• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
Sugar Spun Run
  • All Recipes
  • Desserts
    • Cookies
    • Candy
    • Bars & Brownies
    • Cake
    • Pies
  • Breads
  • Savory
  • Breakfast
    • Muffins
    • Scones
  • Seasonal
    • Cozy Winter / Holiday Treats
    • Easter / Spring
    • Fall Recipes
    • Summer Recipes
  • Shop
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About Me
  • All Recipes
  • Contact/Work with Me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
  • ×
    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
    Champagne Granita »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lin

      July 04, 2020 at 9:55 pm

      3 stars
      These sounded so good I wanted to get it right. I browned the butter which gave a really good caramel flavor. I weighed ALL the ingredients instead of just measuring. After measuring out 375g of flour I just poured it all in – rookie mistake. It was too much and they are really dry. The dough won’t even hold together to form the cookies. And after browning the butter the toffee chips seemed to distract instead of adding anything. If I make them again I will add flour slowly and stop when it’s enough, and I’ll brown the butter and skip the toffee chips.

      Reply
      • Sam

        July 06, 2020 at 11:26 am

        Hi Lin! I definitely recommend adding the flour gradually, it allows the liquid ingredients to absorb it properly and gradually and you shouldn’t have such a crumbly dough if added gradually.

        Reply
    2. Joanne

      May 03, 2020 at 8:17 am

      Hi Sam, I made your beautiful biscuits, they were so easy and delicious, thank you. The second time I made the recipe, I added the sugar to the butter and made a thick toffee. They kept their shape and had a lovely flavour. Thank you for sharing. I am looking forward to trying more of your recipes. Warm wishes, Joanne from Australia

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        May 03, 2020 at 8:24 am

        Thank you so much for trying my recipe, Joanne! I am glad that you enjoyed the cookies. I look forward to seeing what recipe you try next! Thanks for commenting. 🙂

        Reply
    3. Patricia Gibson

      April 15, 2020 at 11:26 pm

      5 stars
      Hi Samantha. I prepared these last week and they were absolutely delicious. Taste was amazing. I really enjoyed these cookies. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        April 16, 2020 at 8:26 am

        I am so glad that the cookies were enjoyed, Patricia! Thank you for commenting. 🙂

        Reply
    4. Robert

      April 11, 2020 at 8:55 pm

      5 stars
      Your recipe turned out great! Very chewy and flavorful! I didn’t need to chill the dough just like you said and man do these taste like heaven.

      They did take quite a lot longer to bake than the 10-12 minutes. Maybe I made them too big but it doesn’t matter because they were worth the wait.

      Reply
      • Sam

        April 11, 2020 at 9:07 pm

        I am so glad you enjoyed the cookies, Robert! 🙂

        Reply
    5. Rebeccca

      April 10, 2020 at 2:40 am

      Hi Sam,

      I don’t have access to pecans right not, but I do have lots of walnuts. Would this be a suitable substitution? Also, I can’t get a hold of Heath Toffee Bits. If I replaced these with say Walker’s Nonsuch English Toffees (cut up into pieces), do you think that would be okay?

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        April 10, 2020 at 7:56 am

        Hi, Rebecca! I think if you cut your walnuts up that will work fine. I have never tried Walker’s Nonsuch English Toffees but you most certainly can try adding it in. Keep me posted on how the cookies turn out. 🙂

        Reply
        • Rebeccca

          April 10, 2020 at 9:20 pm

          Hi Sam,

          Thanks for replying^^ I will keep you posted should I try this out. I have just discovered your oatmeal cookies as well as brownies, so I’m thinking of trying maybe 3 of your recipes this weekend! haha

    6. Samantha

      April 04, 2020 at 1:07 am

      Can I add chocolate chip morsel

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        April 04, 2020 at 6:50 am

        Absolutely, Samantha! Enjoy! 🙂

        Reply
    7. Deborah

      April 01, 2020 at 7:23 pm

      5 stars
      Just made these this afternoon. I didn’t have the toffee bits in the pantry so used butterscotch chips instead and used slight less pecans than called for. What a wonderful cookie recipe! Thank you!

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        April 01, 2020 at 8:13 pm

        I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Deborah! Thank you for trying my recipe! 🙂

        Reply
    8. Jessica

      March 29, 2020 at 7:31 pm

      Hi!
      I really want to make these but I’m missing corn starch. I was wondering how necessary the ingredient is and what would happen if I chose to skip it?

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        March 29, 2020 at 8:01 pm

        Hi, Jessica! The cornstarch helps softens the flour and makes the cookies soft and chewy. You can skip it and the cookies will still be delicious. Keep me posted on how they turn out. 🙂

        Reply
    9. Phyllis

      March 28, 2020 at 7:45 pm

      Can you use margarine in this recipe?

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 29, 2020 at 10:44 am

        I haven’t tried it but think that should work. I hope you love them, Phyllis!

        Reply
    10. Irina

      February 19, 2020 at 11:47 am

      5 stars
      Hi!!

      Amazing cookies! Loved them!
      Although they did melted too much in the over and ended up being thin and too big 😄.
      No idea why this happened, used scales and followed the recipe exactly 🤷🏻‍♀️.
      Still happy with the taste!

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        February 19, 2020 at 2:20 pm

        Hi, Irina! I am sorry that your cookies spread. By any chance was your baking soda or baking powder expired or old? If so this could have caused the cookies to go flat. Regardless, I am happy that they tasted delicious. 🙂

        Reply
    11. Brada

      December 18, 2019 at 12:50 pm

      Should I chill dough before baking?

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        December 18, 2019 at 12:59 pm

        Hi, Brada! You can, however, it is not needed for this cookie recipe. 🙂

        Reply
        • Brada

          December 18, 2019 at 1:46 pm

          Hello it’s Brada . Thank you. Mine turned out perfect , I used two eggs and an egg yoke . Dough perfect . Are they freezeable?

        • Brada

          December 18, 2019 at 1:55 pm

          Are they freezable?

        • Sam

          December 18, 2019 at 2:44 pm

          Yup!

    12. angela

      December 17, 2019 at 9:10 am

      Help. My dough is crumbly. I must’veAdd too much flour. What can I add to the batter to make it a little moisture right now so I don’t have to throw everything out. Help

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        December 17, 2019 at 10:13 am

        Oh no, Angela! I am so sorry that you are experiencing issues. I am not positive how this will work but I would try adding in 1 Tbsp at a time of melted butter until the dough is no longer crumbly. You want to make sure that it is well combined within the dough. Finger crossed that this helps. I would hate for you to have to start over. 🙁

        Reply
      • Brada

        December 18, 2019 at 12:46 pm

        Should I chill dough before baking?

        Reply
    13. Kerri S

      December 15, 2019 at 7:45 am

      Hey! Could you please clarify one spot on your recipe? It calls for 1 cup of butter or 226g, but 1 cup of butter weighs 460g. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Sam

        December 15, 2019 at 9:48 am

        Hi Kerri! 1 cup of butter is 226 grams. 460grams would be 1 pound or two cups, so just use the 226 grams indicated. I hope that helps!

        Reply
    14. JC Heiberg

      December 11, 2019 at 12:06 pm

      I was wondering if you can help me. I have not tried this recipe (wish I would have) but tried one and it came out very dry and too crumbly. What can I add to the recipe to make the pecan cookies more moist?

      Reply
      • Sam

        December 11, 2019 at 12:39 pm

        Hi JC! This recipe is a soft and chewy one. I would make sure the flour is measured properly, here is a guide on how to do this. This is the easiest way to make sure your cookies don’t come out dry and crumbly.

        Reply
    15. Wendy

      December 08, 2019 at 3:12 pm

      Can I use light brown sugar?? Don’t have dark or molasses…

      Reply
      • Sam

        December 08, 2019 at 5:39 pm

        Yes that will be fine! Hope you love the cookies 🙂

        Reply
        • Wendy

          December 08, 2019 at 10:49 pm

          I made the cookies n the whole family loved them..I had to make kids stop eating them so I could eat some…lol
          Thanks for ur reply n for the best ever recipe.

        • Sugar Spun Run

          December 09, 2019 at 5:59 am

          I love it, Wendy. I recommend making a batch just for yourself. lol 🙂

    « Older Comments
    Newer Comments »

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    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.

    Cozy Soup Recipes

    Bowl of turkey chili topped with sour cream, avocado, and shredded cheese.

    Turkey Chili (Great for leftover Turkey!)

    mason jar of chicken broth made from a homemade chicken stock recipe

    Instant Pot Chicken Stock Recipe

    bowl of chicken and rice soup with spoon scooping a bite

    Chicken and Rice Soup (One Pot Dinner Recipe!)

    Bowl of broccoli cheddar soup with a spoon scooping out a bite.

    Broccoli Cheddar Soup

    White Chicken chili in a bowl with toppings

    White Chicken Chili

    white bowl of hearty homemade tomato soup garnished with parmesan cheese, fresh basil, and cracked black pepper

    Tomato Soup

    Most Popular

    flaky biscuit on white cloth

    Easy Homemade Biscuits

    Pizza dough in glass bowl, after rising

    The Best Pizza Dough Recipe

    one bite missing from a slice of vanilla cake with chocolate frosting

    The Best Vanilla Cake Recipe

    Slice of cheesecake

    The Best Cheesecake Recipe

    Stack of cookies made from this chocolate chip cookie recipe with melty chocolate chips and a bite missing from the top cookie

    The WORST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

    Potato soup in bowl, with toppings

    The Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup

    places sugar spun run has been featured (Women's Day, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Country Living, the huffington post, People, Delish, MSN, TLC, Parade, Better Homes & Gardens, Buzzfeed)
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube

    Privacy Policy|Accessibility Statement

    Footer

    Subscribe To My Newsletter!

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    ABOUT

    • About Me
    • Policies, Disclosure & Privacy
    • Terms of Use

    CONTACT

    • Contact
    • Work with Me!

    [widget id="simple-social-icons-3"]

    © 2020 Sugar Spun Run. All Rights Reserved

    • 1601