Butter Pecan Cookies

With Mother’s Day one week away, it only seems fit to share the recipe for these butter pecan cookies. Butter pecan is my mom’s favorite ice cream flavor. She’s ordered that flavor ever since I can remember. While I tend to stick to cookies ‘n’ cream, I have to wholeheartedly admit that butter pecan is such an underrated flavor. I always steal a lick from Mom’s scoop and greedily ask for more. These butter pecan cookies taste just like the ice cream flavor, so if you love that, then you’ll love these cookies! 

What gives these cookies their signature taste is of course butter, and more importantly, toasted pecans. I stress the word toasted since you wouldn’t get that delicious, nutty taste without toasting the pecans first. When you’re creating the dough for these beauties, you might be thinking that it’s way too sticky and moist, and you’d be right. This isn’t the kind of dough that pulls away from the sides of your mixer’s bowl. Instead, freeze the dough for 20 minutes (or, even better, refrigerate overnight for flavors to develop more) before you attempt to scoop and roll the dough into balls to bake.  You end up with perfectly chewy, soft-center cookies that are full of the butter pecan flavor so many of us know and love!

Butter Pecan Cookies

Print

Ingredients

• 3/4 c chopped pecans
• 1/2 c unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/4 c granulated sugar
• 1/2 c packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Toast your pecans in a pan over medium heat, moving the pan back and forth every few minutes, until the pecans have darkened in color and obtain a definite crunch (about 5 minutes). Set aside to cool.
2. Beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add in the sugar and cream together until light in color and fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla extract, then mix again to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt together. Add to the wet ingredients and mix until everything is combined. Dough will look very sticky and will NOT pull away from the sides of the bowl. Instead, use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Add in the chopped pecans and use your spatula to stir them into the dough. Freeze the dough for 20 minutes, or refrigerate for a few hours if possible for greater flavor.
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Scoop a tablespoon of dough, per cookie, and roll into a ball before placing on baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, then let them rest on the baking sheet for another 3 to 4 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

Allowing the cookie dough to refrigerate for a longer time (rather than quick freezing) will allow the flavors to develop more, so if you can, refrigerate the dough overnight for best results.