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.
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!
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.
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!
Treat yourself to a FREE E-BOOK!
More Cookie Recipes You Might Like:
Soft & Chewy Butter Pecan Cookies
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)
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.
- Add eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir until well-combined.
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients until completely combined.
- Add chopped pecans and toffee bits (if using) and stir well.
- 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!
alex
can these be made using walnuts instead of pecans? i know it counters the name but its all i have…
Sam
Hi Alex! That should work fine here. 🙂
Katherine Fung
I just made these cookies with gluten-free flour and they were a huge hit. Everyone asked for the recipe. Thanks so much!!!!!
If anyone is wondering, I used half almond flour and half king Arthur, measure for measure flour.
I made a double batch with salted butter (and slight less salt than in recipe), with three whole eggs. Chilled the batter for 30 min to harden and baked for slightly longer to prevent them from falling apart.
I skipped toasting pecans and instead blended them in my vitamix. Skipped toffee bits too.
Thanks again!!!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Katherine! Thank you for the feedback. 🙂
Joana Dougherty Mcgee
I have come here because a neighbor gave me some she’d made. I am now obsessed, and MUST HAVE MORE.
A question: I have only started making cookies so don’t know a lot of basics — I love crispy cookies; is there a way to make these crispy/ crispier. More bake time? A shallower spoonful on the sheet? Fattening the spoonfuls?
Input appreciated!
Sam
Hi Joana! I am so glad you enjoyed them so much! These are designed to be a softer cookie, but you could make them a little crispy by simply baking them a little bit longer. 🙂
Gaya
EMAZING!!!
Its the best cookies that i’v ever made, they are so tasty!
Nicole
If I brown the butter, would I have to change anything in the recipe? Would the structural integrity of the cookie still be okay?
I love your blog and channel btw; each recipe I have tried has been outstanding. 😊😊
Sam
Hi Nicole! Brown butter will work here, but you will want to make sure you have a cup of brown butter when you are done. Make sure to start with more than a cup as you lose liquid in the process. 🙂
Nicole
Ok, perfect! That’s what I was thinking as well. 😊 Thank you so much! 😊😊
Pamela Hunter
Hello… could this recipe be made into cookie bars without modifying any ingredients? If so, would a 9×13 pan be the right size, baking at 350 instead I f 375?
Sam
Hi Pamela! I think it should work. If you are looking for a chewier recipe you can just use my blondie recipe and the add-ins for these cookies. You will want to bake them on the same 350 temperature. 🙂
Susan J Smith
Very good and easy to make. My husband really enjoyed them. I also gave some of them to my neighbors and they said I could make them any time.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Susan! 🙂
Annie
Made these today for my mom who is gluten free. I used Bobs Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free flour and they turned out great! Chewy, soft and nutty. Loved these!! Thank you for the tip about the melted butter! I never let mine cool when a recipe says that and letting it cool helped them not spread tremendously!! Delicious.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Annie! Thanks for the feedback using the gluten free flour. 🙂
Sara
Can this cookie dough be frozen if all of the dough isn’t used?
Sam
Yup! I find it’s easiest to scoop the dough, roll it, and then freeze. Store in an airtight container for up to several months. The dough can be baked from frozen, but sometimes it takes a few minutes longer to bake.
Sara
Thank you!!
Kellie
New favorite cookies! These are so delicious! The recipe is easy and straightforward! I’m in serious trouble…and only 11am and I’ve already eaten 3!
Sam
Only 3 at 11 am? You are behind my daily schedule of cookie intake. 🤣 I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much. 🙂
MaryBeth Shiekds
The cookies are incredible but my
Batter is so dry. What did I do wrong?
Sam
Hi MaryBeth! Have you seen my post on how to measure flour, usually if the dough is dry this is the problem. I’m glad they were still tasty!
Shannon
Hey Mary Beth! I had a similar problem. I googled how to fix dry cookie dough, and found that water or milk can be used without effecting flavor. My dough was crumbly. I used lukewarm water and slowly poured some in and kept mixing until it looked how I felt it should. Be careful not to pour too much! Hope this helps for future reference.
Suzanne Thorson
I commented earlier, but neglected to say a few things: I didn’t have the toffee bits, used light brown sugar, used salted butter, but did not add salt. The cookies were still absolutely delicious. And, I’m a cookie fanatic! I can’t imagine how good they’ll be when I add the toffee bits and use dark brown sugar. The best and easiest cookie I have ever made…in my opinion, of course.
Sam
Thank you so much, Suzanne! I am so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Suzanne Thorson
The perfect cookie: soft, but not too soft; chewy, yes, a great bite. Flavorful and delicious. This recipe is a keeper and will be one of my go-to recipes from now on.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Suzanne! 🙂
Diane
Made these yesterday. Deeee-lish! Toffee bits are essential! Couldn’t imagine the cookie without them. Terrific recipe. Will definitely make these again,thanks!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy to hear how much you enjoyed them, Diane! Thank you for commenting. 🙂
Wendy
Loved it. I’m a dump baker, late at night just threw the wet in passed up the salt and used salted butter. Baked small cookies so I chopped the pecans smaller. took me a total of 20 mins to make thanks!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Wendy! 🙂