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–+ servings
Square image of stacked cookies on hammered metal tray.
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Butter Pecan Cookies

Sweet, crunchy and chewy these Butter Pecan Cookies are a fun Fall favorite baking recipe that is absolutely delicious, easy and super irresistible.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Chilling Time:2 hours
Total Time2 hours 25 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 34
Calories: 149kcal
Author: Tornadough Alli

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter melted
  • 1 ½ cups light brown sugar packed
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon butter extract
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • ⅓ cup decorators sugar
  • pecan halves optional

Instructions

  • In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt, set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the butter and brown sugar until smooth.
  • Add the egg, vanilla, and butter extract.
  • Whisk to combine until it is smooth.
  • Add the flour mixture to the bowl.
  • Stir it in until combined with no dry patches. This may take a few minutes.
  • Add the pecans and fold them in.
  • Line a sheet tray with parchment paper. Using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, or heaping tablespoon-sized dollops, portion the cookie dough and place them, not touching, but close together on the parchment paper. Cover and place in the refrigerator for two hours, up to overnight.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line sheet trays with parchment paper. Take the cookie dough balls and roll them between your hands to form a smooth ball, they will be hard at first but will soften up. Roll them in the decorators sugar and place them on the sheet trays 2 inches apart.
  • Gently press the pecan halves on to the tops of the cookies, if using.
  • Bake for 9-10 minutes until the cookies are puffed, the tops are not shiny, and they are slightly browned.
  • Let them cool on the sheet tray for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

  1. Chop your pecans as large or small as you would like.
  2. You can press a pecan into the top of the cookies before baking if you'd like, this is optional.
  3. If you can't find decorators sugar these can be rolled in regular granulated sugar.
  4. These can be frozen, see my tips above on how to do that.
  5. Make sure you chill the dough at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
  6. This makes a larger batch but you can double or halve it to serve less or more people or freeze for later.
  7. The dough is stiff so folding the pecans in can be hard, try your best, these will rolled after chilling so that is when you can really get the pecans mixed in.

Nutrition

Calories: 149kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 72mg | Potassium: 45mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 135IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg