Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Last Updated on December 13, 2023 by Priscilla

These pecan chocolate chip cookies are the ultimate decadent cookie for the holidays and fall and winter months. Perfectly soft on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside, they have a rich brown butter flavor, are laced with a pecan caramel and studded with tons of chocolate chips

I have a soft spot for chocolate chip cookies and these brown butter chocolate chip cookies are no exception. I actually developed this recipe back in September of 2021 but it’s taken me far too long to get around to writing them up. This pecan chocolate chip cookie recipe has been tested up and down, both with regular flour and gluten-free flour blends, with a variety of ingredients and on different types of sheet pans. If you love cookies, be sure to try out my matcha white chocolate chip cookies and monster cookies too!

Why you’ll love these pecan chocolate chip cookies

• Brown butter adds a delicious richness to the cookies
• Short chill time: A quick hour in the refrigerator is all that’s needed
• Homemade caramel: The cookie dough is swirled with a pecan caramel that gives extra sweetness and crunch after baking
• Easy to be made into gluten-free chocolate chip cookies with your favorite gluten-free flour blend!

Ingredients you’ll need:

• Butter: Salted butter is used for this recipe and then browned before adding it to the cookie dough. The brown butter gives this chocolate chip cookie a delicious rich flavor. I do not recomm unsalted butter and unsalted butter will most likely yield a different amount of brown butter after browning. This recipe has been tested with a variety of salted butters (American and European) with similar results.
• Brown Sugar: Coconut sugar can be used instead if you’d like.
• Almond Flour: Use a finely ground blanched almond flour. I haven’t tested this, but a different nut flour like hazelnut or pecan flour would work well, as would seed flours like pumpkin or sunflower seed.
• Flour: This chocolate chip pecan cookie recipe has been tested using a handful of different gluten-free flour blends and also with regular wheat flour. For wheat, you may need to add up to a tablespoon more of flour. My favorite gluten-free flours are Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend and the Multi-blend Flour from Vitacost – I have used them 1:1 for regular wheat flour in a variety of baked goods with excellent results.
• Egg: A large egg at room temperature works best
• Chocolate Chips: I like to use half semi-sweet chocolate chips and half dark-chocolate in these cookies. Sometimes I will add large chips to the tops of the cookies at the end. My favorite chocolate chips for cookies are Guittard brand (their super cookie chips are to die for!)
• Pecans: I use raw pecan halves and roughly chop them to put them into the caramel. The halves can be used as is on top of the cookies if you’d like. Roasted pecans would also be nice in these butter pecan cookies!
• Coarse Sea Salt: Maldon salt is my favorite.
• Milk: Use some type of full fat milk if possible for a richer caramel. This recipe has been tested with full fat coconut milk, almond milk and cashew milk.
• Maple Syrup: Make sure to use real maple syrup. Grade B maple syrup has a more pronounced maple flavor.

All about brown butter

The heart of this cookie is the rich brown butter that’s used as the fat for the cookie. Here are all of your questions about brown butter answered!

What does brown butter look like?

When butter is heated at a low temperature on the stovetop, the milk solids sink to the bottom of the pot or pan and toast, turning a rich brown color. The end result will be a rich amber liquid. 

How long does it take to brown butter?

It only takes 5-7 minutes to brown a stick of butter. Heat the butter over low heat, swirling it occasionally. At first you will notice the top of the melted butter bubbling and turning foamy, then you will notice some of the milk solids sinking to the bottom of the pan and then they will turn a nice golden color. 

What do I do if I burn my brown butter?

Butter can turn from nicely browned to burnt rather quickly, so the best way to avoid this is to heat the butter on low heat. When you notice the milk solids starting to turn brown, remove the pot or pan from the heat to avoid them from burning. If they do burn, you can strain your butter to remove the burnt milk solids. Taste the clarified butter that remains to make sure the flavor isn’t too burnt or strong. If it is, I recommend starting over and browning a new batch of butter.

How to make Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Step 1: Brown the butter. Chop the butter into a few pieces and place it in a small pot or saucepan on the stovetop over medium-low heat. Once the butter is melted and begins to bubble, reduce the heat to low. As the butter bubbles away, you will notice it will get white and frothy at the top, followed by some of the milk solids sinking to the bottom of the pan and eventually start to brown. Tilt the pot or pan to move the butter from side to side to encourage any leftover water to cook off.

Once the butter is golden brown, turn off the burner and remove the pan from the heat. Pour the butter into a heat-safe ramekin and allow it to cool.

Step 2: Make the caramel. While the brown butter is cooling, heat the butter for the caramel in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until the butter is just slightly browned, then add the sugar, maple syrup, milk, vanilla extract and salt. Whisk together and reduce the heat so the caramel is just barely simmering.

Allow to simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the caramel just coats a spoon. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pecans. Allow the mixture to cool down so it’s no longer hot but still tacky and spoonable.

Step 3: Make the cookie dough. When your brown butter is mostly cooled but still slightly runny, pour it into a large bowl and scrape all residual butter into the bowl so as to not miss any bit of it. Add the brown sugar, sugar, and vanilla and whisk together for 45-60 seconds. The mixture should start out kind of crumbly and end up as a pasty mixture. Whisk the egg in until a fluffy batter forms.

In another bowl, combine the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Fold the dry mixture into the wet mixture using a silicone spatula until just barely combined, then fold in the chocolate chips.

Step 4: Add the caramel to the cookie dough. Pour a few dollops of the caramel into the dough and gently move it over with a spatula. Try to dollop the caramel all around in the dough and move the dough slightly until all of the caramel is pooled and streaked through the dough. Place the dough in the fridge and chill for an hour.

Step 5: Bake. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. I find using a stainless steel pan gives the best result for these cookies, but an aluminum pan will also work. Use an ice cream scoop or cookie scoop to carefully scoop the dough and place a level scoop onto the parchment. Scoop about 8 cookies onto the pan, depending on the size of the pan, making sure to keep them 2.5-3 inches apart as they will spread a decent amount when baking. Place the remainder of the cookie dough back in the fridge.

Place the cookies into the oven on the top or middle rack for 10-12 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and use a ball jar lid, round cookie cutter or something similar to shape the spread cookies into a circle. Use the cookie cutter to push the dough into the center of the cookie to build up the edges of the cookies slightly as you shape them back into a round shape. Top the cookies with additional chocolate chips and whole or chopped pecans, then place them back into the oven for 2-4 minutes until they are set and just barely golden. It’s better to undercook these so err on the side of them looking less browned. Top the cookies with coarse sea salt. Allow the cookies to fully cool before transferring them to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.

Step 6: Serving and storing. Make sure to allow the cookies to fully cool before transferring them to a cooling rack. When the chocolate chips are no longer melty and the cookie is firm, they can be moved to an airtight container for storage and kept at room temperature for about 3 days. You can also store them in the freezer for at least a few weeks, probably upwards of a month, but they never make it that long in my house!

Tips for the best chocolate chip pecan cookies

1. In order to get nice streaks of caramel and candy flavor throughout the cookie, only barely combine the caramel with the cookie dough. The best way to do this is to pour little dollops of caramel all over the batter and just barely fold them in as necessary. If you mix the caramel and cookie dough too much, you’ll be left with a different type of cookie. 
2. Measure your flour by gently spooning the flour into a measuring cup and leveling it at the top using a knife. This will prevent you from packing in too much flour into the measuring cup, leaving you with a dry cookie.
3. Under-bake vs. overbake these cookies. An under-baked cookie will have a soft center that will firm up as it cools, versus an overbaked cookie that will have edges that are a bit too crispy.
4. Allow your chocolate chip and pecan cookies to fully cool before moving them off of the baking sheet. Since these cookies have a high fat content, they are fairly soft when they come out of the oven but firm up once they are allowed to rest and cool.
5. Use a stainless steel sheet pan as well as parchment paper. I find a stainless sheet pan yields a more evenly baked chocolate chip cookie, but they can also take slightly longer to bake. I’ve tested this recipe with aluminum sheet pans as well and find the cookie bakes faster and there’s a tendency for the edges of the cookie to brown more quickly, so it is important to watch the cookies to ensure they don’t overbake.

FAQS

My cookies spread too much, what do I do?

To avoid cookies that spread too much, make sure your brown butter is cooled before preparing the dough. It’s also important to chill the cookie dough for an hour. You can put the dough back into the refrigerator between baking batches as necessary. Let the dough sit out for 5-10 minutes before scooping the dough onto the baking sheet if you chill for longer than 1 hour.

How to fix flat or misshapen chocolate chip pecan cookies

Take your pecan chocolate chip cookies out around the 10ish minute mark and reshape them with a round mold. I like to use a large ball jar lid. If your cookies look flat, you can tuck the edges of each of them in a bit with the ball jar lid or cookie cutter. This will help to build up the edges, which will give your pecan chocolate chip cookie a bit more lift. Also make sure you are using fresh baking powder and baking soda when preparing the dough!

Can I freeze the dough for longer than 1 hour?

I’ve found an hour to be a sweet spot for these cookies. When they are chilled for longer, they are difficult to scoop and the caramel doesn’t bake up as nice in the cookie. If you need to chill the dough for longer, let it sit out of the fridge for a few minutes. It should still be firm but scoopable and easy enough to put onto a baking sheet.

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and review rating below. For more recipes, food photos and tips, follow along @priscillacooks on Instagram as I’m most active there!