Pecan chocolate chip cookies are the perfect balance of sweet and nutty, and they are definitely my personal favorite kind of cookie. They’re soft and chewy, with a hint of nuttiness from the brown butter, pecans and a delicious chocolate flavor. Plus, they’re easy to make – give it a try, you won’t be disappointed!
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💭 Why you’ll love this recipe
Pecans and chocolate are a classic flavor combination that’ll never go out of style, and these cookies are the perfect way to enjoy them. Here are some reasons you’re sure to fall in love with them.
- Amazing textures and flavors. The chewiness of these cookies comes from chilling the dough, the pecans add a nice crunch to the cookies, and the chocolate chips provide a smooth and creamy texture! Like pecans? Make sure to check out this no bake pecan pie cheesecake, or this amazing French Quarter dip (made with a delicious pecan praline sauce!)
- Perfect for any occasion. Whether you’re looking for a tasty treat to bring to a party or want something to munch on while you’re curled up on the couch watching TV, these cookies are perfect for any occasion.
- Easy-to-follow recipe with easily available ingredients. The only “special” ingredient is brown butter (but that’s really just regular butter browned for 10 minutes using a shallow skillet).
📋 Ingredients and Notes
In making these pecan chocolate chip cookies you’ll be needing all-purpose flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, brown sugar, brown butter, granulated sugar, egg, pecans, and chocolate chips.
Notes and Variations
- Substitute chocolate chips. I’ve used semi-sweet chocolate chips in the recipe, but you can also use milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, or even white chocolate chips. The taste will vary depending on the type of chocolate chips you decide to use!
- Substitute pecans. If you don’t have any pecans, walnuts or pistachios can be used instead.
- Type of brown sugar. I have used dark brown sugar in this recipe because it brings out the nutty flavors, but there are differences in the types of brown sugar. The molasses in dark brown sugar makes this cookie more moist than light brown sugar, so while you can swap the sugars, light brown sugar will result in a subtler flavor.
📖 Make pecan chocolate chip cookies!
Whisk together flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix brown butter (at room temperature) and granulated sugar until well combined, for about 3 minutes on medium speed.
Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until just combined.
Add the flour mixture and fold it in until it’s just incorporated.
Crush half of the pecans.
Fold in the chopped pecans and chocolate chips into the dough.
Line a few baking sheets with parchment paper. Make 10 balls out of the dough and place them on the baking sheet.
Chill cookie dough in the fridge for at least 3 hours, but ideally overnight. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Then, bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Take the cookies out of the oven and add more pecans (or extra chocolate chips!) over the cookies, then bake for another 4 minutes.
Let them cool completely on a cooling rack before serving! Garnish with some flaky sea salt on top, if you want to take it up a notch!
👩🏽🍳 Tips for making the Best Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies!
If you’re looking to up your cookie game, here are six tips for making the perfect pecan chocolate chip cookies:
- Don’t skip the brown butter. You can totally make this recipe with regular unsalted butter, but the brown butter adds an incredible depth of flavor and nuttiness to the cookies.
- Make sure your pecans are finely chopped. This will help them spread evenly throughout the dough and prevent any big chunks from burning in the oven.
- Don’t overmix the dough. Once you’ve added the flour to the wet ingredients, mix just until everything is combined. Over-mixing the dough will result in tougher cookies.
- Chill the dough. The cookie dough can feel sticky to work with, or spread too much if you don’t chill the dough. You need to chill the dough for about 3 hours ideally. If not, the balls will merge into each other, and spread way too much.
- Don’t skip the salt in the dough. This will help balance out the flavor and the sweetness of the chocolate and bring out the flavor of the pecans. If you want to take it up a notch, add some flaky salt as soon as the cookies are out of the oven. Yum!
- Don’t over-bake them. The key to a perfect cookie is taking them out of the oven just before they’re done.You want to bake them until they’re just done—not a minute longer. Overcooked cookies will be dry and crumbly, while undercooked cookies will be gooey and difficult to remove from the baking sheet.
👩🏽🍳Troubleshooting FAQs
Yes! You can make this recipe with regular butter, but the flavors will be different. I personally think this is not complete without the brown butter, which contributes a lovely taste and a satisfying texture!
The best way to make soft, chewy cookies is by adding moisture. This is because recipes with brown sugar and butter make for tastier, softer cookies than those made solely with granulated sugar. The moisture in brown sugar keeps the cookie dough moist while baking and the molasses creates a chewier texture. If you want your cookies to be even more soft and chewy, add an extra egg yolk to the dough!
Place the dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Check, and then continue chilling until it reaches the right consistency!
🍴 Serving and Storage Suggestions
You can store these pecan chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container for a day or two at room temperature.
You can freeze the cookie dough or the baked cookies for 1 month! To freeze the cookie dough, I recommend portioning them first, flash freezing them on a baking sheet (i.e., placing them in a single file on a baking sheet and freezing them). Then, transfer the cookie dough balls into a freezer safe container.
When you’re ready to consume, remove the cookie dough balls and allow it to come to room temperature, for about 30 minutes, and then bake them as you normally would!
If you liked this, check out these other easy and delicious cookie recipes:
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to comment and rate! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- 1 cookie scoop 2 tablespoon size
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, yields ¾ cups of brown butter
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup pecans, half crushed, half left whole (for topping)
- ⅔ cup chocolate chips , plus more for topping
Instructions
- Make brown butter: Heat butter in a light-colored, thick-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Whisk frequently as butter melts, foams, and turns golden. Watch for brown specks and a nutty aroma, about 8–10 minutes. Pour into a heatproof bowl (including browned bits) and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. You should have about ¾ cup.
- While butter cools, preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk together flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat cooled brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed until well combined and slightly fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add egg and vanilla. Mix on low speed until just combined, scraping down bowl as needed.
- Add flour mixture all at once. Mix on low speed until just incorporated—some flour streaks are fine.
- Roughly chop or crush half the pecans. Fold in crushed pecans and chocolate chips by hand with a spatula until evenly distributed. Do not overmix.
- Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion dough into 15 balls. Place on prepared baking sheets, spacing 2–3 inches apart.Optional: You can chill the cookies for 30 minutes if you want to minimize spread.
- Bake chilled cookies for 10 minutes.
- Remove sheet from oven. Gently press whole pecans and extra chocolate chips onto tops of cookies. Return to oven and bake 4 more minutes until edges are golden and crispy but centers still look slightly underdone.
- Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes (they'll continue setting). Transfer to wire rack. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired.
Notes
- Cool brown butter completely. It should be room temperature and pourable, not warm. Warm butter makes greasy, flat cookies.
- Use room temperature egg. Cold eggs don’t incorporate smoothly into brown butter.
- Don’t overbake. Centers should look underdone when you pull them—they firm up as they cool.
- Adjust sizing: Use 1 tablespoon scoop, bake 8–10 minutes total.
- Chill dough 30 minutes to 2 hours for thicker cookies. Brown butter cookies don’t require chilling like traditional cookies, but a short chill can make them slightly thicker. Don’t chill longer than 2 hours as the fat can crystallize and make dough crumbly.
- You can store these cookies at room temperature for 5 days in an airtight container. You can freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months, or dough balls for up to 2 months (when baking from frozen, add 2-3 minutes)
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I hadn’t heard of brown butter cookies until very recently when I saw it on the label of a cookie at a local bakery and got curious. I searched around online and gave this recipe a try. Oh my goodness, so good. I’ll only be making brown butter cookies from now on. I never thought pecan chocolate chip cookies could get any better, but wow was I wrong.