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The best ever Chewy Brown Butter Pretzel Pecan Cookies. Homemade brown sugar cookies, made with browned butter, sweet maple, and a secret ingredient that really makes these cookies better than the rest. There are vanilla-toasted pecans, salted pretzels, and plenty of sweet chocolate chunks that melt in your mouth. There’s really nothing not to love! Perfect for holiday baking, gifting, and of course, snacking between meals.
I’ve created more cookie recipes than I care to really sit down and count, but these are special. They’re definitely in my personal top 5 for most delicious, I just love these. They remind me so much of the holidays, but most importantly they’re just delicious!
Salty, sweet, swirled with the wonderful flavors of brown sugar and vanilla, and full of chocolate. Oh, and they’ve got lightly crisped edges and chewy centers.
These really might just be the perfect holiday cookie.
Let me back up a little here and explain. Every single November without fail, I share at least one new cookie recipe with the idea of snacking on the cookies throughout Thanksgiving Day.
My mom grew up enjoying what she called, Aunt Debbie’s Turkey Cookies, on Thanksgiving. She’d even get to enjoy a few before dinner. And from all the stories I’ve heard about these cookies, she really loved them!
I’ve never been given that recipe, so instead, I made my own variation. I love butter pecans, chocolate, and vanilla paired together. So this year, my heart was set on a butter pecan cookie.
I wanted to make them special – really delicious to the point of calling them
“addicting”.
So I added pretzels, and oh my goodness, that was the key.
Details
I start out by toasting the nuts with the pretzels. I love tossing them with maple, vanilla, cinnamon, and sea salt. They turn out so delicious. I then give the nuts and pretzels a nice chop.
While those are toasting, brown the butter. When the butter has browned, let it chill a bit before mixing up the dough. The rest goes really quickly.
To make the cookies
Take the brown butter and beat it together with dark brown sugar, maple syrup, apple butter (that’s the secret ingredient you must trust me on), an egg, and some vanilla. Mix, mix, mix, then stir in the dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, and salt.
For the apple butter, I use my homemade maple apple butter. This is one of my favorite things to keep in the fridge. You can use my recipe or pick some up at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Thrive Market, or via Amazon. I will say that the homemade recipe works a little better for the cookies, but either is great! Just make sure your apple butter is spiced for best flavor.
Mix in the pecans, the pretzels, and plenty of chocolate chunks. Then, to make the cookies really sparkle, roll the dough balls through coarse sugar.
It’s not even December yet and I feel like these are the perfect holiday cookie. I’m getting so excited for this year’s cookie box!
Looking for holiday cookie recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Soft Pumpkin Sugar Cookies with Cinnamon Brown Butter Frosting
Chocolate Bourbon Chai Latte Cupcakes with Butter Pecan Frosting
Glazed Brown Sugar Maple Cookies
Pumpkin Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brown Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lastly, if you make these Chewy Brown Butter Pretzel Pecan Cookies be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Chewy Brown Butter Pretzel Pecan Cookies
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 173 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
- 1 cup salted pretzel twists
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup dark or light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons, plus 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup apple butter (see notes for subs)
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
- 1/3 cup coarse sugar
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the pecans and pretzels with 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 2 teaspoons vanilla, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Bake 8-10 minutes, until toasted. Once cool, roughly chop.2. Add the butter to a small saucepan set over medium heat, cooking until the butter begins to brown, 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a heatproof bowl. Stick in the freezer to chill, 10-15 minutes, but no longer.3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 4. In a bowl, beat together the browned butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, apple butter, egg, and vanilla until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Fold in the chocolate chips, pecans, and half of the pretzels.5. Roll the dough into tablespoon size balls, then roll through the course sugar and place 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Insert your desired amount of pretzels to each cookie. 6. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and tap the baking sheet gently on the counter to flatten. Return to the oven and bake another 2-3 minutes or until the cookies are just beginning to set on the edges, but still doughy in the center. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They will continue to cook slightly as they sit. Eat warm (highly recommend), or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
Apple Butter Replacement: use an equal amount of apple sauce or molasses. In a pinch, use additional maple.
If you’re Cookie Dough is Dry: reduce the flour to 2 1/4 cups and add 1-2 tablespoons of additional maple syrup
These were a hit on Thanksgiving!
My only adjustment, as I saw other commenters say, was I had to partially flatten the dough balls before baking. Even trying to tap them on the counter part way thru baking did not decrease their puffiness. Slightly flattening them worked fine and everyone loved them!
Hey Emily,
Happy Wednesday! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xxT
Listen – these cookies will get you married lol but I literally had my neighbors returning for more asking for the recipes – one w question …I froze half the batch (including sugared pretzel sticks) ………….what’s the recommendation for thawing and baking again? Like thaw the day before and bake under the same conditions?
Hey Mariana,
Happy Wednesday! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! You can thaw when needed and then bake, just make sure they are at room temp before baking:) xxT
Hi Tieghan,
The flavor is fantastic but they wouldn’t flatten no matter how many times I banged them after 8 minutes. I will try a little less flour next time. My husband loved the cinnamon flavor on the pretzels and nuts.
Thanks!
Hey Cameron,
Happy Monday!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Thanks for sharing your feedback! xT
These cookies turned out incredible for me! Boyfriend dubbed them the best cookies I ever made.
I added the molasses as a substitute for apple butter because I was in the mood for a rich christmassy feel, and it was incredible. The salty and sweet combo is perfect. I also added a pinch of Ras el Hanout for personal flavor and the salty cinnamony taste of the spice mix really suits this recipe.
I understand that for some this recipe may be strong with the molasses, but I personally love a good flavor burst.
Hey Charlotte,
Happy Monday!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xT
The flavor is good but honestly drowned out by the amount of flour. Such a cake texture, mine wouldn’t even flatten at all when I banged them on the counter. I even thought that that seemed like a ton of flour for cookies but followed it anyway and now I’m disappointed. The recipe should be modified to maybe two cups top instead of a note at the bottom.
Hi Kira,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear they were not enjoyed! xx
Any modification recommendations to make these gluten, dairy and egg free??
Hi Erin,
Sorry, I have not tested this recipe with all of those modifications. You might enjoy one of my vegan recipes better:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/frozen-chocolate-covered-banana-bites/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/chocolate-peanut-butter-fudge-bars/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/almond-butter-cookies/
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
This may seem obvious to others but do not make this dough in advance. I let my dough sit in the fridge overnight and it caused the pretzels to be stale. It is a great recipe but I wish I would have baked immediately
Hi Faith,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear this, if you wanted to make in advance, I would just wait to add the pretzels next time:) xx
I was really excited to make these because HBH’s monster cookies are my all time fave, but whatever you do—do not substitute the apple butter with molasses! The molasses is waaaaay too strong. I’m gonna have to scrap these and bring something else to Thanksgiving tomorrow 🙁
Hi Kate,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear the molasses didn’t work for you! Happy Thanksgiving! xx
Great flavor but very dry cakey texture. I recommend starting with two cups of flour and adding tablespoon by tablespoon until you get a smooth consistency rather than adding the 2 3/4 outlined in the recipe.
Hi there,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear they came out dry for you! xx
My cookies came out like soup lol. Very very flat. Is it because i used general flour vs. all purpose? I followed the rest of the recipe to a T, and banged the cookies on the counter too.
Hi Allison,
So sorry to hear about the cookies! The banging on the counter make them flat:) From what I’m reading, it sounds like general flour is different than all purpose flour, so that could have been the issue! So sorry! xx
The dough is So good. Like you can use it as a base for so much. I swapped walnuts in because that’s all I had and used pretzel sticks! I love love the flavor. May even add raising next time and leave out the pretzels and walnuts since I’m a simple cookie person. My cookies did start to flatten a little but just j case I patted them gently with a fork lol
Hey Mariana,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃
These cookies were so good! I loved the taste and enjoyed the crunch of the pretzels. I made half without rolling in the coarse sugar and they still came out amazing. The only issue I had was my cookies didn’t flatten like the photo, they sort of stayed in a chunky ball. When I looked it up it says usually cookies won’t flatten if you’ve added too much flour. So like Tieghan recommended, when I make these again I will use less flour and add more maple syrup to the batter so it’s not as dry.
Hey Lana,
Awesome!! So glad to hear you enjoyed these cookies, thanks so much for making them! Also, for a flatter cookie, try tapping your baking sheet on the counter:) I hope this helps! xx
Hi! Do you think I could prep the dough the day before, toss in it in the fridge overnight, then bake the next day? Thanks – looking forward to making these 🙂
Hey Sam,
Totally, that will work well for you! I hope this recipe turns out amazing, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
The flavor is amazing BUT the texture is super cakey. Did not come out as chewy at all! How can I fix this ?
Hi Megan,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback! Sorry to hear these are cakey. Did you chill your dough at all or try tapping the baking sheet on the counter? Let me know how I can help! xx
These cookies are absolutely magical. I’m a Cookie Monster, I must admit, and so therefore I’ve tried all the cookies. 😁 This is hands down one of the best recipes I’ve ever had the good fortune to stumble across! They were rich, chewy and delicious, with the most cozy cold weather comfort vibe. No problem at all baking them at a low altitude. (Right at sea level.)
Thank you for this gem! Will make again for Christmas. 😍
Hey Josephine,
Happy Monday!! So glad to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for giving it a go! xT
Hi Tieghan,
Issues I’m experiencing at the moment. I browned all the butter but saw it might need to be only one? Also, it does not specify to use only half the pretzels in the toasting process but later says reserve half the pretzels when adding to the dough. Please clarify. I’m continuing on, I’ll post rating when I’m done. Fingers crossed ! 🙂
Hi Maureen,
Browning all of the butter is correct, where do you see that it would just be one stick? You can just use half of the roasted pretzels, that is just fine:) I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
They came out amazing! Thank you!
Hey Maureen,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it and sharing your review:) Happy Thanksgiving! 🍽
Really dry. I think reducing the amount of flour may help, but overall probably not worth the effort to try them again 🙁
Hi Steph,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, so sorry to hear these were dry for you. Was there anything you may have adjusted in the recipe? Please let me know how I can help! xx