Brown Butter Pecan Cookies - Simple Everyday Recipes (2024)

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These brown butter pecan cookies have soft centers, slightly crispy edges and a nutty flavor from the brown butter. There's no doubt that these will be a hit with your family!

Today's brown butter pecan cookies are delicious in their own way— an unforgettable cookie to those who try it. We're combining brown butter with brown sugar and pecans to create an extremely flavor packed cookie. Move over room temperature butter, brown butter is coming though!

These Brown Butter Pecan Cookies Are:

• Perfection
• Slightly crisp on the edges
• Soft and chewy on the inside
• Studded with pecan pieces throughout
• Flavored with brown butter

Behind The Recipe

Butter is where most cookie recipes begin so that's where I started. I tested this recipe more times that I could count— they kept drying out or spreading too much. I started with my chocolate chip cookies as the based but replaced the softened butter with equal parts brown butter. Definitely not a winner— in the trash they went. Back to the drawing board I went. I increased the amount of butter, adjusted the sugar ratio, and added 2 eggs (rather than that additional egg yolk), and it seemed that I was on the right track. They spread a bit too much for my liking and was increasingly getting frustrated.

Finally, I added a bit more flour hoping this would balance it out. JACKPOT! We have a winner!

Ingredients You Need & Why

• Flour: As for most cookies, flour is the base of today's cookie recipe. We're using all-purpose flour.
• Eggs: You need 2 room temperature eggs for this recipe. The eggs help provide structure. I use Eggland's Best for the absolute best quality for baking.
• Butter: We need 1.5 cups of unsalted butter— that's 3 sticks of butter. It may seem like a lot when browning butter, it loses moisture.
• Brown Sugar: Like my chocolate chip cookies I use brown sugar to help sweeten them with a hint of molasses flavor and it helps keep them chewy.
• Granulated Sugar: Like brown sugar, granulated sugar helps sweeten the cookie.
• Baking Soda: This helps give the cookies a lift.
• Cornstarch: Adding a little bit of cornstarch helps give the cookies a nice chew.
• Vanilla Extract: Adds flavor.
• Salt: We’ll add regular table salt to balance out the sweetness.
• Pecans: Slightly toasting the pecans gives these cookies maximum flavor. It truly makes a HUGE difference.

These Brown Butter Pecan Cookies Require Chilling

You'll notice that this cookie dough is softer and a bit sticky. And we all know what's best for soft and sticky cookie dough— chilling it. Chilling the cookie dough will ensure that you don't get a flat puddle of cookies on your baking sheet. I know, chilling cookies is a bit annoying but trust me. Chilling this dough also allows the flavors develop even more. The results of chilling this cookie dough are worth the wait.

How To Make Brown Butter Pecan Cookies

Prior to starting the brown butter pecan cookies, allow the brown butter to cool and come to room temperature. I have anentire postdedicated to teaching you how to brown butter.

1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium speed until combined and creamy— about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
2. Add the eggs and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in about ¼ cup increments (for less mess) until just combined. The cookie dough will be thick and sticky.
3. With the mixture on low, beat in the chopped pecans. Cover the cookie dough and chill for 30 minutes or up to 3 days.
4. If the cookie dough was chilled longer than an hour, allow it to sit at room temperature for 10-11 minutes prior to baking. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
5. Gently roll balls of dough, 2 Tablespoons of dough each, into ballswithout compacting them. I find that using a cookie scoop works best—here's the oneI own and LOVE. Bake for 11 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. The cookies will look soft. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Brown Butter Pecan Cookies Success Tips

1. Read the Recipe: Make sure that you read this recipe completely through before starting. Though this isn't anything new, that should be done with any recipe you follow.
2. Chill the Brown Butter: The brown butter will be HOT. Make sure you let the brown butter chill in the refrigerator until it becomes a room temperature consistency. This is a must or you will have a cookie fail!
3. Chill the Cookie Dough: I know I just mentioned this and it's tempting to skip this step, but don't! You will end up with a cookie puddle otherwise! This recipe requires at least 30 minutes to chill.
4. Don't Pack the Cookie Dough: When placing the dough in a bowl for the refrigerator or making cookie dough balls, don't pack the dough. You want to be gentle and keep air within the dough.

THIS is your new brown butter addiction!

More Cookie Recipes To Try

If you love brown butter pecan cookies, then you'll love these other recipes!

• Old-Fashioned Iced Oatmeal Cookies
• Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Soft-Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies

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