Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

These chewy chocolate chip pecan cookies are made with brown butter, toasted pecans, and dark chocolate.

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• Ingredients
• Brown butter
• Method
• Storing
• More brown butter recipes
• Full Recipe

Ingredients

For the actual amounts needed in this recipe, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is a rundown of what you will need with a little more information about the ingredients.

• Butter - You can use salted or unsalted butter in this recipe. Halve the salt in the rest of the recipe if using salted butter. Simmer the butter until browned and toasty.
• Soft light brown sugar or dark brown sugar - Brown sugar helps keep the cookie chewy and moist as well as adds molasses flavor. The darker the brown sugar, the more molasses.
• Granulated white sugar - Gives a little crispy edge to the cookie.
• A large egg
• Vanilla paste - or good quality vanilla extract.
• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Pecans - Take a couple of extra minutes to toast the pecans first which enhances their flavor.
• Semisweet chocolate chips or chocolate bars cut into chunks. Substitute for milk chocolate chips if you prefer.
• Ground cinnamon - Combine with sugar and roll the cookie balls in this before baking.
• Flaky salt - (optional) for sprinkling at the end

Brown butter

Brown butter, also known as beurre noisette. It is made of melted butter that is cooked a step further so that the milk solids in the butter caramelize. 

The depth of flavor in the butter depends on how much it is left to caramelize. Too little and the flavor will be too mild to make a noticeable difference in the cookie dough.

Too much and you run the risk of burning the milk solids and cooking off too much liquid which can ruin the dough structure.

How to brown butter

Over medium heat, let the butter melt down. Avoid using a dark pan as you will struggle to see the caramelization of the butter and run the risk of burning it.

Once melted, let it cook further for around 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon or whisk until the milk solids in the butter have caramelized into a golden amber color and the butter smells nutty.

The butter needs to cool down to room temperature before being used in these brown butter pecan cookies or else the dough will be too warm and cause the chocolate to melt into the dough.

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) regular oven. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Let the butter melt in a small-medium saucepan, then let it cook further for around 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly until the milk solids have caramelized and the butter smells nutty. Pour it into a bowl and allow it to cool down for 10 minutes.

While the butter is cooling, toast the pecans. Take a dry pan and place it over medium heat. Add in the pecans and stir while they toast, for around 4-5 minutes until they're lightly toasted. Take the pan off the heat and let the pecans cool to room temperature.

Once cooled, chop them roughly into pieces and set them aside. If you're using a chocolate bar instead of chocolate chips, chop it into small chocolate chunks and set them aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set the flour mixture aside.

When the butter has cooled, add in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, and egg and mix it well until combined.

Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon and mix until combined.

Add in the chopped pecans and chocolate and stir. The dough will be very thick and greasy. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix together granulated sugar and ground cinnamon.

Roll the cookie dough into balls using around 1 ½ tablespoons of dough for each cookie. Roll each cookie ball into the cinnamon sugar, ensuring that all sides are coated.

Space them out generously on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. The cookies will spread in the oven, so give them plenty of space to do so.

Baking

Bake the cookies for around 10 minutes until they have puffed up and the edges are browned. The cookies will still be very soft but will continue cooking a bit on the hot oven tray once out of the oven and will firm up as they cool down. Don't overbake them or the cookie will be crunchy and won't have a soft center.

Sprinkle the cookies with a little bit of flaky salt if you like.

Let the cookies cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes, then transfer the warm cookies to a cooling rack to cool further.

Storing

Leftover cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

The baked cookies or the unbaked cookie balls can also be frozen for up to three months in a freezer bag or sealed container. Freezing the cookie balls means you can enjoy homemade chocolate chip cookies any time!

Baking cookie balls from frozen - The cookies can be baked directly from frozen without the need to thaw. They may need an extra minute or two of baking time.

Next, try these peppermint chocolate cookies!

Measurements

This recipe is written using grams as the main measurement.

If you don't have a scale US* cup equivalents are also included, however, using a kitchen scale to measure grams will give the best and most consistent results.*US cup sizes are smaller than metric cup sizes.

More brown butter recipes

Love brown butter? Try these!

• Brown banana muffins
• Small-batch chocolate chunk cookies
• Brown butter oatmeal cookies
• Vanilla cake with brown butter frosting