These Butter Pecan Cookies are soft, chewy cookie that’s wildly delicious! They're easy to make in under 1 hour using the signature combo of brown butter, vanilla, pecans, and brown sugary sweetness!
Try these other wonderful and easy cookie recipes too! Cowboy Cookies, No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies, or these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Easy Pecan Cookies Recipe
This buttery pecan cookie recipe is made with only 7 simple ingredients but you'd never know it based on the layers of flavors!
The amazing flavor trio of vanilla, butter, and crunchy pecans with the addition of delicious brown sugar is what makes ice cream, cakes, and these cookies so darn good.
We're elevating the taste of these cookies by using none other than brown butter! Combined with regular melted butter, they add a deeper nutty flavor and an incredibly butter flavor that will melt in your mouth.
If you bake nothing else this season, you're going to want make these cookies with pecans and put them high on your holiday baking list and for cookie exchanges!
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Enter your email below and we’ll send you this recipe so you can come back to it any time! (as well as our new recipes weekly!)
Ingredients You’ll Need
The complete list of ingredients with amounts are listed in the full recipe card below.
- Butter, divided: If you've never made browned butter before, I can't wait to show you. Once you try it, you'll be forever hooked on the extra buttery flavor! I used salted butter but feel free to use unsalted butter with a pinch of salt added.
- Brown sugar: Used to sweeten the cookies and add moisture while the caramel flavoring of the light brown sugar goes great with the pecans and butter. It’s so much better than granulated sugar in these cookies. Use dark brown sugar if you’d like.
- Large egg: Needed to bind all the ingredients together so they don't fall apart.
- Vanilla extract: A flavor enhancer and a very signature ingredient in the cookies.
- All-purpose flour: When measured accurately, the flour gives the cookie structure but also the perfect texture. Not too heavy or dense and perfectly soft. I have also made them with Bob’s Red Mill One-to-One gluten free flour.
- Baking soda: A leavening agent that won't allow your cookies to fall flat!
- Chopped pecans: If you want, you can toast them first, to give them an even more robust nutty taste.
Variations
1. Once out of the oven, sprinkle each cookie with some coarse salt. The sweet and salty combination is addicting!
2. If you prefer to keep things sweet, roll the balls of dough in white sugar before baking.
3. For presentation, press one whole pecan on top of the cookies as it comes out of the oven. It's cute and lets people know what they're about to get more of.
4. For an extra dose of warmth, add some cinnamon to your cookie dough. They’re the perfect fall cookie recipe!
5. Stir in a ½ cup of white chocolate chips or toffee bits to the batter before scooping.
How to Make these Butter Pecan Cookies
This recipe will come together in a few simple steps, and even with 30 minutes in the fridge, they're still ready in under 1 hour!
Brown the Butter
Step 1: Place a stick of butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Allow it to melt then cook for 5 minutes, stirring or swirling the pan occasionally.
Once it turns light brown, you’ll notice a familiar nutty aroma and brown milk solids at the bottom of the pan will appear. That’s the good stuff! We like to call this liquid gold.
Step 2: Add the browned butter to a large mixing bowl. Also add any bits from the bottom of the pan. Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and add it to the bowl as well.
Then, whisk in the brown sugar or use an electric hand mixer to beat. Follow this with the egg and vanilla extract. Mix to combine.
Step 3: In a separate smaller bowl, mix the flour and baking soda. Then add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just barely combined. There should be pockets or lumps of flour.
Step 4: Gently fold in the pecans until they are evenly distributed. Do not overmix. Chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes and in the meantime preheat the oven to 375 ° F. (Don’t skip this important step or they will be too thin)
Step 5: Once chilled, scoop out 1 ½ - 2 Tablespoons of dough and use your hands to roll dough into balls. Place them on a prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart (they will spread a bit). Gently press down each one so it’s no thicker than ½ an inch.
Step 6: Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes until golden brown with crispy edges. They will be soft once out of the oven (great for adding in a nut or sprinkling with sea salt) and will continue to bake a bit on the tray. I give the tray a little tap on the stove top to help them set.
Allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for a 2 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack and then enjoy a cookie or three!
Tips
- Watch your butter. As easy as making brown butter is, it’s just as easy to cross that fine line between brown and burnt. Watch it closely!
- For even baking, it’s always helpful to start with room-temperature ingredients. Especially when adding hot butter to the mix. Bring your egg to room temperature ahead of time.
- When making brown butter use a light-colored pan. If your pan is too dark it’s harder to see how quickly your butter is turning brown.
- The right amount of flour. As with any baking recipe, make sure to measure flour correctly! Use a scale or the spoon and level method to ensure you’re not using too much flour.
- Overmixing the dough will cause your butter pecan cookies to be denser and not as light and chewy.
Storing Leftover Cookies
Room Temperature: The cookies stay fresh when stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days. No need to keep them in the fridge, but they do need to remain covered. Otherwise, they'll dry out.
Freeze: The baked cookies freeze well so I suggest even making two batches of these delicious cookies and freezing one! They will keep for up to 3 months this way.
You can even freeze the dough balls if you’d like. I like to flash freeze them first on a cookie sheet then place them in a freezer bag with a layer of parchment paper between them so they don’t stick together. Cook them right from the freezer and just add a couple of extra minutes to the bake time.
FAQ’s
This is a great option if you have a few extra minutes. It gives them added crunch, added flavor, and just a whole other level of yum to these butter pecan cookies.
You can toast them in a skillet on the stove over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir frequently so that they do not burn. Once they’re a darker brown and deliciously fragrant, they’re ready!
Or use the oven at 350 degrees. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for anywhere from 7-10 minutes. Stir halfway and keep an eye on them.
You can make the dough balls up to 3 days ahead. If you want to get a head start but aren’t quite ready to bake them yet, this is a great option. Just pop them in the oven when you’re ready!
One Year Ago: Homemade Soft Pretzels
Two Years Ago: White Chicken Chili
Three Years Ago: Cauliflower Breadsticks
Eight Years Ago: Chicken Corn Chowder
Nine Years Ago: Roasted Butternut Squash
Ten Years Ago: Apple Almond Butter Muffins
Easy Pecan Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons butter divided (1 ½ sticks)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Place 8 tablespoons of butter (1 stick) of butter in a small pan and heat over over medium heat until melted.12 tablespoons butter
- Then cook it for approximately 5 minutes until it turns light brown, stirring occasionally.
- Add the browned butter to a large mixing bowl. also add any bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Melt the other 4 tablespoons (1/ 2stick)of butter (in a pan or in the microwave for a few seconds) and add it to the mixing bowl with the browned butter.
- Add the brown sugar and beat with an electric mixer or whisk to combine.1 cup brown sugar
- Then add the egg and vanilla extract and mix in until combined.1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate small bowl, add the flour and baking soda and toss to mix together.1 ¾ cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just barely combined and large lumps of flour are mixing in.
- Add the pecans and gently stir them into the dough until the pecans are evenly distributed. (be careful not to over-mix or they will be more dense).1 cup chopped pecans
- Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill. ‘
- Preheat the oven to 375 ° F while the dough is in the refrigerator.
- After chilling, scoop out 1 ½ – 2 tablespoons of dough balls and place them on parchment lined baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Press down each ball slightly so it’s no thicker than ½".
- Bake for 12-14 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the tray for 10 minutes.
Notes
- Once out of the oven, sprinkle each cookie with some coarse salt. The sweet and salty combination is addicting!
- If you prefer to keep things sweet, roll the balls of dough in white sugar before baking.
- For presentation, press one whole pecan on top of the cookies as it comes out of the oven. It's cute and lets people know what they're about to get more of.
- For an extra dose of warmth, add some cinnamon to your cookie dough. They're the perfect fall cookie recipe!
- Stir in a ½ cup of white chocolate chips or toffee bits to the batter before scooping.
- Use dark brown sugar if you’d like.
- When browning the butter use a light-colored pan. If your pan is too dark it's harder to see how quickly your butter is turning darkening.
- As with any baking recipe, make sure to measure flour correctly! Use a scale or the spoon and level method to ensure you're not using too much flour.
- Overmixing the dough will cause your the to be denser and not as light and chewy.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclosure
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.
Juan garcia
Super dry. Felt like I was eating a dry biscuit. You need to add a tablespoon or two of water to the dough and bake for less time to make it work.
Renata
I just make it today and I love it but I bake 350 for 10 min very delicious thank you definitely I will make it again ☺️
Ashleigh
Not good. 🙁 I picked this recipe because of the little ingredients it had. But it was so bland, not sweet.
Becky
I made the recipe as stated, although my brown butter never got too dark, I was afraid to burn it. Chilled for 25 mins, rolled balls and slightly flattened. At 375 they were done in 8-9 mins, so lowered the oven to 355 for the 2nd tray and was done in 10 mins. Didn’t add flaked salt to top because of my husband. They came out fine, maybe a bit plain. Would consider rolling balls in raw sugar before baking, or add chocolate chips. Maybe a dusting of powdered sugar. Otherwise the recipe ratios worked pretty good.
Kathy Peters
These were very easy to make. Unfortunately, I used unsalted butter, and did not add salt, as recommended by one of the other comments. We could definitely tell the salt was missing, but they are still very tasty, and I will add salt next time. 375 in my oven was too hot. I used 350 and about eight minutes and they were perfect! I refrigerated them overnight, which made the dough very hard. I just use my hands to warm it up and roll into balls. I used my fingers to flatten them, and they look just like yours Great recipe!!
Melinda
This cookie is getting rave reviews from my family. I did drizzle them with melted semi sweet chocolate and that gave the cookies a little zip
Anne K.
Good flavor! I think I would like them even more if they were a little sweeter. I made with the browned butter, toasted the pecans, and sprinkled with flaked salt – the salt was really good on these.
Susie Q
Made these today! So so good! Crispy edges and soft inside. The flavor is amazing! Our new fav!
Sherri
That makes me so happy to hear!! So glad you enjoyed them too!
Bonnie Frieswyk
Where are the .amounts Of each ingredient ?? Scrolled through this quite a few times and can’t find them?
Laura
Easy and delicious!
Anita jones
This recipe looks fabulous and easyty
Jess
These don’t look anything like the picture. I followed exactly. Hmm maybe lost in translation but it looked like caramel before i put them in the fridge
Karen
Delicious and so easy to follow
Kathy
Can you make the dough and refrigerate for a few days before baking and how long can you store in refrigerator
Toni
after your comment on measuring flour I was excited about someone using scale for ingredients. Couldn’t find them.
Sherri
I see what the grams for a 1 3/4 cups is on the flour package and calculate how much is needed. Mine says 1/4 cup is 37 grams. I’m not positive all are the same
Barb
Mine came out burned, so I lowered the temp to 325 for 10 mins, much better!!
Sherri
Oh no! I’m glad you were able to adjust that
Shelly
Just made these and I have found a new favorite cookie. The flavor was just wow. Thank you so much.
Sherri
I am SO happy to hear that! They are one of my favorites too!
April
We refrigerated the dough as directed but these spread out a lot. Guessing they should be cooled more before baking. Taste great.. will make again but chill longer.
Cathie Luckner
When I came across this recipe I knew I had to try it. My husband loves this type of cookie. The only thing I did add was 1/4 tsp of salt. Great tasting cookie, they disappeared fast.
Sherri
I’m so glad you enjoyed them as much as we do!!
Joyce
Just made these today. Probably baked them too long, but they are still excellent. Thanks, Sherri!
Do you pack your brown sugar at all? I’m an American who’s been converted to weighing ingredients for consistent baking. It would help me if, the next time you made these, you popped your brown sugar on a scale (oz or kg) so I know I”m making mine exactly like yours.
The dough felt and looked very much like raw blond brownies. I may experiment with spreading them in a pan. Regardless, toasting the pecans and using browned butter are game changers.
Tennknox
Recipe sounds good, but where is the measurement of ingredients? How much floor, brown sugar, …. ?
Joyce
At the bottom of the page. Click on Jump To Recipe button at the top of the article.