Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies
These Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies are buttery and filled with crunchy pecans and melty chocolate. They are perfectly soft and chewy and soo good! Everything comes together simply with a handful of pantry staples using one bowl. Chocolate chip pecan cookies are easy to make ahead of time or keep a stash in the freezer so you can satisfy your sweet tooth at any time!
Love Chocolate chip cookies? Check out these Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies next!
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Recipe Ingredients
- Dry ingredients – regular all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Provides structure and a little lift.
- Butter – Use room-temperature unsalted butter. If you are using salted butter, reduce the amount of salt added to the dry ingredients so your cookies don’t turn out overly salty.
- Sugar – A mix of white granulated sugar and brown sugar gives the cookies the perfect balance of softness and chewiness.
- Chocolate – I used semi-sweet chocolate chips. Milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips would taste lovely as well! Also, try using chocolate chunks, they melt a little better, leaving pools of melty chocolate in every bite!
- Pecans – Roughly chopped. I used raw pecans but toasted will give an extra crunch and nice texture to the cookies.
- Vanilla extract – a must-have ingredient in every cookie recipe.
- Egg – Used to bind all the ingredients together. Make sure to allow it to sit at room temperature for a few minutes so it will mix with the other ingredients more easily.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies from Scratch
All ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Start by combining all the dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl, then set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and both of the sugars until light and fluffy, 3 – 5 minutes. Then add in the egg and vanilla extract. Pour in the dry ingredients mixing until just combined without any streaks of flour.
- Next, fold in the chocolate chips and chopped pecans.
- Cover the bowl and chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes. This firms up the dough and keeps the cookies from overspreading in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Using a medium cookie scoop or 2 tablespoons, scoop out and roll cookie dough into balls, place on the cookie sheet leaving about 2 inches of space all around.
- Bake for 10 – 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown and the centers are set (Don’t overcook them because they will continue to cook as they cool on the cookie sheet).
- Allow your chocolate chip pecan cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
- Serve with a glass of milk or tea. Enjoy!
Variations
- Switch up the nuts. Use walnuts instead of pecans or your favorite nut. Just make sure to use an equal amount of nuts as listed to make sure the ratios stay the same.
- Use a different chocolate. Use milk chocolate, white chocolate, or dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet chocolate. Butterscotch chips or peanut butter chips for a different flavor.
- Add in dried fruit. Dried cranberries would also taste amazing in these chocolate pecan cookies. It pairs really well with the cookie base as well as the pecans and chocolate. Make sure to reduce the amount of chocolate or nuts used if you want to include dried cranberries. Keeping the total add-ins to 1 cup.
Tips and Tricks
- How to freeze cookie dough. Make the recipe as listed up until the chilling part. Scoop out the dough and form into balls. Place on a sheet pan then freeze uncovered for 30 minutes. Transfer cookie dough into a freezer-safe bag for 1 – 2 months. When ready to bake, set the temperature to 350, and add a few extra minutes to the baking time. Freezing cookie dough will make the final cookies thicker than if they were freshly baked, but they are still delicious!
- Make ahead. If you want to make the cookie dough ahead of time, make it the night before then cover the dough in the fridge. Allow it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before shaping, rolling, and baking the cookies.
- Storing baked cookies. Baked cookies will last on the counter for up to 3 days and in the refrigerator inside an airtight container for up to 1 week. Wrap baked cookies tightly in plastic wrap and store them in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the fridge or on the counter before enjoying or even heat up in a warm oven if you prefer warm cookies!
Frequently Asked Questions —
Using 2 types of sugars especially brown sugar. The extra moisture in brown sugar gives cookies a soft and chewy texture. If you only use white sugar you’ll end up with crisp and crunchy cookies.
No not all! If you are allergic to nuts or simply want to leave them out, you can!
There was probably not enough flour in the cookie dough or the butter in the dough was too soft. Make sure to chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking to help prevent this problem!
Yes, for this recipe it is an important step. Chilling the dough will improve the texture of the cookie and it firms up the butter so that they don’t overspread in the oven. On top of that, it makes them bake more evenly and predictably. When I didn’t chill the dough some batches would come out perfect, while others would be burnt or have hard, crunchy edges with gooey middles. Chilling doesn’t take too long, about 30 minutes, just cover and pop it into the refrigerator and in no time you’ll have cookies ready to eat!
Looking For More Recipes?
Chocolate Chip Cookies with Walnuts
Brown Butter Cranberry Pecan Cookies
Rainbow Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
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Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Sheet pan lined with parchment paper
- Stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or large mixing bowl
- Medium Cookie scoop(2 tablespoons)
- Wire rack
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick butter unsalted, softened, or ½ cup
- 6 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl stir together all of the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl cream softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 – 5 minutes. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract then continue stirring until everything is well combined.
- Next, add the dry ingredients. Stir until you don’t see any more streaks of flour.
- Lastly, stir in the chocolate chips and chopped pecans.
- Cover and chill cookie dough in the fridge for 30 minutes. (Don’t skip this step it will make sure your cookies don’t overspread in the oven and give them a nice texture.)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, then line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Use a cookie scoop to form 2-tablespoon balls of cookie dough. Place balls on the prepared cookie sheet leaving about 2 inches of space in between each one.
- Bake for 10- 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown and the centers are set. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy with a cup of tea or milk!
Notes
Tips and Tricks
- How to freeze cookie dough. Make the recipe as listed up until the chilling part. Scoop out the dough and form into balls. Place on a sheet pan then freeze uncovered for 30 minutes. Transfer cookie dough into a freezer-safe bag for 1 – 2 months. When ready to bake, set the temperature to 350, and add a few extra minutes to the baking time. Freezing cookie dough will make the final cookies thicker than if they were freshly baked, but they are still delicious!
- Make ahead. If you want to make the cookie dough ahead of time, make it the night before then cover the dough in the fridge. Allow it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before shaping, rolling, and baking the cookies.
- Storing baked cookies. Baked cookies will last on the counter for up to 3 days and in the refrigerator inside an airtight container for up to 1 week. Wrap baked cookies tightly in plastic wrap and store them in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the fridge or on the counter before enjoying or even heat up in a warm oven if you prefer warm cookies!
Nutrition
All nutrition information is automatically generated and should be only used as a rough estimate. This recipe card may contain affiliate links.
