Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

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5 from 23 votes
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My chocolate chip pecan cookies are crisp around the edges, soft in the middle, and studded with chocolate and pecans! There’s no flour needed, and they bake in 12 minutes!

Looking for more creative cookie recipes? Try my cookie butter cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and marshmallow cookies next.

chocolate chip cookies with pecans and flaky sea salt.

How do you elevate the classic chocolate chip cookie? Add pecans. 

The combination of half-melted chocolate chips and crunchy pecans is a texture lover’s dream, and my flourless cookie base makes for rich and chewy cookies with the perfect crumb. 

Table of Contents
  1. Why I love this recipe
  2. Ingredients needed
  3. How to make pecan chocolate chip cookies
  4. Arman’s recipe tips
  5. Storage instructions
  6. Frequently asked questions
  7. More chocolate chip cookie recipes
  8. Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies (Recipe Card)

Why I love this recipe

  • Baked in 12 minutes. And even the chill time for the cookie dough is completely optional. 
  • Flourless. And no all-purpose flour means they’re naturally gluten-free!
  • Fun to customize. Swap the chocolate chips or the nuts to totally transform the flavor. 
  • Made with 6 ingredients. And most of them are everyday baking staples. 
  • Soft, chewy, and dense. Using pecan butter instead of flour gives these cookies a far richer texture and flavor–totally unlike most cookie recipes!

Ingredients needed

  • Pecan butter. Look for drippy pecan butter with no added sugar or salt. 
  • Brown sugar. For moisture and sweetness. Use dark brown sugar for a very strong molasses flavor or light brown sugar for minimal molasses. 
  • Large eggs. I always suggest using room temperature eggs. If yours aren’t, gently place them in a bowl of lukewarm water for 5 minutes before using. 
  • Baking soda. A leavening agent that gives the cookies stability.
  • Chocolate chips. I prefer the combination of dark chocolate chips and pecans, but you can use milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips. 
  • Pecans. Raw pecans or salted pecans. Use the latter if you like the sweet and salty combination.

How to make pecan chocolate chip cookies

I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Step 1- Prep. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Step 2- Mix. In a large bowl, add the pecan butter, egg, brown sugar, and baking soda and mix well. Whisk in the pecans and chocolate chips.

chocolate chip pecan cookie dough.

Step 3- Chill. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes.

Step 4- Shape. Using a cookie scoop, scoop 12 portions of cookie dough balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Press down on each one into a cookie shape. 

pecan cookie dough balls on a tray.

Step 5- Bake. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are mostly firm. Remove them from the oven and let them cool on a cooling rack. 

chocolate chip pecan cookies.

Arman’s recipe tips

  • Use a stand mixer. Shape the cookie dough using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer to reduce the total time. 
  • Skip the chill time. Usually I strongly recommend chilling the cookie dough, but in this case, it’s optional. Chilling the dough keeps the cookies from overspreading and keeps them plump. 
  • Shape the cookies. Since there’s no flour, these cookies aren’t going to flatten much as they bake, so whatever shape you bake them in is how they’ll look when they’re out of the oven.

Variations

  • Swap the pecan butter. Use any type of nut butter, like almond butter or peanut butter. 
  • Enhance the flavor. Add one teaspoon of vanilla extract or top the cookies with flaky sea salt. 

Storage instructions

To store: Leftover cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days or in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. 

To freeze:  Place the cooled cookies in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for up to six months. 

pecan chocolate chip cookies.

Frequently asked questions

Can I freeze the dough?

I don’t recommend freezing cookie doughs that don’t have flour in them. This is because once thawed, the cookie dough becomes dry and crumbly and won’t shape into a uniform dough.

chocolate chip pecan cookies recipe.

Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

5 from 23 votes
My chocolate chip pecan cookies are crisp around the edges, soft in the middle, and studded with chocolate and pecans! There’s no flour needed, and they bake in 12 minutes!
Servings: 12 servings
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 12 minutes
Total: 17 minutes

Ingredients  

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a mixing bowl, add the pecan butter, egg, brown sugar, and baking soda, and mix well. Fold through the pecan and chocolate chips.
  • Cover the bowl and refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
  • Scoop out 12 portions of cookie dough and place them on the lined sheet. Press down on each ball of cookie dough into a cookie shape.
  • Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are mostly firm.
  • Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool completely.

Notes

Swap out the pecan butter for either peanut butter or almond butter. 
TO STORE: Leftover cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days or in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. 
TO FREEZE:  Place the cooled cookies in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for up to six months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 181kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 5gFat: 11gSodium: 193mgPotassium: 143mgFiber: 1gVitamin A: 23IUCalcium: 23mgIron: 1mgNET CARBS: 16g
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Arman Liew
Tried this recipe?Give us a shout at @thebigmansworld or tag #thebigmansworld!

Originally published June 2022, updated and republished July 2024

Arman Liew

I’m a two time cookbook author, photographer, and writer, and passionate about creating easy and healthier recipes. I believe you don’t need to be experienced in the kitchen to make good food using simple ingredients that most importantly, taste delicious.

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Comments

  1. Do you how to make the pecan butter or almon as I have a lot of these raw nuts, Or to make almon milk then I wouldn’t have to by the milk.

  2. Hey Arman,

    You’re in Australia, right? Could you please tell me where I could find some caramel chips down under? These look delish!

    1. Hey Helena! YES! Unfortunately, I brought those back from America! I have a no bake cookie recipe to share soon which taste better than this :p

      1. Ahhh, that’s the smart thang when travelling!…I’ll await your next recipe with bated breath! 😛

  3. these sounds delicious! Love Pecans in cookies. Also love that you have added coconut oil and chia seeds, another 2 favourites of mine. Over here in the UK there is a difference between vanilla essence and vanilla extract, extract is better, I make my own! 🙂

  4. As everyone mentioned – awesome pics Arman!!! BUT – come on – shouldn’t you tag me in your posts for cookies so I don’t miss them since I am crazy busy right now! 🙂 I can give you my mailing address too! 🙂 I LOVE PECANS!!!!!! I don’t keep all these ingredients in the house so will have to think bout whether I should buy… 🙂 Can I just grind up outs to make oat flour or do I have to buy… I just have oats & oat bran in my house. I have to google vanilla essence – clueless! 🙂

  5. Someone’s been practicing with the cameraaaaa! 😀 The pictures look great, mister! And what’s this about caramel chips? Are those like butterscotch chips? And if now, where am I supposed to find them?! I’ve kind of been cheating on chocolate with butterscotch lately. I’m not sorry.

  6. My breakfasts usually consist of a smoothie and breakfast muffin but I definitely will be having to change this and add your breakfast cookies to my morning meal. They look great!

  7. You’ve done it again! These look gorgeous (and yummy!) You are the Willie Wonka of the breakfast goodie world. I am all for single serve recipes. I rarely bake, in part because I don’t want an entire batch of anything. Hope your weekend is splendid!

  8. Oh yumm. I definitely am a fan of caramel, so these…..send them.
    And yup, crisp factor totally is a thing!! Actually pretty much the most important one when it comes to cookie or pizza crust.
    Totally solo here! Single serving stuff, yes please. I am still waiting for a bounty creation of yours.

    1. OH PIZZA CRUST.

      Remind me to take you to this place which makes the BEST crust. Seriously. We just eat crust.

      Bounty to come. Promise.

  9. ahhh I want to eat cookies for breakfast! And look at you getting all fancy with your photography – looking awesome buddy!

    1. Thank you Samantha K. (There was a girl in my highschool called Samantha K. She was actually a twat- you’re the cool Samantha K).

  10. Love this Arman! I want more!
    I always think about making cookies but I just don’t want to deal with a whole batch. You’re perfect.

  11. I’m super excited about how delish these sound but I’m even more pumped about how amazing they LOOK. Your pics are looking so bomb, you stunna you!

  12. I’m always good with anything to do with cookies for breakfast! These sound fabulous, and yes, I love single serve recipes, so keep them coming!

  13. Errrrr who be taking your pics bro….looking phenomenal!! Now time to go back and re-read your recipe….I was too mesmerised by the photos!!

  14. These look soo yummy! LOL- “Let them cool and see their ‘crisp’ factor (Yes, it’s a thing. Deal with it).” it is TOTALLY a thing!! in my house we used to take the cookies out of the oven slightly raw bc they continued to cook on the tray. it’s science. but then we started taking them out REALLY early and were essentially eating warm dough. 😀

    1. That is epic brainwork there, buddy.

      Confession- I’m thinking of posting a recipe for overbaked cookies broken up and calling it granola. Hey hey hey.

  15. admittedly I didn’t read the post. Too busy looking at your pictures! I feel a #transformationtuesday coming on! Night Munt Bucket.

  16. Great pictures! It looks like you’ve really changed your photography technique lately. 🙂

    Also, yum. Minus the pecans. I would just replace them with more caramel chips haha.

  17. Ooh these look like they would have a good ‘snap’ when you break them! Yummers!

    Would totally put chopped dates in instead of caramel chips – they would go ooey and goey like caramel too! Mmmm dates!

  18. I think I need more Caramel in my life. Also probably more cookies. I actually can’t remember the last time I had a cookie. Or gelato either for that matter. I need to get on this. It’s like I don’t even know myself anymore.

    P.S. Great pics.

      1. I’m looking forward to it. In the meantime, I went out and got some gelato because duh, gelato.

  19. Ummmm…..GORGEOUS photos!!! Seriously, bravo my friend. These pictures look so good I could eat THEM 🙂

  20. I never thought about adding chia to a cookie batter. Very interesting. How does that work? Is the chia still like a seed or is it thickening the dough? What’s the red in the pictured cookie? Did you add any berries?
    Btw I love your photos even more recently! Great job!

    1. Ohhh I should mention- be really careful with the chia seeds- I kinda dropped them on top for the outside not really much in the batter!

      The red is some of the hardened caramel sauce 🙂 Thank you kind chicken!

  21. I’ve always been scared to put chia seeds into baked goods, thinking they might absorb too much liquid too fast. I’m interested to hear if you had any similar issues! If not, awesome, because I love throwing chia seeds into everything 🙂 usually I just throw millet in there if I want something seedy/crunchy but want to be safe. Caramel is one of the most underrated flavors, too. Yum!

  22. Again with the ‘make-me-want-to-eat-my-screen’ pics. Also, my mother would flip if I ate cookies for breakfast (even if they’re called breakfast cookies). I’m gonna make a batch, skype her, and eat them all while she watches. Thanks for giving me this opportunity haha

  23. 1. I can see the benefits and interest in the single serve concept. 2. You said “epic bloody fail” and that makes me smile. 3. What makes me smile more is when someone gets you to say “grinds my gears.” 4. Totally impressed with your photography skills these days.

  24. Stop with the cookies! You are NOT welcome! I am trying to get ready for chicago here, I want to destroy my PR, and here you keep giving me tempting cookies….and not just any old cookies, BREAKFAST COOKIES!!!! My sweet tooth is going nuts…..must keep it together for 2.5 more weeks!!!!