Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Enjoying a batch of these brown butter chocolate chip pecan cookies is the ultimate indulgence. What truly sets these cookies apart is the use of browned butter, an incredibly simple way to elevate any recipe - it gives the cookies this ultra-rich, caramelized flavor that meshes beautifully with the nutty pecans and gooey, melty chocolate. They're so easy to make, and utterly irresistible!

For more fall cookie recipes, try Soft Brown Butter Molasses Cookies, Fudgy Mocha Brownie Cookies, Brown Butter Milk Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies, and Soft Double Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Why you'll love these brown butter chocolate chip pecan cookies

• Deep Brown Butter Flavor: Browning the butter truly elevates the taste of these cookies. Paired with melty chocolate and nutty pecans, you get a super rich flavor with every bite.
• Soft & Thick Texture: No thin and crispy cookies here! This recipe makes the perfect thick cookies that stay super soft, especially when eaten warm from the oven.
• Great Make Ahead Recipe: This cookie dough can be made weeks in advance - just make the dough, pop it in the freezer, and bake off cookies as needed!

Ingredient Notes

• Chocolate: Use a high quality milk chocolate for a unique flavor profile. Alternatively, you can use semi-sweet chocolate chips, or even dark chocolate chips.
• Pecans: Roughly chop your pecans and save some for topping if desired.
• Sugars: You'll need both granulated sugar and either dark or light brown sugars.
• Unsalted Butter: Use high quality European-style butter for best overall flavor.
• Flour: Use high quality unbleached all-purpose flour best results.
• Eggs: Bring your egg to room temperature quickly by placing it in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
• Vanilla: Add a high quality vanilla extract for optimal flavor.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this brown butter pecan chocolate chip cookie recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Brown the butter. Brown your butter over the stovetop, weigh out to 170g, and then place in the freezer to solidify slightly until it's smooth and soft.

STEP 2: Mix dry ingredients. In a medium or large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and one teaspoon salt. Set aside.

STEP 3: Cream butter and sugars. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the solidified brown butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes until light & fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla until fully combined

STEP 4: Mix in dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until mostly combined.

STEP 5: Fold. Lastly, use a rubber spatula to fold in the dark chocolate chunks and chopped pecans.

STEP 6: Scoop, chill, and bake. Scoop the dough out onto a baking tray and chill in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. After chilling, bake the cookies for about 8 minutes until golden brown and chewy. Rest on a cooling rack for a few minutes before serving.

Expert Baking Tips

• A note on browning butter... Start with a few extra tablespoons of unsalted butter, since water evaporates as it browns. Also, keep in mind that European-style butter has less water content, so if you're using American-style butter you might want to start with even more butter.
• Use a cookie scoop. Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough into equally sized cookies!
• Chill the portioned cookie dough. To ensure the flour absorbs the brown butter properly and the cookies bake up thick, don't skip the chill time!
• Scoot the cookies. Immediately after the cookies come out of the oven, use a large round cookie cutter or glass to scoot the edges and form a perfectly round cookie.

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x