Easy Butter Pecan Cookies Recipe with Toasted Pecans for Holiday Baking
These butter pecan cookies are soft and chewy brown sugar cookies loaded with pecans toasted in butter, with crisp golden edges and a butterscotch-like flavor. They take about 1 hour 15 minutes with chilling, make 24 cookies, and the dough can be made up to 3 days ahead.
If butter pecan ice cream is your flavor, these butter pecan cookies are going to make you very happy. Same toasty, buttery, brown sugar thing. Just in cookie form, still warm from the oven.
The secret is toasting the pecans in a little butter before they go in the dough. Raw pecans taste kind of flat in cookies. Toasted ones taste like, well, butter pecan.
They’re perfect for a holiday cookie tray, gifting, or just a cozy Sunday bake. And if you love pecans as much as I do, try a slice of our classic pecan pie too.
Why You’ll Love These Butter Pecan Cookies
- Soft chewy centers with golden crisp edges
- Pecans toasted in butter for real butter pecan flavor
- Brown sugar gives a butterscotch-y taste
- Dough can be made ahead and chilled up to 3 days
- Great for cookie trays and holiday gifts
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup (140g) pecans, chopped
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter, for toasting
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cup (280g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Flour: Spoon it into the cup and level it, or weigh it. Too much flour is the main reason these cookies don’t spread and turn out thick and dry.
- Cornstarch: It keeps the centers soft. You can leave it out, the cookies will just be a little firmer.
- Sugar: You can cut the granulated sugar a bit if you like less sweet, but don’t cut a lot. Less sugar means less spread and less chew.
How to Make Butter Pecan Cookies
Step 1: Toast the Pecans
Melt 1 tbsp butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped pecans and stir for 3 to 4 minutes until fragrant and a shade darker. Let them cool completely. This one step is what gives the cookies real flavor. Untoasted pecans make a bland cookie.
Step 2: Cream the Butter and Sugars
Beat the softened butter with the brown and white sugar for about 2 minutes until light and creamy. The butter should be soft enough to dent but not shiny or melty. Melty butter means flat, greasy cookies.
Step 3: Add the Egg, Yolk and Vanilla
Beat in the egg, the extra yolk and the vanilla until smooth. The extra yolk is what makes them chewy.
Step 4: Mix in the Dry Ingredients
Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Add to the butter mixture and mix on low just until no flour streaks are left. The dough will be thick and soft.
Step 5: Fold in the Pecans
Fold the cooled toasted pecans in with a spatula so they get spread through the whole dough.
Step 6: Chill the Dough
Cover and chill the dough at least 1 hour, up to 3 days. Chilled dough spreads less and the flavor gets deeper the longer it sits. If it’s too firm to scoop, let it sit out 10 minutes.
Step 7: Scoop
Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment. Scoop about 1.5 tbsp balls of dough and space them 2 inches apart.
Step 8: Bake
Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are golden but the centers still look a little soft and puffy. Pull them then. They keep cooking on the hot pan. A dark baking sheet browns the bottoms fast, so start checking at 9 minutes if that’s what you have. If they come out puffy, gently press the tops with the back of a spoon right away.
Step 9: Cool
Let the cookies sit on the pan 5 minutes to set, then move them to a rack to cool.
Tips for the Best Butter Pecan Cookies
- If your cookies didn’t spread, the flour was probably packed. Spoon and level or weigh it next time.
- Press a few extra pecan pieces on top of each dough ball before baking for a bakery look.
- Freeze dough balls and bake straight from frozen, just add 1 to 2 minutes.
Butter Pecan Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Toast pecans in 1 tbsp butter over medium heat 3–4 minutes until fragrant. Cool completely.
- Beat softened butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar 2 minutes until creamy.
- Beat in egg, egg yolk and vanilla.
- Whisk flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Mix into the butter mixture on low just until combined.
- Fold in toasted pecans.
- Cover and chill dough at least 1 hour.
- Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Scoop 1.5 tbsp balls onto parchment-lined sheets, 2 inches apart.
- Bake 10–12 minutes until edges are golden and centers look slightly soft.
- Cool on the pan 5 minutes, then move to a rack.
Notes
- Packed flour is the number one reason these cookies don’t spread.
- Dark pans brown the bottoms faster. Start checking at 9 minutes.
- Store airtight up to 5 days, or freeze dough balls up to 3 months.
- Nutrition is an estimate calculated from the ingredients and will vary with brands and portion size.
Bake a Batch of Butter Pecan Cookies This Weekend
These butter pecan cookies are the kind you sneak one of while they’re still warm. Then another. No judgement.
Make a double batch of dough and freeze half. Fresh cookies any night you want them, that’s the dream.
If you bake them, leave a star rating and tell me if they made it onto your cookie tray or straight into your mouth.
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