces? Thank you
There are 4 ounces in a US stick of butter. So 2 sticks of butter would equal 8 ounces.
I just finished making these cookies and they are sooooo good! They are chewy and nutty from the butter and pecans. I found a new cookie recipe.
Just made the dough for the cookies. You forgot to say when to add the toasted Pecans so I added them to the butter / sugar. / egg mixture. Then folded the dry ingredients into the wet. Seems to have worked, It is now chilling less the “Samples” of the DELICIOUSNESS in the bowl. Remember to have a close friend try each recipe to make sure steps are not left out. I am a savvy cook so it didn’t throw me. Great flavor on this one. Can’t wait to try a cooked cookie!
Hi Ellen. Folding in the pecans is in step 3 🙂 Hope you love them as much as we do!
These are AMAZING!!!! Hard to stop at just one. Definitely will make again.
Did you use a regular oven or convection? These look so delicious! Can’t wait to try them!
I made the cookies exactly to what your recipe called for. Mine turned out flat too. In looking at your raw scoops, it looks like you stacked the three Tablespoons of dough (1 on top of the other). My scoop is a 3 tablespoon scoop and I filled it and then scooped it out on the baking sheet. Also at 9 minutes mine weren’t near done, not even that brown so I gave them an extra minute and a half and took them out. I also think my oven is baking too low at 375 degrees. Im goin to make another batch tomorrow and put my oven up a tad and see if the cookies come out thicker. Otherwise they are delicious but don’t look as pretty as yours!
I’ve got the dough in the refrigerator chilling but the dough did not seem stiff. Is this typical? If not, what can I do to save it? Thank you.
It will firm up in the fridge 🙂 If it still seems too thin, try adding a 1/4 cup of flour to the batter, but it shouldn’t be needed!
Best cookie ever and I made them gluten free.
Yay! So happy to hear it, Dan 🙂
I’d like to know your recipe if you don’t mind sharing. I eat gf also.
1.What Do you mean when you say 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, melted until browned
2.what if I only have salted butter
what if i only have salted butter
Do you have to brown the butter? What will the cookies taste like without browning the butter?
Would it work to make as a sheet cookie?
Really good cookies. Think next time I might sprinkle finishing salt instead of sugar on top. Also considering rolling dough into a log in plastic wrap before chilling since it would make portioning much easier.
Hi! These look amazing!! I wanted to know if there’s any way to make this a eggless recipe and replace with flax sees, applesauce, etc? Sorry if I missed your response to any similar question above. Thank you!!
How fragile are these? Wondering if they would survive travel to my deployed son-in-law in a desert climate?
They’re not extremely fragile, and packed properly I think they would last up to 5 days.
New to baking so please forgive the elementary question
1-1/2 cups of pecans, finely chopped.
I want to make sure you measure out the pecan halves and then chop or do you measure out 1-1/2 cups of finely chopped pecans.
I also wondered this. Did you get an answer?
Without a doubt this is the very best cookie I’ve ever made! My husband says this is a seriously good cookie. Anyone who has tried one can’t get enough. I have to double the recipe every time and people still fight over them. They freeze well but my frozen ones only made it a week in the freezer.
Made these this afternoon, the only change I made was adding butterscotch chips. Aaaaamazing, thank you!!!
Hi Ashley – I have been baking for eons ( I’m a senior) and have so many recipes. However, this recipe is fantastic!!! I have made it many times for family and they gobble them all up right away. When I want a special treat to take to someone these are the cookies I make. As I write this comment I have a batch chilling in the fridge ready to be baked for gals in a office as a treat. Thanks for this recipe and so many of your other ones.
Hi Elaine! Thank you so much for this kind message 🙂 And I’m thrilled you love these cookies as much as we do! xo
Easy to make, and tasty!
So happy to hear it, Laurie!
My cookies came out tasting amazing! But they were thin. They were chewy in the middle though. What did I do wrong??
I made these today. 4-24 hours of chill time is overkill. I chilled 1 hour and 30 mins to becone plyable.
They were delicious. Out of pecans and uaed walnuts.
OHHH Mmmmmm Gosh….. these are the best cookies I have EVER eaten and nof difficult to make ! Thank you for sharing this recipe! Definitely going to bake them again! YUM!!!!!!!
This recipe is a keeper. I would emphasize the need to chill the dough. If I can, I chill my dough overnight. Also, I substitute bread flour for part of my flour, usually 20- 30%, spending on how much fat is called for. if the recipe can adapt to it, I use brown sugar, add an extra egg yolk, and bake the cookies at a slightly higher oven temp and make sure they don’t over bake. These things should help to keep cookies from flattening. Thanks for the great recipe. I’ve been baking for almost 50 years and my feeling is that there is always a good recipe around the corner!
Do you substitute brown sugar in the same amount? And wondering what the cake flour does. Do you think these would be good with the addition of chocolate chips?
This looks like a great Fall recipe!
I am considering making these as a bar cookie in a sheet pan and adding chocolate chunks.
I know I will have to adjust the cook time.
Have you tried this, and does it work?
I just made this cookie. Because I am GF I subbed GF flour for the regular flour. Other than that I followed the recipe. I think I overlooked by 1 minute but they still came out great. Love the taste.
I have been wanting to make these cookies for a while and finally got to today. They may be my new favorite! Pecans are the queen of the nut world and add such a great warm, roasted, depth of flavor to these chewy wonderful gems. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Made them with my GF flour blend. Added 2 Tx of extra flour and they turned out amazing!!! ❤️
These cookies are incredibly delicious! They don’t spread a lot, so size is close to how they are originally shaped. Will definitely make again!
My husband is allergic to cinnamon, but loves butter pecan anything. What do you recommend for a substitution? Or just leave it out?
Hi Heather! Feel free to omit it 🙂
Your recipe says scoop 3 TBSP sized scoops. Does this mean each scoop is 3 TBSP, or there will be 3 scoops & each are 1 TBSP? These do sound good.
Each scoop of cookie dough should be 3 Tablespoons (so a fairly large mound).
Any adapted these for high altitude?
is there any replacement for cornstarch?
I reduced cookie size to two-1 tablespoon balls of dough. I pressed them like thumprints and added the pecan half. They could even go smaller, 1 1/2 tablespoons total.. I also toasted the decorative halves in butter. I garnished with a mixture of raw sugar and kosher salt. Awesome!
Hi Kelly,
how long did you bake when you reduced the cookie dough size
Hi I really wanted to make these cookies but realized I don’t have cornstarch which you said is one of the key ingredients how terribly wrong am I going to be without that one ingredient and is there an option you’d recommend as a substitute.
These are so good. Thank you for an awesome recipe.
This recipe looks excellent, but like a comment before mine, I’m wondering about weight. With something like chopped nuts, volume can be a difficult measure to match, and I want to make sure I have the right amount of pecans in the cookies. Can you share the weight of pecans you used to get to 1.5 cups? That would be a big help. Thanks!
Hi, I made this dough last night to bake this morning and just realized that I forgot to double the eggs when I doubled everything else! Is it ruined?
Hi Sandi. I’m assuming you doubled the recipe? If you did and did not double the eggs, the cookies will definitely bake up different… but maybe not completely ruined.
Have you ever added chocolate chips or chunks to these? I’m wondering if that would work?
Yes! It will totally work 🙂 I would suggest adding 1 cup.
I live in Colorado. How can I adjust this recipe for high altitude?
I wondered if you mean to measure the peacns halves before being chopped? I just wanted to make sure. I know it will make a difference in measurement if I chopped them measured.
These are the best cookies I’ve made in a long time! They’re so buttery and chewy. The flavor is excellent! I gave them out as gifts and everyone went crazy for them!
The comments in the pictures say to chill for “just two hours” but the directions in the recipe say to chill for four hours. I am not sure if it makes a difference, but I chilled for the four hours. They are in the oven now! I can’t wait to try them
I chilled for barely over 4 hours and the dough is solid. Maybe my fridge is too cold. Sitting out on counter now to warm up some so I can scoop and bake. I know they’re good, but next time I will put in fridge for 2 hours instead.
Up well above the list of ingredients needed, you gave instructions on how to make the brown butter, You said to add it to the cookie dough then refrigerate ONLY for 2 hours. But when you get down to the actual recipe under the list of ingredients you say to chill for 4 hours. Which is right? I want to make sure the cookie dough doesn’t spread everywhere if it hasn’t chilled long enough in 2 hours, but 4 hours sounds like a really long time. A friend at work made these and gave me one. They are absolutely delicious and I’m making a big batch to take to the guards in our building.
Can i chill the browned butter thereby being able to beat the sugar and butter till light? Get that air in there?
How about making these into bars??
These were amazing and totally worth the extra effort of toasting the pecans and browning the butter. I played around with cook time and found the ones I put in for a strict 10 min came out the best, still soft in the center! I tried one tray with the sprinkled sugar on top but found it didn’t really add much. I live at altitude and these baked so well but I will probably brown a little more butter next time (another 1.4 stick probably) to add some more moisture to them. If you are looking for a delicious cookie I can’t recommend these enough!
Been meaning to bake these for a while and finally did this weekend – I regret waiting, these are delicious!! This recipe would probably work great with Walnuts or Brazil nuts too.
In your notes you say that the cookies need to rest in the fridge for 2 hours but the final notes of the recipe say at least 4 – which do you recommend? Thank you!
Definitely a different way to make a cookie. Requires some patience and attention when browning both butter and pecans, unlike most cookies. But worth it. These are unique and yummy! I browned my finely chopped pecans quite deeply and the nut flavor really comes forward surrounded by a buttery flavor. Being a fan of savory and sweet, I sprinkled a bit of kosher salt and coarse sugar.
I just made these and they are fantastic! Make sure you use real butter and bake the large cookies. I also cooked them for 10 minutes. I also put the dough in the freezer for 20 mins before baking and it seemed to be long enough.
I thought 1/3 cup dough would be ridiculous. What a nice presentation they make! So delicious. I’m instagramming.
Hi there! Wondering if this recipe could be made into bars and baked in a 9×13? Would ingredients or cook time need to be adjusted? Also wondering if cooking as bars would eliminate the need to chill the dough?
Thank you!
These look to die for!
Hi there,
I made these cookies the other day and they are amazing!! The only problem that I am having is that they are not spreading like normal and I’ve taken them out of the fridge to let the sit until room temperature and everything, so I am not sure where things went wrong. Please help.
Thank you
These are some of the best cookies ever! They taste delicious and look beautiful. I made 24 heaping 2 tbsp cookies that baked into 3 inch cookies (11 minutes). Note the commentary says to chill 2 hours, not 4 so I went with the shorter. Perfect. The dough was thick and almost fudgy, but cooked perfectly. Love this recipe!
Anyone try freezing them after baked? Are they too fragile?
any ideas on what to do for high altitude?
I want to try these so bad. Any high altitude adjustments needed?
This was a wonderful recipe. My whole family enjoyed it. It takes a few extra steps, but they’re worth it.
Made these this week. The flavor is amazing… however, I’m going to assume they are not high altitude friendly (Colorado girl here). The dough ended up being so dry and hard that it was nearly impossible to scoop. They didn’t spread at all while baking, so I ended up with cookie “balls”. The inside was soft and the outside had crispy edges. They simply didn’t spread or look anything like the end product should have. I will try and altitude adjustment and if it works, I’ll let you know.
These look and sound amazing! I was going to make for Thanksgiving but running out of time so I definitely will make for Christmas!!!
Made these tonight. Delicious! My butter did cool a bit because my sister called!! 9 minutes is all they needed. Hubby loved them!
Hi! I made these and they chilled for over 4 hours. After an hour on the counter they were still hard to scoop, but I did it. My question is after freezing the prescooped dough, what’s the best way to bake them? From frozen and let them bake longer or should I thaw them? Also I baked a couple to try and I put the pecan on top like you but mine all fell to the side as they baked. Any tips on how to get them in the middle like your pic??? Thanks!!!
These sound delish! In your notes, you say to refrigerate for only 2 hours but recipe calls for 4 hours. Will the cookies bake too fast if I only refrigerate 2 hours? Thank you
I’ll fix that now! 2 hours should be fine 🙂
Hello! Do you measure the pecans before or after they are chopped?
Thanks!
I never leave comments but this is possibly the best cookie recipe I have ever made! So unique and delicious and cozy. Perfect for winter/the holidays. I couldn’t stop eating the dough and can’t wait to bring them to my work holiday party tomorrow! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Hi. I made the dough and had it in the fridge for just over 24 hours. When I took it out, even letting it get to room temp it was very crumbly. I had to really work by rolling in my hands to get them to form/stick into a ball. The first batch just came out of the oven and they are still very tall (I.e., didnt spread out). Any thoughts as to what went wrong? I haven’t tried them yet, since they are still cooling but they don’t look like yours.
Can these be made into bars? Like blondies? Would you use a 13×9, how long to bake, still same temp? Does the dough still need to chill? I probably would for the sake of “marinating” the dough.
This week I made a batch of the Brown Butter Pecan Cookies and brought them to work for our annual Christmas Cookie Contest and Exchange. I won the “Best Tasting Cookie” award. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
I made these last year and got rave reviews. The family is aready clamoring for them this year, but I have to wait until I am ready to pass them out and serve them or they would all be gone in one day! My double batch last year was gone in two days. Super easy to make and they deliver rich taste. Hmmm…must be the butter.
Hi! It says 2 hours for chilling but also says 4 hours. Which one is the correct amount of chilling time?
I found this recipe on line and decided to make these for my annual Christmas cookie bake with my sisters. They were the favorite and hit with everyone, even my 85 year old mother! We followed the recipe exactly and made them smaller than the 1/3 cup measure and discovered perfection. My husband is still raving about them and insists these Brown Butter beauties are made more often than once a year. They are rich, flavorful and satisfying. Thanks for sharing this excellent recipe! They will become a tradition in my home.
How big did you make them?
Wanted to say this ended up being a Christmas gift for family along with some other home made stuff… Thank you wasn’t expecting it to be but they are fantastic…
These were delicious & a big hit with my family at Christmas! I had a little trouble getting the size and time worked out just right, but by the end of the batch they were just right. Thanks!
So happy they were a hit, Alicia!
Hello,
This recipe sounds great, will try it soon.
Thanks
Hi there, these cookies look great! I can’t wait to try them. I wanted to ask, as in your pic of the raw dough have you assembled two balls of cookie dough on top of each other to have a soft center? Can you please explain how you assemble the dough on the cookie sheet?
Please and Thankyou!
So good!!!
I met these cookies when my best friend made them for me when I had my baby. Cookies are essential, right?!
now, two years later, I just made them for an event I am catering this weekend…they are delicious!!! To save myself time scooping, I rolled the dough into 4 logs and froze…then sliced, got about 10 cookies per log (42 total, including the funny end cuts, which baked up beautifully. Topped each with a pecan half and baked for 8 min.
I will definitely add these to my list of go-to cookies. Even with the additional steps to make buttered pecans and browning the butter, they’re easy cookies!!!
Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Made the cookies and my husband wish they were thicker–I squished them too much with the pecan and fingers–next time. Discrepancy as far as how long to put them in the refrigerator–2 hours or four? I also made 30 out of them instead of 16–they are huge–the smaller size great to make an ice cream sandwich with it. Waiting for them to cool to try it–but they smell good.
I haven’t made these yet, but definitely plan to! Just one question — can the cookies be frozen AFTER baking??
Hello, I loved your brown butter bourbon chocolate chunk cookies recipe! Do you think adding bourbon to these cookies would work well? If so, would I replace the vanilla or add bourbon in addition to the vanilla?
I’ve made these cookies and they are fantastic! A few pointers regarding some comments from readers:
1. If you make the cookies in 1/3 cup portions (which I love) it will only make about 10 cookies.
2. For the gluten free options, I have made these with half almond flour and half gluten free flour. Delish!
3. Chilling is a must and is a great technique for ANY cookie dough. This develops flavor, hydrates the flour, and prevents cookie “spread.” The trick is to use a scoop and portion the dough while it is still soft. Then store the pre-shaped scoops in the fridge or freezer until ready. Pop them on the tray just before going into the oven and the cold dough will not spread like room temp dough.
4. I LOVE the cinnamon but it is not a “typical” ingredient for pecan cookies. You might want to try only 1/2 the amount on your first batch and see how you like it. That way it hides in the background without taking center stage and dominating.
Good suggestions. I always scoop then chill cookie dough before baking. I also go light on cinnamon, if at all.
I just took these out of the oven. They smell amazing, however mine did not flatten AT ALL!! They are huge lol Also the edges did not brown like yours did. I cooked them for 11 min. Not sure what I did with wrong… they were about golf ball sized and I did let the dough chill for about 3 hours. I’m sure they will taste great!
I made these cookies as a test run for Christmas as I like to try a new cookie each year to go along with the staple chocolate chip and snickerdoodle cookies.
I was a bit leary of making the brown butter but it was easier than I had anticipated.
They came out delicious. I got the thumbs up from my family.
Can I use cream of tartar instead of cornstarch?
Wow, you are making my mouth water just looking at the pictures! Great recipe and photography. I will be making these soon! Thank you for choosing pecans as an ingredient.
Amazing! I took them took a cookout and got so many compliments. I do have a question. I chilled the dough for 4 hours as instructed. I then stopped them out and baked – I was in a hurry to take to our gathering. Do you let them soften some before you put them out on the cookie sheet? Mine weren’t as pretty as yours and didn’t flatten out.
I can’t wait to try more of your recipes! There are so many that sound delicious.
These are, quite simply, the best cookies I have ever eaten
Hi!! I recently made these oh so tasty cookies and everything was right about them except when i baked them they turned out flat. I pulled them out the oven and as they cooled they slowly caved in the middle. Any advice would be helpful for next time.
Hello. I recently made these cookies and they are oh so tasty. Really they are the best. I did run into a small problem while baking them. When I took them out the oven and they cooled they did cave into themselves and became flat. Any advice on how to stop that from happening would be so helpfully!!
I printed out this recipe quite a while ago – maybe last year – and just got around to making them recently. My first time using brown butter and probably the best cookies I have ever made!
Question though – when I printed the recipe out the ingredient proportions were slightly different. The recipe now shows more flour, less cornstarch and an extra egg yolk. The previous version worked wonderfully and I just wonder why it was tweaked?
These cookies were scrumptious and super easy to make. I was skeptical when I pulled them from fridge cause batter seemed somewhat fudged because of the consistency. Not to be deterred, I baked them as instructed and they are wonderful tasting and look wonderful. I did smaller cookies and watched the bake time. Definitely going into cookie rotation. I did not change anything in the recipe.
I bought Sugar in the Raw (I must have been having a senior moment). Can I use that in your recipes? It has a slight molasses taste and I don’t know if that will make a difference in the cookies. Any helpful comments would be appreciated.
Just made these cookies, they are delicious! Maybe I wasn’t patient enough , but the brown bits in the butter never materialized. Any idea about how long it takes to get to that stage? Got the foam, got the popping, and the flavor was perfect anyway. Thank you!
You just didn’t wait quite long enough. I usually start stovetop out on low-medium, once I get the foam and popping, if it isn’t browning, I’ll increase the temp just a little. Eventually, you will notice the bottom start to fleck with brown. You can leave it a few seconds more but as the author said, it can burn easily after that so I usually count to thirty after I see brown flecks and then scrape it into a bowl. 🙂
Making a few batches of cookies over next couple of weeks to gift, and these looked good. The batter… was AMAZING. Tasted like nutty butterscotch. I’m surprised I could stop myself from eating that out of the bowl. Anyway, before freezing, I made enough for us each to have two, and I must say, they were delicious. I think I baked maybe 1 or 2 minutes longer than I needed to. It was a little crunchier than it looked in pics, and that made my crunchy-cookie lover of a husband something to love and by the next day, it was softer, which I loved. Will make again.
Will light brown sugar work ok? I have everything I need except the dark brown sugar
Read all the comments but nothing about refrigerating overnight then baking in the morning. Anyone do that?
Tips I did read that helped as I prepare to make these this week for gift giving is to scoop and shaoe prior to refrigerating.
2 hrs is the chill time but can be longer not shorter
A hot oven will keep the cookies shape better so know your oven
Can make smaller just watch the oven and your bake time is shorter
Other nuts are ok to use
Some have frozen their dough prior not sure if wait to they get to room temp or just bake from there?
Still…can I refrigerate overnight to help in all my cookie baking timing? Please answer.
I made these cookies last night and abosolutely loved them. I will be making then over and over again!
Can I omit the extra egg yoke?
Excellent recipe. Just made them. Not sweet at all. And the browned butter is the key! Will stay on my recipe board.
Also when I got the batter mixed I dumped it all on parchment paper and made a log with it. Made sure it was tightly wrapped and put it in the fridge. End of 4 hours took it out and sliced the log in 1 inch increments. They spread a little but held their shape.
OMG, voted best cookie ever in our house ❤️
Sounds great! Can’t wait to make them. Was wondering about the butter. Do you melt hall with the pecans, then brown the rest to add to the cookie dough?
Thanks
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How come the print recipe button never works. I’ve tried to print from my browser and it has 117 pages.
Do I have do remove the pecans from the butter after they are toasted, or does the entire saucepan contents get folded into the dough?
These cookies sound amazing and I have added them to my holiday cookie list.
I want to know if the recipe works with chocolate chips.
Thanks
Sure, you can add some chocolate chips in there!
I may have found something better than chocolate. The raw dough tastes a lot like caramel. It’s chilling for 3 hours and then I’ll bake. I’ve got silicone baking trays for bars and I might use them, but probably not. Great recipe! Thank you. Oh, the house smells delicious too.
Need to make more. Do I just double the ingredients?
I followed the directions but it left out adding the corn starch, baking soda and cinnamon and I didn’t realize until I had it all made up…. bummer. Might want to add that to the directions when it says to fold in the flour… the rest was left out.
Hi Ann. Sorry you missed this. Step 1 indicates to combine flour, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda; whisk well to combine then set aside until needed. So all of these should already be combined when it calls for the flour.
Can this dough be frozen for a week prior to baking??
Can these be frozen to prepare for Christmas?