Description
Soft, chewy butter pecan cookies loaded with toasted pecans, featuring the perfect balance of brown sugar sweetness and nutty crunch. Easy to make with simple ingredients and foolproof techniques.
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 1½ cups chopped pecans (195 g)
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp / 226 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (200 g) packed dark or light brown sugar (I prefer dark for extra richness!)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2½ cups (313 g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Optional (but highly recommended!):
- ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar, for rolling
- A pinch of sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
Heat your oven to 300°F and spread pecans on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake for 15 minutes but stir them twice so they don’t burn on one side. My kitchen timer broke last year so I set my phone for 5-minute intervals. When they smell amazing and look darker, turn off the oven but leave them inside to finish.
Dump that softened butter in a big bowl and beat it with your mixer for about a minute until smooth. Add both sugars and keep beating for 3-4 minutes until fluffy. This part always reminds me of making frosting – the mixture gets lighter in color and doubles in size.
Crack in those eggs one by one, then pour in the vanilla. I always forget to scrape the bowl sides until I see streaks of unmixed butter – don’t be like me! Scrape as you go.
Grab another bowl and whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. I used to dump everything straight into the wet ingredients but ended up with lumpy cookies. Whisking first takes thirty seconds and prevents disasters.
Turn your mixer to low and slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Stop as soon as everything looks combined – the dough will be thick and sticky. Fold in those beautiful toasted pecans gently, either with the mixer on low for just a few seconds or by hand with a wooden spoon.
Wrap this dough tight with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge for at least 3 hours. I know it’s torture to wait, but I learned this lesson the hard way when my cookies spread into one giant pancake. You can leave it up to 3 days if you want to get ahead.
Heat the oven to 350°F while your dough comes to room temperature slightly – about 20 minutes if it’s been chilling overnight. Scoop tablespoon-sized portions and roll them into balls. Rolling them in sugar makes them sparkly but skip it if you’re in a hurry.
Space cookies 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake for 11-12 minutes until edges are golden. If they puff up too much right out of the oven, press them gently with a spoon back. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack or they’ll fall apart.
Notes
Always use room temperature butter – it should give slightly when pressed but not be melty. If you forgot to take it out early, cut it into small cubes and let it sit for 15 minutes. When measuring flour, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off – scooping directly can pack too much flour and make dense cookies. Don’t overbake! The edges should be set and lightly golden, but the centers might still look slightly underdone. They’ll finish cooking on the hot baking sheet.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus 3 hours chilling)
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American