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The only way to welcome in the first Friday of November is with these Browned Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies.
These cookies are simply the best. I know, I say that every time I make cookies, but really how could a cookie containing browned butter, maple toasted pecans, and semi-sweet chocolate chips not be the best?
It’s pretty much just a (dangerously) winning combo.
With November here, I can’t help but want to get into the kitchen and bake any time I have a free moment. This time of year of always makes me want to turn on my oven and bake. One, because I am constantly freezing and the heat of the oven warms my cold little barn, and two because I love the sweet and cozy smells wafting from the oven…especially the smell of these cookies. Truly nothing better on a cold, dreary fall night or a Saturday afternoon.
As mentioned in my Thanksgiving menu reveal post this past Wednesday, these cookies are a big part of my Thanksgiving dessert table.
When it comes to Thanksgiving desserts I know that everyone immediately thinks pumpkin pie. But me? When I think of Thanksgiving desserts, I think of pecan pie. It’s just what my mom always made growing up, and it’s my personal favorite. So every November I like to develop a few pecan pie inspired recipes for fun twist on tradition.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane…
November 2013: Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie Cupcakes
November 2015: Slice ‘n’ Bake Butter Pecan Cookies…Dipped In Chocolate
November 2016: Butter Pecan Frosted Fudge Brownies
You see? I really like my chocolate pecan desserts, and these cookies? Newest obsession.
As you can see above, two years ago I made these butter pecan cookies, and to this day they are still one of my favorite cookies to make. I actually made them more for Christmas, but despite when they were posted, they’ve become a year round favorite on the site. This year, when thinking up my new pecan dessert, I knew I wanted to make some kind of cookie, but instead of a crumbly butter cookie, I wanted something more like a classic chocolate chip cookie.
Enter these browned butter pecan chocolate chip cookies.
Soft, buttery, chocolatey, and loaded with maple toasted pecans and hints of toasty browned butter.
I mean, come one. Do I really need to go on? If you like chocolate chip cookies and you like pecans, you will hands down love these cookies.
And you know what? After testing this recipe multiple times (literally like six batches in two days), I discovered that the easiest, quickest method turned out the best. Meaning, no crazy methods or seventy-two hour chill time. No, none of that, instead you can have these cookies baked and ready for eating in about thirty minutes or so…and now you understand why they are dangerous.
I’m spending the weekend prepping for my trip to NYC on Monday, but hope to take some time tonight to do a little Friday baking. It’s my favorite way to unwind after a long week.
These cookies are obviously on my list for the night…and will be eaten warm out of them oven with cold milk…the only way to do cookies on a Friday night.
Obviously.
Hoping you guys will be making similar Friday night plans…
Browned Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 225 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw pecans
- 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
- flakey sea salt
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- coarse sugar, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.2. To a skillet set over medium heat, add the pecans and maple syrup. Cook, stirring often, until the pecans are toasted and golden, about 5-8 minutes. Remove the pecans from the pan to a cutting board. Sprinkle with flakey salt. Let cool and then roughly chop. 3. Add 1 stick butter to a skillet set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Stir often. Remove from the heat and let cool.4. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the remaining 1 stick butter, cooled browned butter, brown sugar and sugar until combined. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, beat until creamy. Add the flour, and baking soda, beating until combined. Stir in the the chocolate chips and chopped pecans.2. Roll the dough into tablespoon size balls and place 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.4. Transfer to the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are just beginning to set on the edges, but still doughy in the center. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool 5 minutes on the baking sheet. They will continue to cook slightly as they sit on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired. Eat warm (highly recommended) or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Because again, it’s November and we all need a good pecan loaded chocolate chip cookie. It’s true. WE DO.
Hello from South Carolina! My daughter & I just finished up this recipe for Santa! She requested pecan and chocolate chip cookies this year, and I stumbled upon this! We just had a taste test while they were warm, and oh my goodness I bet Santa is going to LOVE them! Thank you for an easy and delicious recipe.
We followed it at directed, except we only had light brown sugar. We also left the sugar sprinkle off the top. Turned out great!
Hey Crystal,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
These are my new favorite cookies! My dad isn’t a fan of chocolate chips and still loved these cookies. They are the perfect balance. 🙂
Hey Melissa,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am thrilled that it worked out for you! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Can I make the dough ahead and feeeze !
Hey April,
Yes, that would work well for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
New favorite cookie – I’ve already had four. Baking them on a cooking stone vs cooking sheet made all the difference. Going to double (or tripe) the recipe next time!
Hey Brittany,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad you enjoyed! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Mine didn’t flatten out. I think it was because I had to sub baking powder for baking soda. They were still the beat cookies I’ve ever eaten! I will definitely be making these again.
Thank you Rebecca! I am so happy to hear that! xTieghan
I just prepared these as a Thanksgiving dessert side. I have them as chilled balls in the fridge now so we can cook right before so they’ll be warm. But we did cook a few to taste and they’re delicious! The only substitution I made was using 1.5 cup of chocolate chips instead of 2. As I was adding it to the dough it didn’t seem like there was enough to support 2 but perhaps my pecans were more than anticipated.
Hi Alex! I am really glad these turned out well for you! I hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving! Are there any questions I can help with? xTieghan
Made these yesterday but substituted in Caramilk chocolate instead of the dark choc. They are AMAZING. Great recipe!!!!
Amazing!! Thank you so much Helen! xTieghan
These were amazing! I didn’t toast my nuts long enough but they still turned out great. I used 1 cup dark chunks and 1 cup semi sweet chips. This is my new fav!!! Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you so much Amanda! xTieghan
I’ve been on a baking craze since the start of the quarantine and I just made these. I sprinkled with salt instead of sugar when they were fresh out of the oven and OMG talk about chocolate-y pecan goodness!
I am so glad these turned out so well for you Julia!! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
I don’t know what Idid wrong, but my cookies ended up round at the top. I followed directions to a T. They still tasted good.
Hey Nikki! Try baking the cookies use the below method instead. I think this will help!! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Roll the dough into rounded 1 tablespoon size balls. Place 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
Transfer to the oven and bake for 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and tap the baking sheet on the counter 2 times to flatten them down. Return to the oven and bake another 1-3 minutes or until the cookies are just beginning to set on the edges, but still doughy in the center. Remove from the oven and tap the baking sheet on the counter 1-2 times to flatten them down again. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They will continue to cook slightly as they sit on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with flaky salt. Eat warm (highly recommended) or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Holy Sh** these cookies are so good! I am a total cookie dough eater (no shame) and could not stop. My husband picked this cookie for Christmas and I am so happy he did. I absolutely love the *salted* brown butter with the hint of maple and pecans. I substituted the semi sweet chocolate chips for dark chocolate (I used 2 Hu simply dark chocolate bars) just because I prefer a less sweet chocolate and I loved the dark chocolate! One thing that I especially love about these are that you can actually taste the brown butter. I think you nailed it on the amount of brown butter that is added to the cookie because let me say it has a fantastic flavor that I just could not get enough of! Also, these are very easy to make and they pack a punch of deliciousness that you don’t expect from such a simple easy cookie
A few notes that I think everyone will appreciate:
1 – If using a dark baking tray, lower your oven temp to 325*. I realized this on my last batch and switch baking sheets and lowered the oven temp.
2 – Light colored baking sheet with oven temp 325* also worked perfect, although this was my last batch so I lowered the oven temp and still felt like it was 350*.
3 – I pressed my cookie dough balls down because I prefer a flatter cookie. Now this could because I was using a dark cookie sheet at too high of a temp but I found when I pressed lightly they spread better.
4 – My last batch was the best looking 🙂 Here’s was I did on my last batch – Oven Temp: 325* Cookie sheet – light & used a Silpat Cook Time – 8 minutes Rest Time on cookie Sheet – 5 Minutes
5 – I added about 1/4 tsp salt to the dough and it was a great idea!
I cannot wait for my husband, aka Santa, to try these! Thanks for such a great cookie recipe 🙂 Merry Christmas!
Omg I am so glad these turned out so amazing for you Ashley! I hope Santa loved them haha! Thank you for trying these and Merry Christmas! xTieghan
Can this dough be made ahead of time and frozen? I am doing a cookie dough exchange for the holidays and would love to contribute this recipe!
Hi Tiffany! Yes, you can freeze the dough. Directions are listed at the bottom of the recipe. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
I cant get this recipe to be consistent.
I made these 3x, first time was the best – second one they tasted more savory or salty and were kinda flat, third time, they are flat!
Any tips?
Hey Camille, Was there anything you did differently at all? Any ingredients different? Method of baking this? Any info will be helpful to help me problem solve and figure out what might be happening for you. It’s hard to know without knowing any details. Hope I can help you! xTieghan
Hi!! I’ve been making your browned butter pecan cc cookies a few years now for Christmas. I *love* them! 99% of the time I chill my (regular) cc cookie dough in the fridge for 36 hrs. I find when I chill my dough for this recipe, it doesn’t deliver the taste results I’m looking for. I used Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate, instead of semi. I use organic salted (don’t always use salted) butter, KAF, organic sugars, my typical ingredients for cc cookies. Hmm, I might have to make them again, without chilling this time…twist my arm! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Happy Holidays to you!! 🙂
Yes!! I am so glad you have been loving these brownies for a few years now! Happy Holidays to you as well! xTieghan
Can you freeze these cookies as well as the chai spice maple sugar cookies w/browned butter frosting?
Hey Ellen, yes both cookies can be frozen. I would not freeze the frosting for the chai cookies however and instead would add that after freezer. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
These are the BEST cookies I’ve ever made and it made a lot! Mine didn’t spread so after the first batch I just hand pressed them before baking and they are Devine! I had roasted some pecans the night before in butter and salted so mine weren’t maple pecans. I used 1c milk chocolate chips plus 1c dark chocolate chips so these are not overly sweet cookies but if I had coarse sugar, i would sprinkle them like you suggested. However, it’s not necessary. They are soooo good. I mean like specialty bakery shop $4 per cookie good!
I am so glad these turned out so well for you Roni! Thank you so much for making them! xTieghan