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    You are here: Home / Desserts / Cookies / Soft & Chewy Butter Pecan Cookies

    Soft & Chewy Butter Pecan Cookies

    December 21, 2018 By Sam 139 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Made with toasted pecans and a surprise sprinkling of toffee bits, these Butter Pecan Cookies are soft, chewy, buttery and so good! Easy to make with no mixer and no chilling required, what’s not to love??

    This is a great last minute cookie option for your holiday cookie tray. I’ll be serving these alongside other soft and chewy cookies like my peanut butter blossoms, molasses cookies, and Snickerdoodles.

    Butter Pecan Cookies cooling on cookie sheet

    I originally shared this recipe for Butter Pecan Cookies over on The Recipe Critic! 

    If I can control myself, this Butter Pecan Cookie Recipe will be the last recipe that I share until 2019.

    I have a few more videos of older recipes that I finished and have scheduled to go out (you’ll see them if you’re subscribed to my YouTube channel), and I do hope to get up a Crumbs post, but other than that I told Zach that I was going to give myself (both of us, really) a mini vacation between Christmas and New Year.

    These past few weeks have been super fun but super busy. Somehow Christmas is just 4 days away and I’ve hardly even listened to any Christmas music so far. And didn’t we just put up our tree!? I’m going to try to take a minute to just breathe. To stop and smell the roses. Or in this case, the butter pecan cookies.

    Self control has never been my strong point though (as was very clear when I wolfed down half a dozen of these butter pecan cookies by myself), and while sharing recipes is a lot of work, it’s also a lot of fun, so we’ll see if I can make it to the New Year. I honestly feel like I should just delete this whole post so far and just start over because it’s probably going to turn out to be a lie, but we will see!

    How to make butter pecan cookies: stirring nuts and toffee into cookie dough

    Tips for Making Butter Pecan Cookies

    As usual I have a few tips I want to leave you with. These cookies are really pretty simple (and there’s no mixer or chilling needed!) but it’s better to have too many tips than not enough, right?

    Toast your pecans!

    This is optional, but this step will give your cookies the best flavor. Toasted nuts always win over un-toasted. I also recommend toasting your nuts and then chopping them. This helps to toast them evenly and minimizes the chance of them burning in your oven.

    Take care when measuring your flour

    If you are measuring your flour using cups, I have some suggestions for best practices. Always stir your flour first in its container, then spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off your cup. Don’t scoop the flour directly into your cup, or you’ll pack it in, leaving you with way more flour than the recipe actually calls for.

    Honestly I really recommend using a kitchen scale when baking. It’s been a game changer for me and it cuts back on dishes, no measuring cups to wash! This is the kitchen scale that I use (affiliate), it’s inexpensive and I love it.

    Some notes for baking your cookies

    When your cookies come out the oven, the edges should be a light golden brown but the centers should still seem soft and even just a hint under-baked. Let them cool completely on the baking sheet, where they’ll finish baking as they cool. This will keep your cookies soft and chewy as opposed to pulling them out of the oven when the centers are firm and fully baked, which will actually result in over-baked, hard cookies.

    Chewy butter pecan cookie on white plate

    Alright, I hope you’ve enjoyed all the Christmas Cookies I’ve been throwing at you over the past few weeks!

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

    More Cookie Recipes You Might Like:

    • Brown Butter Toffee Cookies
    • Brown Sugar Cookies
    • Chocolate Chip Cookies
    Butter pecan cookies

    Soft & Chewy Butter Pecan Cookies

    The name says it all! These Butter Pecan Cookies are soft, buttery, and chewy, and so easy to make! No chilling or mixer required! 
    4.93 from 41 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Cookies, Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 25 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 35 minutes
    Servings: 20 cookies
    Calories: 260kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    • 1 ½ heaping cups pecan halves (175g)
    • 1 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled at least 10 minutes* (226g)
    • 1 ¼ cup dark brown sugar tightly packed (250g)
    • ½ cup sugar (100g)
    • 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk room temperature preferred
    • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 3 cups all purpose flour** (375g)
    • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
    • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ¾ teaspoon salt
    • ½ cup Heath Toffee bits optional, but recommended! (120g)

    Recommended Equipment

    • Mixing bowls
    • Baking sheet
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
    • Spread pecan halves evenly over cookie sheet and bake on 350F (175C) for 3-5 minutes.
    • Remove from oven (do not turn off your oven) and set aside while you prepare your cookie dough.
    • In a large bowl, combine melted butter and sugars. Stir well.
      1 cup unsalted butter, 1 ¼ cup dark brown sugar, ½ cup sugar
    • Add eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir until well-combined.
      1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
    • In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
      3 cups all purpose flour**, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon salt
    • Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients until completely combined.
    • Coarsely chop your pecans then stir in the pecans and toffee bits until combined.
      1 ½ heaping cups pecan halves, ½ cup Heath Toffee bits
    • Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and drop cookie dough by heaping 1 ½ Tablespoon onto prepared cookie sheet, spacing at least 2" apart.
    • Transfer to 350F oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cookies should still look soft/slightly under-done in the centers. Allow to cool completely on baking sheet and they will finish baking through as they cool but will stay nice and soft!

    Notes

    *If your butter is scorching hot it will melt your sugars and your cookies will spread all over your baking pan. The butter can still be warm, but should not be hot.
    **If you are using cups, the best way to measure out your flour is to stir it in its bag/container then spoon it into your measuring cup and level off the measuring cup. Packing in your flour (over-measuring it) will leave you with a dry/crumbly cookie dough.
    Store any leftover, cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 260kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 145mg | Potassium: 58mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 364IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!
    « Gingerbread Cookie Bars
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lorraine

      December 20, 2022 at 1:43 pm

      can you use walnuts, hazelnuts or almonds in this recipe

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        December 20, 2022 at 4:04 pm

        That should work fine. We hope you enjoy them, Lorraine! 😋

        Reply
    2. Jesse Draper

      October 09, 2022 at 9:28 pm

      5 stars
      I used chocolate and butterscotch chips chopped instead of Heath bits as a replacement. Tasted great.

      Reply
    3. Alisa

      September 27, 2022 at 7:57 am

      Thank you, Sam, for such an amazing recipe.☺️ Right now is probably my 5th time making these! There wasn’t one person who didn’t like the cookies. Although, I do add slightly less white sugar (~60g) and slightly more pecans (~200g)😄 Also, I bake them for a little bit longer, as they seem too undercooked at 12 mins, but they do finish cooking and setting out of the oven, as promised!

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        September 27, 2022 at 9:42 am

        Sounds like these are a huge hit for you, Alisa! Thanks so much for commenting 🥰

        Reply
    4. Rose

      August 27, 2022 at 4:32 pm

      5 stars
      Very good cookie! Thank you for sharing your recipe. Great flavor and texture.

      Reply
    5. Arlene

      July 10, 2022 at 9:26 pm

      5 stars
      Can these cookies be frozen?

      Reply
      • Sam

        July 11, 2022 at 11:54 am

        Sure thing! You can either freeze the dough or freeze the finished product. If freezing the dough, I typically scoop the dough, wrap each dough ball individually then store in a freezer bag. 🙂

        Reply
        • Rachel

          November 22, 2022 at 6:27 pm

          If you freeze the dough, do you need to let thaw first? We loved our first batch, but with only 2 people in the house, we needed to save the rest!

        • Sam

          November 22, 2022 at 8:55 pm

          Hi Rachel! You can bake them from frozen. It will just take a couple more minutes. 🙂

    6. Amanda

      March 30, 2022 at 2:37 pm

      When making these, do u have to use dark brown sugar or can u use the light brown?

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        March 30, 2022 at 3:18 pm

        Light brown will work fine! Enjoy, Amanda 😊

        Reply
    7. Deborah

      March 08, 2022 at 4:46 pm

      I would like to halve the recipe the first time I make it. What would I use for the egg amount – one whole egg or two yolks?? Also, the bag of pecans I have on hand are pieces, not halves. How many cups of chopped pecans should I have? Which by the way, there are no instructions to chop the pecans after toasting them, but the directions say to “add chopped pecans”. Thanks for your help.

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 16, 2022 at 10:10 am

        Hi Deborah! I would just use one egg if cutting it in half. I would use the same amount of chopped pecans. I will make sure to update the instructions to include the chopping of the pecans. 🙂

        Reply
    8. Melanie

      January 14, 2022 at 2:48 am

      5 stars
      I didn’t have any toffee bits, so I substituted butterscotch chips. These cookies were amazing!! I am going to buy some toffee chips and try them next. Thank you, Sam for another wonderful cookie recipe!

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        January 14, 2022 at 9:41 am

        Yum, that sounds amazing Melanie! We’re so glad you liked them 😊

        Reply
      • Nancy

        April 07, 2022 at 5:33 pm

        Just made these today. Followed recipe to a “T”. My batter seemed really dry and pebbly (is that even a word?)

        Reply
        • Sam

          April 08, 2022 at 8:47 am

          Hi Nancy! Did you weigh your flour? It sounds like there may have been a little too much in there. 🙁

    9. Debbie Rodriguez

      December 21, 2021 at 10:37 pm

      How many cookies does this recipe make?

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        December 22, 2021 at 9:55 am

        Hi Debbie! You can find this info in the recipe card. You should get about 20 cookies 😊

        Reply
    10. Lori

      December 19, 2021 at 1:57 pm

      5 stars
      These are now my husband’s favorite cookies. I took some to work and the next day someone asked me if I had more…said he needed a cookie fix.

      Reply
    11. Christina B

      December 18, 2021 at 1:10 pm

      5 stars
      These are awesome! Made them for my Christmas Cookie Exchange & they came out perfectly! Couldn’t ask for better directions or recipe. A new favorite!

      Reply
    12. Belinda

      September 30, 2021 at 2:15 am

      Couldn’t get Heath Toffee bits here .. can replaced w dark chocolate ?

      Reply
      • Sam

        September 30, 2021 at 9:20 am

        Yup! Or you can chop up some heath bars, either will work 🙂

        Reply
        • Belinda

          September 30, 2021 at 10:34 am

          Thank you for your reply 💖 I will try out 😉

        • Kiran matharu

          December 18, 2021 at 8:01 pm

          Can I freeze these? Thank you

        • Sam

          December 18, 2021 at 9:09 pm

          Hi Kiran! While I haven’t tried freezing these myself, you shouldn’t have any issues freezing these cookies.

    13. Miriam Rose Blanar

      September 06, 2021 at 11:56 pm

      5 stars
      I made these for church and people loved them! They couldn’t get enough. My only regret is that I didn’t double these because people kept asking for more. Other people brought cookies but mine were the only ones that were all eaten.

      Reply
      • Sam

        September 07, 2021 at 1:06 pm

        I’m so happy to hear they were such a hit, Miriam! Thank you so much for trying my recipe and letting me know how it turned out for you, I really appreciate it! 🙂

        Reply
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    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

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