Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Name: Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies
Prep time: 12 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: ¾ cup butter, softened ((regular or vegan)); ½ cup granulated sugar; ½ cup light brown sugar; 1 egg; 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract; 2 cup + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour; ¾ teaspoon salt; ¾ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate ((regular or vegan)); ½-¾ cup pecans, roughly chopped ((plus more for topping))

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These chocolate chip pecan cookies are soft, chewy, and ready in just 20 minutes! They’re like the classic chocolate chip cookie of your childhood but packed with delicious pecans and a touch of cinnamon. No dough chilling required!

Large soft cookies loaded with pecans and chocolate chips pictured on a baking sheet with pecans scattered around

As you may have guessed, I love a good cookie recipe, especially chocolate chip cookies!

These pecan chocolate chip cookies are like an elevated chocolate chip cookie, with the usual buttery flavor, crispy edges and gooey middle - but they’re then loaded up with rich pecans and spiced with cinnamon. This might be the coziest cookie recipe yet!

Like my maple chocolate chip cookies, these chocolate chip pecan cookies are perfect for when you want a cozy twist on a classic. Plus, I love that they’re so easy and simple to whip up with zero dough chilling necessary.

Why You'll Love These Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

These are soft and chewy cookies with a gooey center.
You only need 10 ingredients to make these cookies!
It takes just 20 minutes to whip these up, plus you don’t need to worry about chilling the dough.
These cookies can easily be made dairy free or vegan, perfect if you have any food allergies!
You can easily swap out pecans for a different nut (like walnuts) if you want.

Ingredients Needed

Chocolate chip pecan cookie ingredients in bowls with labels

Butter: you can use regular butter or vegan butter if you need these chocolate chip pecan cookies to be dairy free or vegan.

Flour: I tested this recipe with all purpose flour. If you need these cookies to be gluten free, then you can use all purpose gluten free 1-1 baking flour!

Eggs: need to make this recipe eggless or vegan? Replace the egg with a flax egg! Check out my eggless cookie recipe to learn how to make a flax egg.

Chocolate: feel free to use chocolate chips or a chopped up chocolate bar! You can also use vegan chocolate chips if this recipe needs to be dairy-free or vegan.

Pecans: Not a fan of pecans? Feel free to use an equal amount of other nuts like walnuts or hazelnuts!

Cinnamon: using ground cinnamon in the cookie dough is going to give us a delicious warm spiced cookie which pairs perfectly with the pecans in this cozy fall cookie!

Step By Step Instructions

Note: Full ingredient measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°Fahrenheit and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.

Step 3: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, combine the butter and both light brown sugar and granulated sugar. Cream together for 1-2 minutes until it is light and fluffy.

Step 4: Add the egg and vanilla extract, mixing until it is just combined - don’t over-mix it!

Step 5: Mix in the dry ingredients until a dough starts to form. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans, mixing until just combined.

Step 6: Use a medium cookie scoop or spoon to make 1.5-2 tablespoon sized cookie dough balls and place them on the baking sheet, making sure they are 3-4 inches apart. Add more pecans and chocolate chips on top of each cookie dough ball if you want, this will give you that bakery style look!

Step 7: Bake the cookies one sheet at a time, baking for 8-11 minutes. Take them out of the oven when the edges look set, but the middle looks slightly under-baked. Leave them on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Baking process for Chocolate chip pecan cookies pictured in four steps

FAQs and Expert Tips

Can I use nuts other than pecans?

You definitely can! I think the pecans pair well with the cinnamon and chocolate chips, but I also think walnuts would be delicious!

Why aren’t my cookies soft and chewy?

The number one culprit is over-measuring flour! Make sure you properly measure your flour, or your cookies might turn out dry instead of soft. Also make sure not to over-mix the dough as that will lead to a tougher texture, and don’t over-bake them!

How can I tell when the cookies are ready to come out of the oven?

The edges should be set but the middle will look slightly under-baked. Cookies continue cooking on the baking sheet when they come out of the oven, so you want to take them out when the middle still isn’t completely baked. This also ensures you have a soft and gooey cookie for days!

Can I make these chocolate chip pecan cookies vegan?

To make the cookies vegan, replace the egg with a flax egg!

Stacked pecan chocolate chip cookies broken in half so you can see all the pecans and chocolate chips inside the cookies

Expert Tips

Measure your flour properly: Measure your flour using either a kitchen scale or the scoop and level method. A lot of people will add too much flour to the cookie dough, leading to a dry and crumbly cookie.
Room temperature ingredients: because we are mixing the butter with the sugars, we need to make sure the butter is at room temperature before we get started. If the butter is too cold then the sugars won’t be able to cut into the butter to create air pockets - which is what we want to happen in order to have soft and chewy cookies!
Make these chocolate chip pecan cookies vegan or dairy free - if you want these cookies to be dairy free then just be sure to use vegan butter and vegan chocolate chips. If you need the cookies to be vegan then use a flax egg instead of a regular egg.
Under-bake the cookies: it is much better to under-bake these cookies rather than over-bake them! Overbaking will lead to a crispy and they might be dry. If you take them out while the middle is still under-baking, they will continue baking on the cookie sheet and be much softer and gooey.

Storage and Freezing Instructions

You can store these freshly baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days at room temperature.

You can also freeze the unbaked cookie dough balls or the baked cookies. The baked cookies can be frozen in a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature when you're ready to eat.

To freeze the cookie dough, roll the dough into balls and place them on a parchment lined plate in the freezer until they are semi-frozen, then transfer to a ziploc bag and freeze for up to 2 months. You may have to add an extra minute or two to the baking time!

More Cookie Recipes You'll Love

If you make this recipe, let me know how it went in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!

The calorie information provided for this recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.