Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies (video)

These chocolate chip pecan cookies are my favorite twist on the classic chocolate chip cookies. Some people like their chocolate chip cookies chewy, some like them crunchy – for me these cookies have the best of both worlds – crunchy thin edges and chewy, soft centers. They are studded with milk and bittersweet chocolate and pecans. They’re so good!

Ingredients

• Sugar: I used half light brown sugar and half white sugar. White sugar makes the cookies spread more and brown sugar makes them more chewy and thick (you can read more on this subject in this article from Serious Eats: Cookie Science: The Real Differences Between Brown and White Sugars). You can’t just swap one sugar type for the other without changing the consistency of the cookies.
• Chocolate: you can use either chocolate chips of chocolate bars. I prefer using baking chocolate bars over regular chocolate – it doesn´t melt and spread all over the cookies that easily. I prefer to use chopped chocolate rather than chocolate chips.
• Remember to use the best-quality chocolate you can get – your cookies will taste even better.
• The recipe calls for using milk chocolate and bittersweet chocolate – this is important! If using just milk chocolate, the cookies will be too sweet, and if using just bittersweet chocolate I feel they are missing something. I really recommend using both types of chocolate in this recipe! I really like the sweetness and smooth milky flavor of the milk chocolate and the rich and more bitter flavor of the bittersweet chocolate.
• Butter: use softened unsalted butter (European, 82% fat butter is best).
• Flour: I used regular AP flour.
• Nuts: I used pecans because they are my favorite nuts but feel free to use any other nuts that you like – for example hazelnuts and walnuts would work well.
• Salt: without it, the cookies will taste flat. Salt intensifies the sweetness of the cookies.

Step by step instructions

Start with preparing all the ingredients. The most important is to measure the flour correctly – if you pack it differently in your measuring cup than I did, you can get totally different cookies. Use a scale for best and consistent results.

How to measure flour: if you will use a kitchen scale to measure out all the ingredients, it all goes easy breezy! But if you’re using measuring cups, remember that 1 cup of flour can weigh 120-150g, depending on how you’re filling your cup. Don’t scoop the flour directly into the measuring cup, which can compact it! 1 cup of flour in my recipes weighs 125g. To correctly measure the flour, you need to:

1. Fluff the flour by stirring it in the bag/flour container with a spoon.
2. Spoon the flour and sprinkle it into your measuring cup.
3. Sweep off the excess flour with the back of a knife.

STEP 1: Add the soft butter and both types of sugar into the mixing bowl.

STEP 2: Mix at medium-low speed for about 2-3 minutes until light, fluffy, and well-combined. You can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle-shaped attachment.

STEP 3: Now add the egg and vanilla extract.

STEP 4: Mix at medium-low speed for 2-3 minutes until well combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl from time to time with a spatula.

STEP 5: Sift in the flour, baking soda, and salt.

STEP 6: Mix until the flour is half combined with the other ingredients.

STEP 7: Add about 3/4 of the chocolate chips (or roughly chopped chocolate) and roughly chopped pecans to the bowl.

STEP 8: Mix until the chocolate and pecans are evenly distributed and all the ingredients are combined. Reserve the remaining nuts and chocolate to put on top of the cookie dough balls.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap, make an indentation in the center so that the dough can chill more evenly (this is shown on the video). Place the bowl in the fridge for 30 minutes.

You can also bake the cookies right away but I prefer to chill the dough – the cookies will be slightly thicker.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

STEP 9: Scoop the dough with a 3-tablespoons-ice cream scoop onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (for best results – every dough ball should weigh about 40g/1.4oz).

The dough balls should be spaced about 2 inches (5 cm) apart.

Place 2-3 pieces of the remaining nuts and chocolate chips/chunks on top of of the cookie balls. Don´t flatten the dough. NOTE: this is not shown on these prep photos but it´s shown in the video!

Put the dough with the remaining dough in the fridge while the first batch of cookies is baking.

STEP 10: Bake in batches for about 12 minutes if you’re baking the cookies straight away or for 13 minutes if the cookie dough has been in the fridge for 30 minutes. The cookies are done when their edges are lightly golden. The cookies will be completely soft.

Take the baking tray out of the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet (they will continue baking on the baking sheet). When they are holding their shape transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

How to store cookie dough

How to store chocolate chip cookie dough? It needs to be stored in the refrigerator. Store it in a tightly-closed container or in a bowl wrapped with plastic foil.

How long is it safe to keep raw cookie dough in the fridge? Store it for up to 2-4 days (according to the USDA).

I tried to bake the cookies with a dough that has been stored in the fridge for 24 hours and they turned out amazing. The dough will be more thick so after you form balls with your hands, flatten the balls a little bit and bake them the same as described in the recipe.

Storing chocolate chip pecan cookies

How long do homemade chocolate chip cookies last? I find that their texture remains similar for up to 3 days. After that, they will become more dry. They are safe to eat for up to 2-3 weeks.

How do you store homemade chocolate chip cookies? Store them in a tightly-closed container – the best would be a cookie tin. Before putting the cookies in the cookie tin, make sure they are completely cooled. Store them at room temperature.

How to freeze cookie dough

This cookie dough is perfect for freezing. The cookies baked from a frozen dough taste exactly the same as freshly prepared ones!

How to freeze cookie dough: Make the cookie dough, scoop the dough with an ice cream scoop, flatten the balls a little bit. Place them apart (the balls shouldn’t touch each other, otherwise they will stick to each other) on a baking sheet or a chopping board in the freezer. Leave them in the freezer until frozen – it will take about 1-2 hours. After they are frozen you can transfer them into zip-lock bags or tupperware containers.

How long can you freeze cookie dough: For best results, keep the cookie dough in the freezer for up to 3 months.

How to bake frozen cookie dough: you can bake the cookies exactly like freshly-prepared cookies. You don’t need to thaw the dough, just bake the cookies straight from the freezer. Put them in the preheated oven and bake for the same time as it says in the recipe. If you haven’t flattened the cookie dough balls, bake the cookies a little longer, for 15 minutes, instead of 13.

More delicious cookie recipes

• apple cinnamon oatmeal cookies
• s’mores cookies
• chocolate chip cookie cake
• chocolate chunk peanut butter cookies

Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!