Release your inner cookie monster because these super soft and chewy white chocolate maple pecan cookies are calling your name. These fall cookies are loaded up with toasted pecans, pools of white chocolate, and a dash of maple extract for the ultimate salty-sweet treat.
Release your inner cookie monster. These super soft and chewy white chocolate maple pecan cookies are the poster child of fall cookies. Their loaded up with toasted pecans, pools of white chocolate, and a dash of maple extract for the ultimate salty-sweet treat.
White Chocolate Maple Pecan Cookies
We love a good cookie around here. And while you can’t go wrong with a classic (hello, chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, pumpkin cookies….need I go on?), sometimes it’s fun to mix it up with something a little more unique. Enter these white chocolate maple pecan cookies. They’re made with a super soft and chewy brown sugar cookie dough and loaded up with white chocolate, toasted pecans, and a dash of maple extract for a sweet fall flavor.
I’m drooling? Are you drooling? K, cool. Glad we’re on the same page.
Ingredients for these white chocolate chip pecan cookies
These fall cookies are made with a few specialty ingredients, but other than the stir ins, you’re looking at basic pantry staples. If you don’t have white chocolate or pecans on hand, feel free to mix it up! These would be equally delicious with walnuts, hazelnuts, or another kind of chocolate if white isn’t your thing!
Here’s your grocery list:
Butter: We recommend using unsalted butter so you can have full control over how much salt goes into your cookies. If you only have salted on hand, you can always use that and reduce the amount of added salt by 1/4 teaspoon.
Brown Sugar: Who doesn’t love a brown sugar cookie? Brown sugar makes cookies super soft and chewy and brings a nuanced flavor that you just don’t get with white sugar.
Eggs: You’ll need 1 egg and 1 egg yolk to keep your cookies pillowy without getting too cakey.
Maple Extract: A little maple extract goes a long way, so you’ll only need 1/2 teaspoon. But that 1/2 teaspoon will impart the most delightful, sweet maple flavor on your cookies!
Vanilla Extract: Any good cookie needs vanilla extract. Make sure you’re using pure vanilla for best results!
Baking Soda: Baking soda will give your white chocolate chip cookies a nice rise and a crackly top.
Salt: Don’t forget the salt! Salt will deepen your flavor profile and make your cookies taste fresh out of a bakery.
All Purpose Flour: Regular ol’ all purpose flour will do the trick here! I’ve also had success making these with whole wheat flour.
White Chocolate Chips: When it comes to white chocolate, the quality of your chips is SO important. We recommend Ghiradelli or Guittard.
Pecans: Toasted pecans will add a delightfully nutty crunch to your cookies. We recommend toasting them to bring out the flavor!
Tips for the best chewy cookies
Cookie baking is an art. While they are one of the more straight forward desserts to whip up, there are still a few steps in the baking process that can throw a wrench in your cookies. Luckily, I rounded up the best rules to follow to ensure a super soft and chewy with a gooey center every time:
Measure your flour by fluffing and spooning it. Over measure flour can easily dry out a baked good. When measuring flour, make sure you fluff it up and spoon it into your measuring cup before leveling off with a butter knife. This will prevent the flour from compacting.
Don’t over mix your batter. Over mixed dough will develop more gluten, which will make it tougher. Only mix your cookie dough until it is just combined and no streaks of flour remain.
Make sure to under bake your cookies. If you ask me the key to a good cookie is under baking. No one wants a sad, dry cookie. The best thing you can do for your cookies is take them out when they are still underbaked in the center. As the cookies cool they will continue to bake. What does that mean? If your cookies are fully baked when they come out of the oven they will actually be overbaked by the the time they cool. 11 minutes is the sweet spot for my oven, but yours may vary a little, so make sure to keep an eye on them.
Release your inner cookie monster because these super soft and chewy white chocolate maple pecan cookies are calling your name. These fall cookies are loaded up with toasted pecans, pools of white chocolate, and a dash of maple extract for the ultimate salty-sweet treat.
Release your inner cookie monster because these super soft and chewy white chocolate maple pecan cookies are calling your name. These fall cookies are loaded up with toasted pecans, pools of white chocolate, and a dash of maple extract for the ultimate salty-sweet treat.
Brown the butter over medium heat, stirring constantly until the butter begins to foam and turns a golden brown, emitting a nutty aroma.*
In a large mixing bowl combine the cooled brown butter and brown sugar. Beat until mixed together. Add in the egg, egg yolk, maple extract, and vanilla extract. Mix well.
In separate bowl mix together the flour, salt and baking soda. Mix half the dry ingredients into the wet until everything comes together. Slowly add in the remaining flour a little bit at a time, stopping if the dough starts to get too dry. Fold in the white chocolate and the toasted pecans. Do not over mix.
Refrigerate the cookie dough for at 30 minutes.
When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Use a 1 ounce cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough out into balls, placing them 2 inches apart on the prepared sheet. Bake for 11 minutes*, or until the edges are just golden brown and the centers have puffed up but are still gooey.
Allow to cool before eating!
Keywords: fall cookies, white chocolate pecan cookies
Notes
Make sure you only brown the butter lightly. When butter browns the liquid evaporates off which can dry out your dough. As soon as the butter starts to turn brown and smell nutty, take it off the heat to prevent any more liquid from escaping. Take butter off the heat and allow to cool.
You’re the cookie GOAT. I won my family’s Xmas cookie contest with these (and won last year with your fluffernutter cookie recipe) it’s actually really hard to not eat all the dough before baking lol
I recently learned that I could substitute 1:1 gluten free flour in some baking recipes, so I just HAD to try it with this recipe, and it did not disappoint!!! These are amazing! I wasn’t sure how my gf dough would hold up just being refrigerated, so I did freeze it in pucks and bake from frozen, and they turned out so good! I can’t wait to bring these to Thanksgiving!
I ended up not browning the butter for these, as I wanted to add a different flavor. I also used a chopped up white chocolate bar and added 1/4 tsp cayenne to the recipe. These are by far my favorite non-chocolate cookies.
Leave a comment and rate this recipe!
You’re the cookie GOAT. I won my family’s Xmas cookie contest with these (and won last year with your fluffernutter cookie recipe) it’s actually really hard to not eat all the dough before baking lol
THANK YOU. I am so flattered!!
Made these for a cookie exchange and they were so yummy and very popular!
★★★★★
I recently learned that I could substitute 1:1 gluten free flour in some baking recipes, so I just HAD to try it with this recipe, and it did not disappoint!!! These are amazing! I wasn’t sure how my gf dough would hold up just being refrigerated, so I did freeze it in pucks and bake from frozen, and they turned out so good! I can’t wait to bring these to Thanksgiving!
★★★★★
I do not have maple extract at the moment what do you think would be a good substitute
You can use maple syrup instead 🙂
I ended up not browning the butter for these, as I wanted to add a different flavor. I also used a chopped up white chocolate bar and added 1/4 tsp cayenne to the recipe. These are by far my favorite non-chocolate cookies.
★★★★★
Ooh cayenne?! I bet that was delicious. So happy you enjoyed these!