Sourdough Brown Butter Pecan Cookies
Soft and chewy cookies made with brown butter, sourdough discard, and homemade candied pecans folded through. Nutty, buttery, with a deep caramel flavor through out.
About these cookies
These are the brown butter pecan version of my sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies, with one method change. Instead of mixing the melted brown butter straight into the dough, I brown the butter, chill it until solid, then cream it with the sugars like normal softened butter. This step emulsifies the brown butter properly into the dough so the cookies don’t go greasy in the oven. It’s the same technique I use in my updated sourdough cookie bars.
The brown butter brings nutty, caramel depth that pairs beautifully with pecans and it’s the candied pecans are what make these so special. Plain toasted pecans would be lovely, but the buttery, glazed kind add little pockets of sweet crunch that don’t soften back into the dough during baking. You melt butter and sugar with a splash of water, add the pecans, and cook until the glaze coats every piece. Once cooled, they get chopped and folded into the dough. Easy, but the flavor difference is huge compared to plain pecans.
Ingredients and why
- Unsalted butter: This gets browned for the cookie dough to bring out nutty, caramel notes that pair beautifully with pecans.
- Sourdough discard: Leftover sourdough starter is used. The acid in the discard reacts with the baking soda to give a beautifully tender, slightly thicker cookie, and helps soften the gluten structure for that chewy texture. I use a 100% hydration starter that hasn’t been fed in a while, but active starter works too.
- Brown and white sugar: Brown sugar brings moisture and chew, white sugar gives a slightly crisp edge.
- Pecan halves: I use pecan halves rather than pieces because they candy more evenly and look prettier when chopped.
- Granulated sugar (for the candied pecans): White sugar dissolves nicely into the butter and water and crystallizes into a crisp glaze on the pecans.
- Baking soda: Reacts with the acidic sourdough discard to give the cookies their lift.
Method
The pecans
- Make the candied pecans first. Dry-toast the pecans in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until fragrant. Tip them out and set aside. Add the butter, water, sugar, vanilla, and salt to the same pan and bring to a boil.
- Add the toasted pecans back in, then reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Cook, stirring constantly, while the liquid evaporates.
- The mixture goes through stages: first it’ll be thin and bubbly, then thick and sticky, then it crystallizes into a dry, sugary glaze that coats each pecan.
- Spread on parchment and cool completely.
The cookies
- Brown the butter for the cookie dough until the milk solids are golden brown and smell nutty. See my full guide on how to brown butter if you need a walkthrough. Pour into a shallow dish and refrigerate until solid. Let it sit at room temperature until softened but still cool.
- Whip the softened brown butter on its own until light and creamy, then add the sugars and vanilla and beat until pale and fluffy.
- Beat in the sourdough discard and egg.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together, then fold into the wet ingredients until just combined. Roughly chop the cooled candied pecans and fold them through the dough.
- Chill the cookie dough overnight, or at least 30 minutes until the butter has firmed up.
- Scoop into 30g portions and place on parchment-lined trays with space between each.
- Bake until the edges are set but the centers are still a bit soft. Press in an extra candied pecan half if you like, and use a large round cookie cutter to swirl around each cookie for a perfectly round shape.
Tips for the best cookies
- Toast the pecans first for deeper flavor. Dry-toasting the pecans before candying brings out the nutty oils and gives the finished candied pecans much more flavor than skipping this step.
- Chill the dough for deeper flavor. Optional but recommended. Cover the dough and refrigerate overnight. The flavor develops, the sourdough does its slow work, and the cookies bake up with a slightly chewier texture. If the dough becomes very firm, let it sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before scooping.
- Don’t overbake. Pull the cookies out when the edges are set but the centers still look just slightly underbaked. If you bake them longer they take on a completely different texture, way more fluffy. This might be the texture you prefer, the only thing here is that the pecans pressed in at the end don’t stick as well. In this case I would press a pecan into the cookie dough balls before baking.
- Use a large round cookie cutter to swirl around each cookie in a circular motion right on the tray. This gently nudges the spread edges into a perfect round shape. This trick is called a “cookie scoot” and I learned it from Erin at Cloudy Kitchen.
Storing
Store sourdough brown butter pecan cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Sourdough cookies get softer the next day because of the wate in the sourdough starter. The softer texture is lovely, but it means cookies stacked in a cookie jar can misshapen. Store them in a single layer or with sheets of parchment between layers.
To freeze the dough, scoop into portions, freeze on a tray until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. Bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 extra minutes to the bake time.
Baked cookies freeze well too. Wrap individually or layer between parchment in an airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Related recipes
- Sourdough oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips
- Frosted sourdough sugar cookie bars
- Cookie butter cookies
- How to brown butter
- Sourdough red velvet cake
- Sourdough cheese scones
Sourdough Brown Butter Pecan Cookies
Soft and chewy sourdough cookies made with nutty brown butter and sweet homemade candied pecans folded through. An easy way to use up sourdough discard.
Ingredients
Candied Pecans
- 100 g pecan halves (Enough for the cookie dough.See notes if you want extras for topping.)
- 15 g salted butter
- 2 tbsp water
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Cookie Dough
- 140 g butter
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 100 g sourdough discard 100% hydration, room temperature
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 190 g all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
Instructions
Make the Candied Pecans
- Dry-toast the pecans in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes until fragrant. Tip them onto a plate and set aside. 100 g pecan halves
- Add the butter, water, sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt to the same pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. 15 g salted butter, 2 tbsp water, 50 g granulated sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, pinch of salt
- Add the toasted pecans back to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid evaporates and the pecans are coated. The mixture goes through three stages: first it'll be thin and bubbly, then thick and sticky, then it crystallizes into a dry, sugary glaze. Keep the heat lower, too hot and the sugar will burn before it crystallizes properly.
- Spread the candied pecans onto a sheet of parchment paper and let them cool completely, about 30 minutes.
Make the Cookie Dough
- Brown the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the milk solids are golden brown and the butter smells nutty (see my full guide on how to brown butter at bakingwithbutter.com/how-to-brown-butter if you need a walkthrough). Pour into a shallow dish and refrigerate until solid. It will be around 115g once browned. Let it sit at room temperature until softened but still cool to the touch. This chilling and softening step is essential. It lets the brown butter cream properly with the sugar like normal softened butter, which gives a cohesive dough and prevents the cookies from going greasy in the oven. 140 g butter
- Using a stand or hand mixer, whip the softened brown butter on its own for 1 to 2 minutes until light and creamy. This extra whip step matters here because solidified brown butter is denser than fresh butter due to the cooked milk solids, so beating it first gets it properly aerated before the sugar goes in.
- Add both sugars and vanilla and beat for another 2 to 3 minutes until pale and fluffy. 100 g light brown sugar, 100 g granulated sugar,1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Beat in the sourdough discard and egg until combined. 100 g sourdough discard, 1 large egg
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and fine salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Don't overmix. 190 g all-purpose flour, 3/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp fine salt
- Roughly chop the cooled candied pecans and fold them into the dough.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days. Chilling gives the dough time to firm up and the flavor to develop. If the dough becomes very firm after a long chill, let it sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before scooping.
Bake the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F). Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- Scoop the dough into portions of approximately 30 g each and place onto the lined baking trays, leaving space between each cookie.
- Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, or until the edges are set but the centers are still a bit soft.
- While the cookies are still warm and soft on the tray, you can finish them two ways: press an extra candied pecan half into the top of each cookie, and use a large round cookie cutter to swirl around each cookie in a circular motion to nudge them into a perfectly round shape.
- Let the cookies cool on the tray for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Both US customary and metric measurements are provided. Use the toggle to switch between the two.
For deeper flavor, cover the dough and refrigerate overnight before baking. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes if it becomes very firm.
The pecan-pressing works best when the cookies are baked until just set around the edges and still slightly soft in the center. If you prefer your cookies more baked through, press the pecan halves into the tops of the dough balls before baking instead.
If you’d like enough candied pecans for topping as well, increase the candied pecan ingredients to 140 g pecans, 20 g butter, and 60 g sugar (keeping the water and vanilla the same). Reserve about 24 pecan halves before chopping the remainder for the cookie dough.
Sourdough discard: I use a 100% hydration starter that hasn’t been fed in a while. Active starter works too.
Storing: keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Sourdough cookies get softer the next day, because the discard adds extra moisture to the dough that slowly redistributes through the cookie and keeps the crumb softer over time. The softer texture is lovely, but cookies stacked in a tin can misshapen, so store in a single layer or with parchment between layers. Cookie dough portions can be frozen on a tray then transferred to a freezer bag. Bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time. Baked cookies freeze well wrapped individually for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookieCalories: 123kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 1gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 129mgPotassium: 19mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 173IUCalcium: 8mgIron: 0.4mg
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