Learn how to make the best chocolate chip cookies with pecans and milk chocolate. These cookies are thick and chewy, with a buttery, sweet flavor, and you don’t need to chill the dough — you can mix and bake right away.
Chocolate chip cookies are classic drop cookies: simple to make, using pantry staples, and ready to bake without rolling or cutters. This recipe is a twist on a classic thick-and-chewy cookie, enriched with chopped pecans and milk chocolate for extra texture and flavor.
Ingredients
To make pecan chocolate chip cookies from scratch, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter (or salted if you adjust the added salt)
- Granulated sugar for crisp edges
- Brown sugar (dark preferred for deeper molasses flavor)
- Large egg — use large eggs for best texture
- All-purpose flour to give structure and chew
- Baking soda to help spreading and browning (do not substitute baking powder)
- Salt to balance sweetness
- Pecans, chopped, for flavor and crunch
- Milk chocolate chips or chopped milk chocolate
See the recipe card below for precise quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
These cookies are flexible — try these swaps and additions:
- Swap part of the all-purpose flour for an alternative flour (rye, buckwheat, or spelt) but note ratios may change.
- Use any chocolate you prefer: white, milk, dark, chips, or chopped bars. Candy pieces also work.
- Add cocoa for double chocolate cookies and fold in pecans if you like.
- Replace pecans with walnuts or chopped peanuts, or use seeds (pumpkin or sunflower) for a nut-free option.
- Add dried or fresh fruit like blueberries for a fruity twist.
- Replace some sugar with maple sugar and add maple-flavored inclusions for a maple version.
- For “everything but the kitchen sink” cookies, add leftover candy, chips, or pretzels.
Note: Omitting nuts can increase spread, so adjust flour or chilling as needed.
Instructions
These cookies are made with the creaming method: beat butter with sugars, add egg and vanilla, then combine dry ingredients and fold in chocolate and pecans.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 °F (190 °C). Line sheet pans with parchment.
Step 2: Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.
Step 3: In a large bowl, cream the butter with granulated and brown sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined, scraping the bowl as needed.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until a thick dough forms.
Step 5: Coarsely chop the pecans and chocolate, fold them into the dough, keeping the mix until just combined so the inclusions remain noticeable.
Step 6: Portion dough into even scoops (about 50 g each), roll into smooth balls, and place on prepared pans, spaced well apart to allow spreading.
Tip: Add the chocolate and pecans after the dough is mixed so they don’t break down and affect texture.
Step 7: Bake one sheet at a time until the edges just begin to brown (about 12–14 minutes). Rotate the pan if needed for even browning. Let the cookies cool on the sheet while baking the next batch.
Storage
Allow cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. To retain softness, add a marshmallow, a slice of white bread, or a brown sugar saver to the container.
Raw dough can be refrigerated for 2–4 days. To freeze unbaked portions, freeze scoops on a parchment-lined sheet until solid, then transfer to a zip-top bag and store up to two months. Bake frozen scoops from frozen, adding a few minutes to the baking time.
Baking Tips
Key tips for great cookies:
- Use a cookie scoop for even portions so cookies bake uniformly.
- Roll each scoop into a smooth ball for a round, even shape.
- For gooey centers, bake slightly less and serve warm. For chewier cookies, cool completely. For crisp cookies, bake longer.
- If you want more spread, bake at a lower temperature (325 °F / 165 °C). For thicker cookies, bake at a higher temperature (375 °F / 190 °C).
Chocolate Chip Cookie FAQs
Excess butter or sugar, too little flour, or too much baking soda can cause excessive spreading. Chilling dough can also reduce spread.
Over-baking or an oven that’s too hot can dry cookies out. Remove them when edges are set but centers are slightly under-baked; they firm up as they cool.
Bakeware color and material affect browning. Dark pans brown faster; lighter pans delay browning. Consider adjusting temperature or using lighter pans.
Store cookies in an airtight container for 3–4 days. Add a slice of white bread, a marshmallow, or a brown sugar saver to help retain moisture.
Yes. Freeze portioned dough or baked cookies. Bake frozen scoops straight from the freezer, adding a few minutes to baking time. Reheat baked cookies in a low oven until warm.
If you try this recipe for pecan chocolate chip cookies, please leave a star rating and a comment to let me know how it turned out — feedback is always appreciated!
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Chip Cookies With Pecans
Equipment
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Cookie scoop
- Sheet pan
Ingredients
- 190 g bleached all-purpose flour
- 5 mL fine kosher salt (or 2.5 mL / ½ tsp table salt)
- 2.5 mL baking soda
- 115 g unsalted butter
- 150 g dark brown sugar
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 10 mL pure vanilla extract
- 175 g milk chocolate, chopped (approx. 1 cup) or 1 cup chips
- 115 g pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 °F (190 °C). Line two half-sheet pans with parchment.
- Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Cream butter with granulated and brown sugars until very light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla, mixing until combined and fluffy. Scrape the bowl as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until incorporated.
- Fold in chocolate and pecans; dough should be thick.
- Scoop ~50 g portions and roll into balls.
- Place 7 cookies per sheet, spaced and staggered.
- Bake one sheet at a time until edges begin to brown, about 12–14 minutes. Rotate pans if necessary.
- Let cookies cool on the sheet while you bake the next batch. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
- Milk chocolate used here was 41% cocoa; any milk chocolate or chips are fine.
- If using table salt, reduce the salt amount to avoid over-salting.
- For even cookies, use a scoop and roll each portion into a smooth ball.
- Adjust bake time and temperature to control spread and texture (lower temp for more spread, higher temp for thicker cookies).
- Cookies keep 3–4 days in an airtight container; add bread, a marshmallow, or a brown sugar saver to help retain moisture.
- Freeze unbaked scoops or baked cookies; bake frozen scoops adding a few minutes to the baking time.
- If using dark bakeware, consider reducing oven temperature slightly to prevent excessive browning.
Nutrition
Calories: 246 kcal • Carbohydrates: 36 g • Protein: 2 g • Fat: 11 g • Saturated Fat: 7 g • Sugar: 24 g
Nutrition information is an approximation.