Crisp and Chewy Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

4.88 from 8 votes

Crisp and Chewy Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Elevate your chocolate chip cookie game with this Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookie recipe. Brown butter adds a rich, nutty twist to the classic dough. Once baked these cookies boast crisp edges that give way to melt-in-your-mouth, chewy centers, all bursting with rich chocolate chunks and crunchy pecans.

Prep Time30

Cook Time35

Chilling Time1

Total Time1 1 5

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: cookies

Calories: 186kcal

Author: Cheryl Norris

Equipment

Ingredients

9 tablespoons (127 grams) unsalted butter divided
1-1/4 cups (150 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup (100 grams) dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons (41 grams) corn syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large (50 grams) egg
7 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate bars cut into chunks divided
3/4 cup (86 grams) toasted pecans roughly chopped

Instructions

Make the Brown Butter

Place 8 tablespoons (113 grams) of butter, cut into 8 pieces in a saucepan. Use a light-colored saucepan so you can see the milk solids as they brown. Place the saucepan over high heat. As soon as the butter starts to melt, reduce the heat to low. The heat is reduced to low to minimize evaporation and reduce the chance that you will burn the butter.
As the butter melts, it will pop, and sizzle, and the milk solids will begin to separate from the butter fat. Initially, the milk solids will sit on top of the butter fat. As the butter continues to cook, the milk solids will drop to the bottom of the pan and turn brown.
Once the amount of milk solid foam begins to lessen start to look for brown pieces on the bottom of the pan. Occasionally stir it so you can clearly see the bottom of the pan.
The butter will change to a golden brown and the milk solids on the bottom of the pan will be brown. Watch the color of the milk solids - they should be a dark golden brown or russet color. If they are black, then you have burnt the butter and will need to start over. Don't use the burnt butter, it will give the cookies a bitter taste.
Once the butter reaches the right color remove the pan from the heat and stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter. Scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen the brown bits and pour the brown butter into a large mixing bowl. Cool the butter until it is about 85-90°F.

Make the Cookie Dough

While the butter is cooling measure the flour into a medium-sized bowl. Add the baking soda and the salt and whisk the ingredients together for 30 seconds.
Once the butter has cooled, add the brown sugar, the granulated sugar, corn syrup, and the vanilla extract. Whisk the ingredients together for about 1 minute. Add the egg and whisk until the egg is incorporated and the dough becomes a very light brown and looks smooth. Let the batter sit for about 5 minutes, then whisk it again.
Add the flour mixture and fold it into the dough with a spatula. Next add 2/3 (5 ounces) of the chocolate chunks and all of the pecans. Fold them into the dough.
Place the dough into a smaller container covered with plastic wrap or a lid and chill for 24 hours. If you want to make the cookies sooner, let the dough chill for at least 2 hours before baking to solidify the butter.

Baking the Cookies

Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you’re ready to start baking.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If you only have 1 baking sheet let it completely cool before baking the next batch of cookies.
Use a #40 cookie scoop to portion the dough into 1 ounce portions, about 2 tablespoons. Place about 8 scoops on a cookie sheet in a 2-1-2-1 pattern. This will give the cookies enough room to spread without running into each other.
Place 2 or 3 pieces of reserved pieces of chopped chocolate on top of each ball of cookie dough.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until the edges are browned and the center is still looks pale and slightly underdone.
Remove the cookies from the oven. If the cookies have spread into wonky shapes and you want perfectly round cookies, as soon as the cookies come out of the oven place a large round cookie cutter around each cookie and mold the edges of the cookie from uneven to perfectly round, using a swirling motion.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack and let them cool completely.

Storing the Cookies

Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. The addition of the corn syrup helps the cookies to stay softer for longer.

Notes

Weighing Ingredients: Use a kitchen scale to weigh the flour and unsalted butter for the best and most consistent results. Too much flour and the cookies will be a little dry. Too little flour and the cookies will spread too much.

Chilling the Dough: Chilling the dough for 24 hours produces the best flavor, however if you're short on time, you can chill the dough for a minimum of 2 hours. Read the blog most for more information on retrogradation and how refrigeration makes the cookies taste better.

Corn Syrup: The corn syrup helps keep the cookies soft for a few days longer than they would with the corn syrup. The corn syrup can be left out if you don't have it. The cookies won't stay as soft as long but they will still taste great.

Nutrition