Learn how to make the best chocolate chip cookies with pecans and milk chocolate. They are thick and chewy, and you don't chill the cookie dough before baking so that you can make the dough and bake the cookies right away.
Chocolate chip cookies fall in the drop cookie category of cookie recipes. The beauty of this type of cookie is that they are easy to make, you usually have ingredients on hand, and you can bake them right away, without having to fuss with rolling pins and cookie cutters.
This was inspired by my spelt chocolate chip cookies made with walnuts and very similar to these white chocolate macadamia cookies. These are another twist on the classic recipe for thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies, the best kind of chocolate chip cookie, if you ask me!
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Ingredients
If you want to make chocolate chip cookies with pecans from scratch, you will need the following ingredients:
- butter, preferably unsalted butter because you will add salt to the dough, but if you have salted it, it will work. Just adjust the salt in the recipe accordingly, otherwise, your cookies may be too salty
- granulated sugar gives these cookies crispy edges
- brown sugar adds molasses flavour to help balance the eggy flavour. Brown sugar may also lead to a slightly thicker cookie. I prefer dark brown sugar, which has a higher molasses content and more flavour, but light also works here
- large eggs, don't use smaller eggs because your cookie dough may be too dry and your cookies won't spread enough but don't use extra large eggs because they could cause the cookie dough to puff too much as it bakes, leading to a more cakey cookie
- all-purpose flour is needed to bind all the ingredients together and give the cookies structure, contributing to the chewiness of the cookies as well. If you don't use enough flour, your cookies may spread too much as they bake
- baking soda is a base (alkaline). You need baking soda for the cookies to spread properly and for fast browning. Do not use baking powder. Read up on baking soda vs baking powder if you are unsure
- salt is really important to balance out the sweet molasses flavour. Don't skip it. I like to use Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt, but table salt will work, though the cookies will be saltier and you may want to halve the salt, in that case,
- pecans, chopped add a lot of flavour and texture to this cookie
- chocolate chips or chunks are essential in this recipe, and use the best you can buy. I used chopped milk chocolate, but feel free to use what you like!
See the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
Chocolate chip cookies are versatile and there is much room for creativity. Here are a few ways you can change up this recipe:
- All-purpose flour - you can replace a portion of the flour in this recipe with an alternative flour, like rye or buckwheat. If you want to completely substitute, it's not 1:1! For example, these spelt chocolate chip cookies require more flour to achieve the perfect thickness without spreading too much.
- Chocolate - use any chocolate you like to eat, whether white, milk, dark, or chocolate chips. Try chopped Halloween candy bars or chopped Easter candy. Candy like M&M's or Smarties (the candy-coated chocolate in Canada) works here too instead of chocolate chips. Remember that different types of chocolate will bake differently.
- Nuts - the pecans can be replaced with walnuts or chopped peanuts
- Fruity - add blueberries to make blueberry chocolate chip cookies
- Maple - replacing a portion or all the sugar with maple sugar, and adding chopped maple fudge candy and maple cream cookies
- Kid-friendly - add anything you've got, like tail ends of chips or pretzel bags, chopped Halloween or Easter candy to make everything but the kitchen sink cookies (also called compost cookies)
If you are looking for a nut-free version, replace the pecans with pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, or skip the nuts altogether. Please note that the cookies may spread more without the nuts. Read all about why cookies end up flat.
Instructions
To make most cookie recipes, including these, you use the creaming method to make the dough, first combining softened butter with the sugar(s) before adding the eggs and dry ingredients.
Step 1: Mix together the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (image 1) fitted with the paddle attachment, then add the egg and vanilla (image 2), scraping down the bowl as needed with a spatula (image 3).
Step 2: combine the dry ingredients separately (image 4) before adding them to the mixer bowl (image 5) and stir them in to make a thick cookie dough (image 6).
Step 3: Coarsely chop the pecans (image 7) and the chocolate (image 8) before adding them to the cookie dough.
Step 4: Mix the dough until the chocolate chips and pecans are evenly incorporated, then portion out scoops of the dough onto parchment paper-lined half-sheet pans (image 10). I used a medium size (1-⅓ oz) scoop.
Tip: Add the inclusions or add-ins, in this case, chopped chocolate and pecans, after the dough is finished mixing. If you add them too early, they may break down too much and this will affect the texture of the dough and the baked cookies.
Step 5: Make sure to leave enough space between the scoops of dough to allow for airflow and spreading (image 11). Bake until the cookies are just set and the bottom edges start to brown very lightly (image 12).
Storage
Cool the cookies completely before storing them in an airtight container. To help them stay soft, you can add a marshmallow, a brown sugar saver, or a piece of white bread to the container.
You can store the raw dough in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 days. If you decide to freeze your portioned-out cookie dough unbaked, I recommend first freezing the scoops on a parchment-lined sheet pan until frozen solid, then transferring them to a zip-top freezer bag in a single layer preferably, being careful to remove all the air before zipping the bag closed. Then you can store them in the freezer for two months, according to the USDA.
Baking Tips
Here are my top baking tips for making chocolate chip cookies:
- Use a cookie scoop to portion out the cookie dough easily and evenly.
- Roll each scoop into a smooth ball so that it bakes perfectly round.
- Evenly scooped cookies will bake at the same time, whereas if you portion out dough unevenly, they will not.
- For a gooey chocolate chip cookie, bake them for less time and serve them freshly baked and still warm. For a chewier cookie, let them cool down. For a crisper cookie, bake them for longer.
- If you want your cookies to spread out more, try baking them at a slightly lower temperature, like 325 °F (165 °C) to allow the dough to spread more before setting. For a thicker cookie, bake them at a higher temperature, like 375 °F (190 °C).
Chocolate Chip Cookie FAQs
If your cookies spread in the oven with this recipe, it's likely you measured too much butter and/or sugar, or not enough flour. Too much baking soda can also cause cookies to spread by weakening gluten, which gives cookies their structure. Read about why cookies spread flat and how if you chill cookie dough, they may end up a little thicker.
This recipe yields a fairly thick cookie that is more on the chewy side. If you over-bake these cookies or your oven is too hot, they may dry out. Ideally, you should pull the cookies out of the oven when the edges have set but the middle is slightly under-baked. As the cookies cool, the middle will set too.
Remember that not all baking pans behave the same way. The material and colour of your bakeware will determine how your cookies bake. Dark pans will encourage browning, lighter pans, less so. Insulated bakeware will delay browning, as will a silicone baking mat. Choose wisely!
If sealed properly, these cookies will last 3 or 4 days in an airtight container. To help them retain moisture, try adding a brown sugar saver or a slice of white bread. A marshmallow will also work!
You can also freeze the portioned-out cookie dough or even the baked cookies! When you are ready to bake the frozen chocolate chip cookie dough, simply place the scoops on a parchment-lined cookie sheet to bake from frozen, spacing them out with a few inches in between. Let the cookies defrost for 10 minutes at room temperature, while you preheat your oven. Keep in mind that the cookies will take longer to bake. Look for the tell-tale signs that they are done: the edges should begin to brown and the surface should look like it's beginning to set, without being baked through. Reheat the baked cookies in a moderate-low oven (250–300 ºF) until warm.
If you tried this recipe for pecan chocolate chip cookies (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Chip Cookies With Pecans
Ingredients
- 190 grams bleached all-purpose flour
- 5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt or 2.5 mL (½ tsp) table salt
- 2.5 mL baking soda
- 115 grams unsalted butter
- 150 grams dark brown sugar
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 1 large egg(s)
- 10 mL pure vanilla extract
- 175 grams milk chocolate (41 % cocoa content) chopped (approximately 250 mL or 1 cup), or 250 mL (1 cup) milk chocolate chips
- 115 grams pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 °F (190 °C). Line two large half sheet pans with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter, the granulated sugar, and the brown sugar until it's very light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and the vanilla, and mix well until the mixture is light and fluffy again. Make sure to clean down the sides of the bowl as needed with a big spatula.
- Dump in the whisked dry ingredients, and incorporate them either with the hand mixer on low, or by hand with a big wooden spoon.
- Mix in the chocolate and pecans. The dough should be quite thick.
- Scoop approximately 50 gram portions of the dough, rolling them into balls.
- Place 7 cookies per cookie sheet, being sure to space them apart and stagger them.
- Bake the cookies one sheet pan at a time until the edges just begin to brown (this takes about 12 to 14 minutes). You might want to rotate the pan partway through the baking to make sure the cookies brown evenly.
- Let the cookies cool completely on the sheet pan while you bake the second pan.
- Store in an airtight container.
Notes
- For the milk chocolate, I used Cacao Barry Alunga 41% milk chocolate.
- use a cookie scoop to portion out the cookie dough easily. Then roll each scoop into a smooth ball so that it bakes perfectly. Evenly scooped cookies will bake at the same time, whereas if you portion out dough unevenly, they will not.
- For a gooey chocolate chip cookie, bake them for less time and serve them freshly baked and still warm. For a chewier cookie, let them cool down. For a crisper cookie, bake them for longer.
- If you want your cookies to spread out more, try baking them at a slightly lower temperature, like 325 °F (165 °C) to allow the dough to spread more before setting. For a thicker cookie, bake them at a higher temperature, like 375 °F (190 °C).
- If sealed properly, these cookies will last 3 or 4 days in an airtight container. To help them retain moisture, try adding a brown sugar saver or a slice of white bread. A marshmallow will also work!
- You can freeze the portioned-out cookie dough or even the baked cookies! Bake frozen scoops of cookie dough the same way, just add a couple of minutes to the baking time. Reheat the frozen baked cookies in a moderate-low oven (250–300 ºF) until warm.
- Please note that I bake with uncoated aluminum sheet pans that are light in colour. If you are baking this recipe with darker bakeware, you may have to drop the oven temperature and bake the cookies at 350 °F (175 °C) in order to prevent your baked goods from browning too quickly.
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