Brown Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies (Soft & Chewy)

These brown butter pecan chocolate chip cookies are buttery, chewy, and filled with toasted pecans and gooey chocolate. They’re that perfect in-between cookie, not thin and crispy, not thick and cakey, just soft, chewy, and golden around the edges.

No chilling. No waiting. Just brown, mix, and bake.

Since you are here, I know you will also love these walnut chocolate chip cookies, this small batch chocoalte chip cookie recipe as well as these brown butter candied pecan blondies.

Why you need to make this recipe!

• They use brown butter making the extra nutty and with all that added depth of flavor how can you say no!
• This recipe gives you a few options for a no-chill cookie, a quick-chill cookie, or a long-chill cookie!
• They are soft in the center, chewy, and crunchy outside.

Ingredients for these brown butter pecan cookies

Here are the ingredients you will need to make this cookie recipe at home. Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full detailed ingredient measurements.

• Brown Butter– Brings depth and a toffee-like aroma. Stop cooking when it turns golden, not dark brown, and cool it to about 70°F (soft and creamy, not firm).
• Flour – The most important part! Weigh it, or spoon and level lightly. Extra flour yields thick cookies that don’t spread.
• Brown and granulated sugar– This recipe uses a mixture of brown and white sugar for the perfect molasses flavor and texture. You can use dark brown sugar or light brown sugar depending on preference.
• Eggs – The egg is used to bind the cookie dough as well as make it chewier.
• Vanilla extract – The vanilla extract will add a little depth of flavor to these.
• Corn Syrup (optional)– Just a teaspoon or two keeps the cookies soft and chewy for days and adds a glossy bakery finish.
• Baking soda– This will give our cookies a little height.
• Salt – Always add a little salt to your baked goods for a balanced flavor if the butter doesn’t already have salt.
• Semi sweet, dark chocolate chips, or milk chocolate chips – When it comes to cookies that have chocolate chips in them always try to get the best quality chocolate chips! Even if it’s the only amazing ingredient you spend a little more on, I highly suggest you get something a little more expensive to get that delicious rich chocolate flavor.
• Sea salt for topping– Adding sea salt on top of cookies will help add extra depth of flavor and balance out the sweetness of the cookies.
• Crunchy pecans– Mixing in chopped pecans in these chocolate chip cookies is what will take them to a whole new level.

How to make the best brown butter pecan chocolate chip cookies.

This is how you can make these. Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full detailed instructions!

1. Brown the butter – Melt and cook until golden and nutty. Let cool 15–20 min to ~70°F, then chill briefly until creamy.
2. Mix wet ingredients – Cream cooled butter with both sugars. Add egg and vanilla.
3. Add dry ingredients – Fold in flour, baking soda, and salt until just combined.

4. Add mix-ins – Stir in pecans and chocolate chips.
5. Scoop & bake – Use a ¼-cup scoop, bake at 350°F for 9–10 min, until edges are golden and centers look slightly glossy.
6. Cool & enjoy – Let sit 10 minutes before transferring to a rack.

You can use a stand mixer or a hand mixer/ electric mixer for this recipe.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using dark baking sheets: They absorb more heat, setting the edges before the center spreads.
• Adding too much flour: The number-one reason cookies bake up thick and dense.
• Over-browning the butter: Burning the brown butter will make your cookies taste burnt, so keep a close eye on it!
• Overmixing the dough: Stir just until combined after adding the flour. Overmixing builds gluten and makes cookies tough.

How to Make Perfect Brown Butter

Melt butter over medium heat. Once it foams, stir until golden and nutty-smelling. Immediately transfer to a heatproof bowl, don’t cool it in the pan, or it’ll burn from residual heat.

Let cool 15–20 minutes until about 70°F (just warm to the touch), then chill 5–10 minutes until thick and creamy, think rich eye-cream texture.

Frequently asked questions – FAQ

5 from 25 votes

Brown butter pecan chocolate chip cookies

These brown butter pecan chocolate chip cookies are some of the best nutty chocolate chip cookies you'll ever make. Soft, chewy, and oh so delicious!

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total: 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 10 large cookies

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Equipment

stand mixer or hand mixer

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Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 10 Tbsp unsalted butter
• ▢ ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 tsp light corn syrup optional for extra chew and shine
• ▢ 1 large egg room temperature
• ▢ 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour see note for variation
• ▢ ½ tsp baking soda
• ▢ ½ tsp salt
• ▢ ⅔ cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
• ▢ ½ cup toasted pecans chopped

Instructions 

Brown the butter

• In a light-colored saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, stirring often. After 4–5 minutes, it will foam and turn golden with brown bits forming on the bottom.
  10 Tbsp unsalted butter
• Immediately remove from heat once it smells nutty. You should end up with about 115–120 g browned butter (a little over 1/2 cup of melted brown butter).
• Cool the butter for 15–20 minutes at room temperature, then chill 5–10 minutes. It should be soft and creamy, like the texture of your favorite eye cream. (not melted, not firm. about 72F)
• In a large bowl, whisk together the cooled browned butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and corn syrup (if using) until smooth and glossy, about 1 minute.
  ½ cup packed light brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 2 tsp light corn syrup
• Add the egg and vanilla, and whisk again until fully combined.
  1 large egg, 2 tsp vanilla extract
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
  1⅓ cups all-purpose flour, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt
• Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and fold until just combined. Do not overmix.
• Stir in the chocolate chips and toasted pecans until evenly distributed.
  ⅔ cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, ½ cup toasted pecans
• Scoop ¼ cup (about 60 g) portions of dough and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing 3 inches apart.
• Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers look slightly underdone.
• Tap the pan once after removing from the oven to help flatten them slightly and create that chewy, rippled look.
• Let cookies cool on the tray for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. They’ll set up with crisp edges, gooey centers, and that perfect mid-thick texture.

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Notes

Baker’s Notes Flour Accuracy:

Weigh your flour (170 g) for best results. Even 10–15 g extra can stop these cookies from spreading. Texture Options:

• Use 1⅓ cups (170 g) for a mid-thick, chewy cookie with structure and height.
• Use 1¼ cups (155 g) for a slightly thinner, glossier cookie that spreads a little more.

Brown Butter Tip: Stop browning when the butter is golden and smells nutty, not dark brown. If you lose too much liquid, add 1 teaspoon water back in.

Corn Syrup Tip: Optional, but 1–2 teaspoons helps cookies stay softer longer and adds a glossy, bakery-style chew.

No chill required. Bake right after mixing for the perfect amount of spread and chew.

If You Liked the Original Version (2023)

Here’s the original brown butter pecan chocolate chip cookie recipe that was previously published:

• Ingredients:
  ½ cup (113 g) butter, ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar, ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, 1 egg, 2 tsp vanilla, 1 cup + 2 Tbsp (140 g) flour, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt, ⅔ cup (110 g) chocolate chips, ½ cup (60 g) toasted pecans.
  Instructions:
  1. Brown butter over medium heat until golden and nutty, then chill 1 hour until solid.
  2. Cream chilled butter with sugars for 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla.
  3. Mix in dry ingredients just until combined, then fold in chocolate chips and pecans.
  4. Scoop ¼ cup dough balls.
     • Bake right away at 375°F for 9–10 min (thin, gooey cookies),
     • Freeze 20 min, then bake 11–12 min (chewy cookies), or
     • Chill 2+ hrs, then bake 15 min at 350°F (thicker cookies).
     • These chill & bake time had slight issues because a lot of people over measured their flour and ended up with a mounded cookie. Use a kitchen scale for best results!
  5. Cool on tray 10 min before transferring to a rack.
  Note:
  This version makes thicker, richer cookies with deeper brown butter flavor and a soft, chewy center.

Nutrition

Calories: 340Calories | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 185mg | Potassium: 132mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 382IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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