Sweet and Salty Maple Pecan Cookies.

These homemade chocolate chip cookies are made with lightly browned butter, brown sugar, and what makes them better than the rest: maple caramelized pecans and salty pretzels. With notes of vanilla and bourbon, they’re sweet, salty, and completely delicious. Think rippled edges, soft, chewy centers, sweet caramelized pecans, and just the right amount of salty pretzel crunch. Simple, sweet, and salty. Nearly perfect.

They have maple, brown sugar, and pecans. But they also have thin, salted pretzel crisps and rich notes of bourbon and vanilla.

There’s brown butter, too! And each cookie is drizzled with melted chocolate, almost like a chocolate-covered pretzel. There’s so much goodness happening here. Deciding what to include in the title really had me stumped!

Ultimately, what makes these cookies so special is the brown sugar maple caramelized pecans. They add sweetness, crunch, and an almost bourbon caramel flavor that’s undeniably delicious. Then there’s the salty pretzel tucked underneath every cookie. It adds just the right amount of saltiness to balance all that sweetness.

It’s such a yummy combination!

These are the perfect cookies to end October and welcome November. Holiday cookie season is here, and I could not be more excited!

With my focus on the holidays and pretty much nothing else right now, I can’t help but think of these as my Thanksgiving cookies. But I have a feeling they’ll make their way into my Christmas cookie boxes this year too.

And I know, from the title, you might think these cookies aren’t all that different from my previous maple pecan cookies. But trust me, they are!

It’s all in the process and the measurements of each ingredient. The way the butter is browned, the pecans are caramelized, and the cookies are baked makes all the difference.

And that’s especially important when it comes to cookie baking!

These are the details

Ingredients

The Maple Pecans

• raw pecans
• pure maple syrup
• brown sugar
• bourbon (optional)

The Cookies

• salted butter
• brown sugar
• granulated sugar
• an egg + egg yolk
• pure vanilla extract
• all-purpose flour
• baking soda
• salt
• chocolate chips or chunks
• Original Pretzel Crisps
• melted chocolate chips or chunks
• flaky sea salt

The Steps

Step 1: Make the maple caramelized pecans

These are what make the cookies so special! And they’re really easy to make.

Toss the pecans with maple syrup and brown sugar, then spread them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until the pecans are toasted and the maple sugar is bubbling and caramelized.

Drizzle the bourbon over the warm pecans, if using. Then let everything cool right on the parchment. As the pecans cool, the maple sugar will harden into the most delicious, crunchy caramel.

Once cooled, peel the pecans off the parchment and roughly chop 1 cup, saving the rest for topping. Be sure to include all those little pieces of maple caramel too. They’re SO GOOD mixed into the cookies.

Step 2: Brown the butter

This is another little step that makes a big difference!

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, swirling the pan until it turns golden brown and smells nutty. Watch closely! Butter can go from perfectly browned to burnt pretty quickly.

Pour the browned butter into a mixing bowl, making sure to scrape out all those delicious browned bits.

Step 3: Mix the cookie dough

Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla to the browned butter. Whisk until smooth.

Next, mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Fold in the chocolate chips and chopped maple pecans, including all those crunchy caramel pieces.

The dough is so delicious. And the smell! Brown butter, maple, vanilla, and chocolate. It’s everything I love about holiday baking.

Step 4: Add the pretzels

This is the fun part!

Arrange the Pretzel Crisps on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roll the cookie dough into balls and place one right on top of each pretzel.

I love using Pretzel Crisps for these cookies. They’re thin, salty, and crunchy, creating the perfect little base for the soft, chewy cookie dough.

Pop the tray into the freezer for a quick 10 minutes. This helps the cookies hold their shape and prevents them from spreading too much.

Step 5: Bake

Bake the cookies for 6 minutes, then rotate the pan and give it a couple of gentle taps on the counter. This helps create those pretty, rippled edges.

Return the cookies to the oven for another 2–3 minutes, just until the edges are set and the centers are slightly glossy.

Don’t overbake! You want the edges set, but the centers should still look slightly underdone. They’ll finish setting as they cool, leaving you with the softest, chewiest centers and a salty, crunchy pretzel underneath.

Step 6: Finish with chocolate

Let the cookies cool, then drizzle or dip each one in melted chocolate. Finish with a little flaky sea salt and any remaining maple pecans.

The chocolate makes these cookies even more delicious. Think chocolate-covered pretzels meet soft, chewy brown butter cookies!

Sweet maple caramelized pecans, salty pretzels, brown butter, and plenty of chocolate. Every bite has a little crunch, a little salt, and a soft, chewy center.

These would be so cute packaged in little holiday cookie bags or tucked into Christmas cookie boxes with a pretty ribbon. I also love the idea of setting out a big platter after Thanksgiving dinner. Something sweet to snack on while everyone is hanging around the kitchen.

They’re simple enough to bake on a random November afternoon, but special enough for all the upcoming holiday celebrations.

I think these are even better with a glass of cold milk, hot chocolate, or a really good latte.