These warm Pecan Cookies are a comforting hug in cookie form! Tender, buttery cookies are laced with golden pecans and rich, buttery flavor for the ultimate decadent dessert. The whole family will be drooling over these chewy cookies, so whip up a batch today!
Welcome to 2024’s 12 Days of Cookies!
These Pecan Cookies are Day 3 of our 12 Days of Cookies!
Be sure to check out all of the other days for more goodies!
Day 1 – Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies
Day 2 – Cherry Thumbprint Cookies
Day 3 –You’re on it!
Day 4 – Grinch Cookies
Day 5 – Chai Pizzelles
Day 6 – Chocolate Mint Cake Mix Cookies
Day 7 – Cranberry Orange Blondies
Day 8 – Peppermint Meltaways
Day 9 – Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
Day 10 – Gingerbread Truffles
Day 11 – Peppermint Bark Cookies
Day 12 – Thumbprint Cookies
Do you have a favorite ice cream flavor? The one you look for and order everywhere you go? For a lot of people, it’s Butter Pecan. There’s just something so good about the sweet butterscotch paired with the salty, crunchy pecans.
Well, these favorite cookies have that exact same flavor profile. I think they might be even better because they are soft and chewy, and so good fresh out of the oven! So, you can enjoy Butter Pecan ice cream in the summer and then eat these butter pecan cookies all year round!
SAVE THIS PECAN COOKIES RECIPE TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!
I’m going to give you a little hint. These are the absolute best cookies if you toast the pecans first! It’s not absolutely necessary, but toasting the pecans just brings out more of that nutty flavor. If you’re in a time pinch, you can skip that step, or just buy already toasted pecans from the store.
Ingredients for Butter Pecan Cookies
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this sweet treat:
- Unsalted butter (omit salt below if using salted butter)
- Brown sugar
- Eggs
- Pure vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Cinnamon
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Chopped pecans
You can find the exact amounts of each ingredient in the recipe card below!
How to make Pecan Cookies
These cookies are pretty quick and easy to make, but they do need to be chilled, so plan ahead!
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the pecans over a cookie sheet and toast them for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they can burn quickly! Remove the pecans from the oven and let them cool.
- Beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment (you can also use a large mixing bowl and electric mixer). Beat in the eggs one at a time on medium speed, then add the vanilla extract and mix.
- Slowly add in the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt). Mix until just combined. Add the pecans, reserving a few to put on the tops after they come out of the oven, if desired, and mix until combined.
- Cover the bowl of cookie dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- After two hours, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to place cookie dough balls at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes, then remove from the oven and transfer the baked cookies to a cooling rack. I think they taste best when still a little bit warm!
Recipe Tips
- Cookie scoops are a great tool to use and make it much easier, but if you don’t have one, just use spoons and roll two tablespoons of dough into balls with your hands.
- Parchment paper or silicone baking sheet liners will help your warm cookies come off the baking sheet much easier.
- If you’re in a hurry, you can chill the dough in the freezer for about 30 minutes instead of refrigerating for 2 hours.
- Consider adding flaky sea salt on top of the cookies before baking to enhance that sweet and salty flavor contrast.
FAQs
What type of brown sugar is best for the Butter Pecan Cookie recipe?
You can use either light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, as long as it is lightly packed. Dark brown sugar will produce a more caramelized, rich flavor.
Why do I need to refrigerate the dough?
Refrigerating the dough prevents the cookies from spreading too much while baking.
How do I know when the cookies are done?
The cookies should be lightly golden brown around the edges but still soft in the center. They will continue to cook on the baking sheet as they cool to room temperature.
Can I make these Pecan Cookies ahead of time?
Yes, you can make the dough up to three days in advance. Store it in the fridge, covered, until ready to bake.
How do I store leftover cookies?
Store in an airtight container on the counter for 5 days.
Can I freeze Pecan Cookies?
Yes! Freeze for up to three months in a ziploc bag, then thaw for a day in the fridge before serving.
More Pecan Recipes
I absolutely love pecans and feature them in lots of my recipes. They can be in sweet OR savory dishes. Here are some of my favorites:
These bite-sized Cranberry Pecan Goat Cheese Bites are the ultimate holiday appetizer, guaranteed to impress your guests and leave them craving more.
Pecan Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft, tender white chocolate chip cookies filled with the great taste of pecans and oatmeal!
Enjoy these ultra-thin Chocolate Pecan Wafers with a rich chocolate and salty pecan crunch.
If you love pecan pie, then you need to try this Best-of-All Pecan Pie recipe! Top it with fresh whipped cream for the ultimate indulgence!
Bake More Cookies!
Since this is a baking blog first and foremost, of course I have tons of cookie recipes. Try one of these popular recipes next time you’re in the mood for some homemade cookies:
- Cosmic Brownie Cookies
- 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Nana’s Oatmeal Cookies
- Easy Carrot Cake Mix Cookies
- Fruity Pebble Cookies
- And many more……
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Pecan Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar lightly packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the pecans over a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they can burn quickly! Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.
- Slowly add in the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Mix until just combined. Add the pecans, reserving a few to put on the tops after they come out of the oven, if desired, and mix until combined.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- After two hours, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop 2 tablespoon balls of dough with a cookie scoop and place at least 2 in apart from each other.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes then remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.
Comments & Reviews
Would there be any other adjustments if I threw some chocolate chips in?
CC, you should be able to add some chocolate chips without any issue however I would reduce the amount of pecans called for as your dough to pecan and chocolate chip ratio would be off.
Since the recipe calls for 1 ½ cups pecans, I would reduce that amount to at least 1 cup and add ½ cup of chocolate chips or even better, I’d recommend 3/4 cup pecans and 3/4 cup chocolate chips.
Whatever you do, I’d love for you to report back and let us know as others may be interested in doing the same.
Enjoy them!
I know when to add them because I do a lot of baking, but the directions fail to have the step of adding the pecans.
Becky, YIKES! Hard to believe three people didn’t catch that through creation, writing and editing, but it happens. Thank you SO much for bringing that to my attention! I’ve fixed both the recipe and the copy of the post, so that they pecans are added after the addition of the dry ingredients. I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to comment and let me know. It is greatly appreciated!