Pecan Cookies

Pecans are the perfect mix of sweet and crunchy. They go well mixed into many different desserts, salads and other foods. And for those reasons they also make a perfect added for cookies. Let's make some pecan cookies!

How To Make Pecan Cookies

When I think about pecans I think about the fall holidays. They're just as synonymous with the fall holidays to me as cranberry cookies, white cranberry cookies and chocolate peppermint cookies.

Pecan pie is one of my favorite pies! But, sometimes you need some cookies. That's where this pecan cookie recipe comes into play. It's basically the cookie version of pecan pie.

If you're looking for a super easy snack or dessert dish to bring to your next gathering you should definitely consider making these pecan cookies. They're sure to be a hit whether it be with your kids, significant other, or friends and family!

Crazy for pecans? Make this delicious pecan ice cream and you can eat it with your pecan cookies!

And since pecans have a decent amount of protein in them (9 grams per serving) does that mean these can be considered healthy? I think so!

Step One

Once you've gathered all of your ingredients and preheated your oven to 350 degrees we can get started making cookie dough.

The first thing we're going to do is we're going to get together our butter and sugar. You'll want to use a stand mixer or hand mixer for this process since the butter is rather difficult to mix. Make sure that your butter is softened, but not melted before starting.

Toss your butter and sugar into your mixing bowl and crank your mixer on to high. You want your butter and sugar thoroughly creamed together which should take several minutes.

Step Two

Now that you've creamed your sugar and butter together you want to add in eggs and vanilla. Grab your eggs and your vanilla and add them to your mixing bowl. Of course you want to crack your eggs before you add them 😉

Again using your mixer beat all four of these ingredients together until they are completely combined. You do want to make sure not to overmix. It should take just a few minutes to get them completely combined.

Step Three

Next up are the dry ingredients. Grab your flour, salt and baking soda and add them to a bowl separate from the wet ingredients. Using a spoon or fork or spatula gently combine these dry ingredients together.

Step Four

The fourth step is to combine all of our ingredients into one bowl. You want to add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients. Make sure that you do this slowly so that your dry ingredients stay in the bowl.

Once all your ingredients are in one bowl you want to get them mixed together. You can use your mixer or you can do this by hand. If you use a mixer make sure to use it on a low setting. As you stir everything together, make sure to scrape any leftover ingredients off the sides of the bowl as well.

Step Five

The cookie dough is almost complete. The last thing we need to do is add the pecans. I prefer to crush the pecans into small bits and not leave them as halves. You could leave them as halves or you could simply buy pecan pieces so that you don't have to crush them first.

Toss your pecan pieces into your cookie dough and fold them into the cookie dough until everything is completely mixed together. This should only take a minute or so.

Step Six

The next step is to make balls of your cookie dough. I like to use about 1 and ½ to 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie. You can certainly make your cookies larger or smaller but keep in mind you may have to adjust cook times.

Using a heaping tablespoon gather balls of cookie dough and place them on your baking sheet. I like to make sure that my balls of cookie dough are packed well so that the cookies stay together while cooking.

Pro Tip: while you don't have to chill this cookie dough, chilling cookie dough does help to make your cookies stay together better and not spread as much while cooking.

Pro Tip 2: Make sure that your baking sheet is pre-greased either with butter or cooking spray. Alternatively, you can always use a nonstick baking sheet. This way your cookies will not stick when you try to remove them after baking.

Step Seven

It's almost cookie time! Go ahead and place your baking sheet into your oven. Do you make sure that it is fully preheated to 350 degrees beforehand.

You want to bake your cookies for about 8 to 12 minutes. Cooking time can vary so I like to set a timer for 8 minutes to start. Check them when the 8 minute timer goes off and assess if they need a few more minutes.

Your cookies are completely cooked when the edges are slightly brown and a little crispy. It's ok for the centers to still be a little smushy as they will continue to set and cook as they cool. Make sure to allow cookies to thoroughly cool before removing from baking sheet so that they can easily be removed as full cookies and not fall apart.

For more delicious cookie recipes

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