Easy, soft and chewy butter pecan cookies recipe, homemade with simple ingredients. Loaded with toasted pecans and toffee bits. Great for Christmas and Thanksgiving parties!
If you love everything to do with Fall and Thanksgiving, then today's recipe is for you! It combines warm cinnamon flavors with nutty pecans in the most perfect way possible. My family enjoys them just as these Fall Cookies (Leaf Cookies) and Cinnamon Cookies or these Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.
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How to make butter pecan cookies recipe from scratch?
- Cream butter and sugar- Until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla- And mix until smooth.
- Prepare dry mixture- By mixing together flour, cornstarch, and baking soda.
- Mix wet and dry mixture- Until combined.
- Add pecans- And mix until evenly distributed.
- Chill- For 30-45 minutes.
- Make cookie balls- And place them on a cookie tray.
- Bake- Until the cookies are golden brown and firm along the edges.
Storage
Room temperature- Store them in a cookie jar for up to 3 days.
Refrigerate- In a sealed container for up to 5 days.
Freeze- Cookie dough can be frozen for up to 1 month and defrosted overnight in the fridge. I don't recommend freezing baked cookies since the nuts lose their crunch when they thaw.
Variations
Pecan shortbread cookies- Incorporate finely chopped pecans into my Best Shortbread Cookies recipe. Please note that the recipe below cannot be modified to a shortbread.
Chocolate chip pecan cookies- Mix in any flavor chocolate chips into the dough such as semi-sweet, dark chocolate or white chocolate chips.
Pecan snowball cookies- Check out my Snowball Cookies recipe and add chopped pecans instead of walnuts. Once again, the recipe below cannot be modified to a shortbread.
Add coconut- Add ½ cup shredded coconut to the dough. Toasting it first will enhance the flavor.
Add oatmeal- Reduce the amount of flour by ⅓ cups and replace that with quick cooking oats. This will make the cookies slightly chewy.
Add toffee bits or butterscotch chips- Their flavor compliments very well with pecans.
Use browned butter- If you have the time, brown butter first and let it cool and then use that in this recipe for a lovely nutty flavor and color.
Stuff it with caramel- Stuff the cookies with caramel, prior to baking for an ooey gooey surprise.
Add bourbon- Mix in about 2 tablespoon bourbon into the cookie dough.
Cookie bars- Spread the dough in a rectangular pan and bake. Slice them into bars with a very sharp knife, once baked. Let them cool completely before removing from pan.
Tips and Techniques
Why add cornstarch? When cornstarch is added with flour, it softens the harsh proteins of the flour, which makes the cookies very soft and tender.
All ingredients must be at room temperature- Because this will allow them to blend together smoothly and evenly.
Why did my cookies spread? This is probably because the dough was not chilled before baking or too much liquid was added to the recipe.
Chilling the cookie dough is very important- Do not skip this step because it allows the cookies to hold their shape while they bake and prevents them from spreading.
Use unsalted butter and unsalted pecans- Because that prevents this treat from becoming too salty.
Use toasted pecans- Because they have an enhanced nutty flavor.
Don't replace butter with oil- Because the texture of the cookies will change entirely.
Use both granulated and brown sugar- Because they create the best flavor profile.
More Pecan Desserts
Recipe
Butter Pecan Cookies
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Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter Unsalted, Melted, Should be cooled so that it's warm and not very hot
- ½ cup Granulated sugar
- 1 cup Brown sugar
- 2 Eggs Large
- 1.5 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2.5 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon powder
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- 1.5 cups Pecans Roughly chopped, Unsalted, Preferably toasted
- ½ cup Toffee bits Optional
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
- Add flour, cinnamon powder, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder and mix until just combined.
- Mix in pecans and toffee bits until evenly distributed.
- Chill dough for 30-45 minutes to make it easier to handle.
- Scoop out small portions of the dough and roll into balls. The chilled dough will seem a bit crumbly but the warmth of your hands will help bring the dough together into small balls.
- Optional: Roll each cookie dough ball in a bowl of granulated sugar, if you like. I don't usually do it but my Mom does it.
- Place them on a cookie tray, lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for about 11-14 minutes or until cookies are golden brown and firm along the edges. They will be "poofy" in the center and deflate as they cool. If they don't deflate fully to your liking, you can press down gently with the back of a spoon. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a cookie jar at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Evelyn Ruth
Excellent recipe. I used this recipe with some pecan cookie crumbs. They turned out great. This will be one of my new additions to my cookie list.
Annie Smalling
Do you have to use all purpose flour can you use flour that has baking soda already.
Abeer Rizvi
You must use all-purpose flour.
Carolyn
How do you measure the brown sugar? Should it be packed or loose? Light or dark brown sugar?
Abeer Rizvi
Light or dark doesn't matter. You can use whatever you have in the pantry. My recipes always use packed ingredients in measuring cups unless otherwise indicated. Hope this helps.
Ginger
Just wondering if how I could add a little maple flavor to these cookies. I have a daughter-in-law who loves maple pecan flavor. Thanks
Abeer Rizvi
Use maple extract. It works amazingly well!
Sonji
Hello!! I am really looking forward to making these cookies. Do you know if they would work using Land O Lakes SWEET CREAM BUTTER??
Abeer Rizvi
Yes, that will work. It just needs to be unsalted.
Sharon
Can you freeze these cookies?
Abeer Rizvi
Yes, you can freeze them in a sealed container for up to 1 month.
Ruth
If there is no salt in the dry ingredients, could salted butter be used. Thank you Ruth
Abeer Rizvi
I would suggest adding a little salt in the dry ingredients instead of using salted butter.
Tanya
These cookies are AMAZING and easy to make
Mell
Very easy to make
Lindsey Roberts
Light brown sugar or dark brown for this recipe?
Abeer Rizvi
Either will work well.
Lora
Can these be made with a 1:1 gf flour? Or how would you convert the recipe to gluten free?
Abeer Rizvi
I haven't tried that to know how the recipe would need to be adjusted.
Amy Carol
Oh my! I asked my hubs what kind of cookies he wanted. The kids are both at college, so he gets special treatment. He said no chocolate chip, and no sugar cookies. So the hunt began. I made these, added homemade toffee bits, because why not? Oh he is blissful. These are so much better than delicious. Phenomenal, incredible, uniquely fantabulos. He thinks they are in the top 3 of favorites. I tend to agree. Sooo sooo sooo good. ❤️
YOLANDA MCDOWELL
the cookies tastes amazing, they came out so good. Great recipe
B
There is no salt in the recipe, plus the author specified unsalted butter and unsalted pecans. Salt is a flavor enhancer and I found the flavor to be flat. I will be adding salt next time.
Abeer Rizvi
Using salt is entirely up to you. I personally don't like it in my desserts and thus, I didn't use it in this recipe.
Deb
Absolutely amazing! I expected them to taste like Pecan Sandies, but they’re soooo much better!
I’m going to try browning the butter next time.
Robin Comfort
I just found this recipe. The cookies are delicious. I used vanilla-infused rum in lieu of regular vanilla. I also rolled the balls in brown sugar before baking. YUMx10!
Yaira S. Ramos
I made this recipe last year and it was incredible. I added toffee. Also after I cooled the cookies I formed them into balls and rolled them again in chopped pecans and toffee for added crunch. Truly wonderful!