Butter Pecan Cookies

Butter Pecan Cookies are soft and chewy, filled with pecans, white chocolate, and butterscotch. Always a favorite on the holiday cookie tray, this sweet cookie is a crowd-pleaser.

While I believe butter pecan cookies are fantastic year round, I think the pecan and brown sugar flavors shine in the fall and winter. Plus, this cookie is a crowd pleaser (I’ve done plenty of testing!) and it always goes fast on a cookie tray.

As always, I like to use my trusty OXO Medium Cookie Scoop* for these cookies. Or, for a smaller ‘bite size’ cookie, try the OXO Small Cookie Scoop* instead. This gives your cookies a professional look when they’re all same size on your cookie tray or in a gift box.

Refrigerating Your Butter Pecan Cookie Dough

You may be wondering why my recipes require the cookie dough to be refrigerated before baking. I like to do this for several reasons.

First, a chilled dough will not spread as much when the cookies bake in the oven. If you bake a warm or room temperature dough, they will likely spread together into thin blobs.

Second, the ingredients in your dough will have time to meld and incorporate. I like to make my dough the day before I intend to bake. This way, it has an entire day to rest.

I find that the flavor and texture both improve with this method. But if you don’t have time, an hour in the refrigerator is fine. Try it out and see what you think!

More Winter Cookie Recipes

• Soft Molasses Cookies
• Dutch Cocoa Cookies
• Hot Cocoa Cookies
• Chai Spiced Oatmeal Cookies
• Heidesand – German Browned Butter Shortbread Cookies

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Butter Pecan Cookies

A soft and chewy cookie, with bits of pecans, white chocolate, and butterscotch.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: butter pecan cookies

Servings: 36 cookies

Calories: 152kcal

Author: Heather

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Instructions

• In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Beat for a full 3 minutes, mixture will look fluffy.
• In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
  
• Gradually stir dry ingredients into butter mixture until just combined.
  
• Add chopped pecans, white chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips and stir until just combined.
  
• Cover bowl or wrap dough in wax paper. Chill for at 1 hour (up to 24 hours) in the refrigerator. Refrigerating will help the flavors meld and also create a firmer dough to roll into balls.
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  
• Remove dough from refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Scoop dough using a 1.5 tablespoon scoop or shape by hand into 1.5 inch balls.
  
• Place cookie dough balls 2 inches apart onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned around edges. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
  

Notes

Your cookies will keep for 5-7 days in a sealed container. To help keep cookies fresh, you can place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. Replace the bread slice as needed. You can keep raw cookie dough in the refrigerator for 3 days. Cookie dough balls (and baked cookies) freeze well, up to 3 months in a sealed plastic container or freezer bag. Allow frozen balls to thaw for up to 10 minutes on the baking sheet before baking, or add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.

Nutrition

Serving: 0g | Calories: 152kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 114mg | Potassium: 38mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 175IU | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 0.6mg