Butter pecan cookies are chewy, buttery cookies filled with pecans, white chocolate, and butterscotch chips. They're easy to make with pantry staples and only require a 30 minute chill before baking.
Recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Buttery, chewy cookie filled with butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, and pecans. The flavor is reminiscent of butter pecan ice cream.
Chill time: Dough requires a 30 minute chill before baking.
Yield: 36 cookies
You may also like: Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies and Brown Butter M&M Cookies
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Wet ingredients - Butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract add flavor and moisture to your cookie dough. Reducing any of these ingredients can cause cookies to spread less, turn out dry, and have a bland flavor.
- Dry ingredients - All-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt balance with the wet ingredients and add structure. If you've got another type of flour on hand you'd like to use, search for a recipe developed with that flour in mind to avoid wasting ingredients.
- Mix-ins - Butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, and pecans create that butter pecan flavor. Pecans could be substituted with walnuts if desired.
How to make butter pecan cookies
- Add butter and sugar to a bowl and beat with a hand mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients, then add to the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Add mix-ins and stir to incorporate. Chill dough for 30 minutes.
- Portion dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake until golden brown around the edges and lightly browned across the tops.
Heather's Top Tip
For accurate results every time, use a kitchen scale to measure flour by weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland baked goods.
Tips and tricks
Use room temperature ingredients - Room temperature ingredients mix together evenly to create a perfectly mixed dough (without streaks of unmixed ingredients). Butter should be firm to the touch, but not cold or melted.
Bring ingredients to room temperature quickly - Slice sticks of butter into small, ½ inch slivers. Small pieces warm up faster than a whole stick. Place eggs into a bowl and cover with very warm tap water. They'll come to room temperature in about ten minutes.
Roast your pecans for extra flavor - Preheat your oven to 250F, then place pecans on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly toasted. Allow pecans to cool before mixing into your dough.
Prevent spreading by lining your baking sheet - Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat instead of greasing your pan. Adding grease to a baking sheet causes cookies to spread more while baking.
Cookie scoop - Use a cookie scoop (I used a medium OXO cookie scoop for this recipe) for perfectly sized, round cookies.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Chilled dough spreads less in the oven. Refrigeration also allows the flour to hydrate and flavors to meld. Even 30 minutes makes a big difference in the texture of your finished cookies. Your dough can be chilled up to a day ahead of time if desired.
Here's a great article from King Arthur Baking: Chilling Cookie Dough
Cookies won't spread in the oven if too much flour was added. If your dough looks very thick and dry at room temperature, it sounds like too much flour was measuring into the recipe. Try adding 1-2 tablespoons of milk to thin the dough.
Cookies can spread too much if they're baked on a greased baking sheet (instead of parchment paper), if you added melted butter instead of room temperature butter, or you didn't chill the dough. Try chilling your dough balls on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before baking if you find that they're spreading too much.
Baked cookies will keep for 5-7 days in a tightly sealed container at room temperature. To help keep cookies fresh, place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. While the bread gets stale, the cookies stay soft and fresh. Replace the bread slice as needed.
Baked cookies (and cookie dough) can be frozen for up to 3 months. Cookie dough can be baked from frozen by adding 1-2 minutes to your baking time. To thaw frozen baked cookies, place on the countertop to thaw for 1 hour or more.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Butter Pecan Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup (160 g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 ¾ cup (330 g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup (57 g) chopped pecans
- ½ cup (85 g) white chocolate chips
- ½ cup (85 g) butterscotch chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat until creamed and fluffy, about a minute. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until fluffy, about a minute.
- 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 to incorporate.
- Cover bowl or wrap dough in wax paper. Chill for 30 minutes (or up to 24 hours) in the refrigerator. Refrigerating allows the flour to hydrate, flavors to meld, and creates a firmer dough that spreads less in the oven.
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and scoop dough using a 1.5 tablespoon (medium) 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 about 12-14 minutes, or until lightly browned across the tops and edges.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Storage: 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.
- Make ahead: Raw cookie dough will keep 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.
- Pecan substitutions: Pecans can be substituted with almonds, walnuts, pistachios, or peanuts.
- Top tips: Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cookies, based on reader comments and questions!
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