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These thick, chewy pecan chocolate chunk cookies are infused with brown butter and brown sugar for all the cozy vibes. Decorate them with extra pecans, chocolate, and flaky sea salt for over-the-top, bakery-worthy cookies everyone will love!
If you’re a pecan lover like me, this recipe is for you.
Pecans are my favorite nut, especially for fall baking, and they pair perfectly with dark chocolate.
For this recipe, I wanted to really bring out that nutty flavor so we’re using brown butter (enhanced with my secret ingredient for extra nuttiness), toasted pecans, a little almond extract, and molasses.
The molasses gives you a richer, deeper flavor and when combined, these cookies are pecan-forward with lots of big chunks of molten dark chocolate. Not overly sweet, but nicely balanced and perfectly chewy.
This recipe is adapted from my obsessively-tested brown butter chocolate chip cookie dough. It’s my base recipe for lots of other cookies since it’s so well balanced and has the perfect chewy texture!
Ingredients
Just like my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe, we’re using a specific set of ingredients.
I prefer to use melted brown butter enhanced with milk powder, which gives you way more of that nutty, toasty aroma.
We’re also going to use a mixture of vanilla and almond extracts. Just a little almond extract gives you more of that aromatic nuttiness without being too almondy, if that makes sense.
For maximum chew, we’re also going to use one egg and one yolk plus we’ll add a little molasses for extra depth. You can use dark brown sugar instead, but I never have it on hand!
For the dry ingredients, we’re going to use a base of bread flour and cornstarch. The two of these together will give you a really lovely texture with lots of chew.
A small amount of cinnamon will help play up the cozy, warm flavors without actually adding a spiced flavor. It plays in the background and just balances everything.
Add in a little kosher salt and baking soda for the rise, and lots of dark chocolate chunks and pecan pieces. I find that baking at such a high temperature allows the pecans to toast while we’re baking the cookies, so no need to bother doing that before!
How to Make Chocolate Chunk and Pecan Cookies
Step 1: In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, white sugar, and molasses and set aside. In another bowl, measure out the dry ingredients to have them ready.
Step 2: Start browning your butter. To do so, place 2 sticks (1 cup) of salted butter in a light-colored pan and heat over medium low. If using milk powder, sprinkle over the melted butter and whisk in.
Step 3: Whisk the butter often to help it cook evenly. The milk powder will make it noticeably thicker and creamier than if you make it without. Just keep stirring like normal. Continue until the toasted butter bits are deeply tan and golden.
Step 4: While still melted, measure out the brown butter. It is much more precise to use the kitchen scale to get precisely 170g. Otherwise, you can use a liquid measuring cup and measure out just slightly more than 3/4 cup.
Let the butter cool until still melted, but mostly room temperature. If you’re in a hurry, you can place the measuring cup into a bowl of cold water and stir to help reduce the temperature.
Step 5: Use a dough whisk or large spoon to mix the butter with the sugars and molasses. It will not be smooth at this point, but that is okay.
Step 6: Whisk in your vanilla extract, almond extract, and the room temperature eggs until glossy and creamy. Continue mixing until the mixture starts to visibly lighten in color.
Step 7: Then, add the dry ingredients – the bread flour, cornstarch, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, pecans, and the chocolate chunks – and mix in until just combined. Mixing everything in at once may make it seem like the mixture won’t come together, but keep going until all of the flour is fully integrated into the dough.
Step 8: Scoop or weigh out your cookie dough. For large cookies, I weigh out 4 oz portions, which I then shape into a tall tower. The narrow base will help reduce spreading and the extra height will keep the cookies nice and thick.
Press extra chocolate pieces and chopped pecans on top and add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. Place the prepped cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Step 9: Refrigerate for 1.5 – 2 hours or until the dough is completely solid. If baking later, transfer to an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To bake, line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 375F. It is best to bake in the center of the oven instead of close to the top or bottom, so you may need to adjust the position of the racks in the oven.
For large cookies, you can generally get up to 6 cookies per pan. Space evenly around the pan while leaving several inches of space between each one. For smaller cookies, I usually bake 9 at a time.
Step 10: Bake for 12-15 minutes in a fully preheated oven. The cookies may still look and feel a little soft or wet when done, but should be lightly golden brown on the edges.
Once out of the oven, allow the cookies to remain on the baking sheets to set up fully. Serve warm and enjoy!
Storing Suggestions
Once cooled to room temperature, you can store any leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. They also freeze really well, and you can even bake the dough from frozen! Just give them an extra minute or two to bake through.
Tips & Variations
- Use different types of chocolate, if you prefer! A mix of butterscotch and dark chocolate would be so good.
- It’s really important to chill the dough before baking. This helps keep the cookies super thick and chewy!
- Although I’m sharing how to make BIG cookies, you can absolutely adjust the size of the dough balls. I usually bake smaller cookies (.5 oz or 2 tbs) for 7-9 minutes.
- The cookie dough shape matters! Shaping the dough into these tall, skinny mounds keeps the cookies really thick and reduces spreading.
cozy fall flavors
The brown sugar, brown butter, and pecans instantly make this cookie a fall must-have. Want more like this? Explore all of my from scratch Fall Baking Recipes here.
More Pecan Recipes
I’m currently working on a large series of recipes featuring brown butter and more thick and chewy cookie recipes! I’ll update this section as I have more recipes available.
But if you’re into pecan, these chewy brown butter maple pecan cookies are little bites of heaven.
I also adore these flaky maple pecan scones (especially the glaze) and my maple pecan blondies always get lots of “oh my god” reactions.
If you made this recipe, please leave a comment or ask a question below! I’d love to hear what you think or troubleshoot any issues.
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Chocolate Chunk Pecan Cookies with Brown Butter
Equipment
- dough whisk recommended for hand mixing
- medium mixing bowl
- kitchen scale highly recommended
Ingredients
For the brown butter
- 3/4 cup melted browned butter, (170g); cooled but still liquid
- 2 tbsp dry milk powder, for browning; optional but highly recommended
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup light brown sugar, (205g); packed
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar, (70g)
- 1 tsp molasses, adds extra depth of flavor, but can be skipped
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 1/4 tsp almond extract, less is more
- 2 tsp vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups bread flour, (250g); spoon and level into measuring cup
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp cornstarch, (16g); for extra chewy cookies
- 1/2 tsp baking soda, (4g)
- 1 tsp kosher salt, (5g) or 1/2 tsp regular salt
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chunks, (124g); or a dark chocolate bar cut into pieces
- 1 cup chopped pecans, (100g); reserve a little bit for topping the cookies
For topping
- 2 tbs chocolate chunks, (~21g); optional
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt, optional
- 2 tbs chopped pecans, (~15g); for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, white sugar, and molasses and set aside. In another bowl, measure out the dry ingredients to have them ready.1 cup light brown sugar, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 2 cups bread flour, 2 tbsp cornstarch, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- Start browning your butter. To do so, place 2 sticks (1 cup) of salted butter in a light-colored pan and heat over medium low. If using milk powder, sprinkle over the melted butter and whisk in.3/4 cup melted browned butter, 2 tbsp dry milk powder
- Whisk the butter often to help it cook evenly. The milk powder will make it noticeably thicker and creamier than if you make it without. Just keep stirring like normal. Continue until the toasted butter bits are deeply tan and golden.
- While still melted, measure out the brown butter. It is much more precise to use the kitchen scale to get precisely 170g. Otherwise, you can use a liquid measuring cup and measure out just slightly more than 3/4 cup.Let the butter cool until still melted, but mostly room temperature. If you're in a hurry, you can place the measuring cup into a bowl of cold water and stir to help reduce the temperature.
- Use a dough whisk or large spoon to mix the butter with the sugars and molasses. It will not be smooth at this point, but that is okay.1 tsp molasses
- Whisk in your vanilla extract, almond extract, and the room temperature eggs until glossy and creamy. Continue mixing until the mixture starts to visibly lighten in color.1 large egg, 1 egg yolk, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp almond extract
- Then, add the dry ingredients – the bread flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, pecans, and the chocolate chunks – and mix in until just combined. Mixing everything in at once may make it seem like the mixture won't come together, but keep going until all of the flour is fully integrated into the dough.3/4 cup dark chocolate chunks, 1 cup chopped pecans
- Scoop or weigh out your cookie dough. For large cookies, I weigh out 4 oz portions, which I then shape into a tall tower. The narrow base will help reduce spreading and the extra height will keep the cookies nice and thick. Press extra chocolate pieces and chopped pecans on top and add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.Place the prepped cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet.2 tbs chocolate chunks, 1 tsp flaky sea salt, 2 tbs chopped pecans
- Refrigerate for 1.5 – 2 hours or until the dough is completely solid. If baking later, transfer to an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To bake, line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 375F. It is best to bake in the center of the oven instead of close to the top or bottom, so you may need to adjust the position of the racks in the oven.For large cookies, you can generally get up to 6 cookies per pan. Space evenly around the pan while leaving several inches of space between each one. For smaller cookies, I usually bake 9 at a time.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes in a fully preheated oven. The cookies may still look and feel a little soft or wet when done, but should be lightly golden brown on the edges.Once out of the oven, allow the cookies to remain on the baking sheets to set up fully. Serve warm and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Beautiful recipe. However, I’m diabetic and can’t have so many of the ingredients in this recipe. I’m not trained enough to convert it either…Some of your recipes are easily converted (like your GREAT extracts!!) but most are not. I wish I didn’t need keto recipes, so many of the bloggers I still follow (like you) aren’t, but I can’t seem to unsubscribe!
Sweeteners I can convert, but special flours I can’t. Also since nut and seed flours behave so very differently, adding in protein powders are a must plus just so many other ‘requirements’ to baking goods, and I’m not a great baker!