Butterscotch Chocolate Pecan Cookies

Butterscotch Chocolate Pecan Cookies are my new favorite cookies.

Warm butterscotch is mixed with the other ingredients, which makes the chocolate melt and swirl through the dough. Plus there’s a bit of saltiness to cut through the sweet.

The butterscotch sets as the dough sits, so after the first tray bakes there isn’t as much spread in the cookies. For the remaining trays, you’ll need to flatten the dough lightly to create a flatter cookie with crisp edges and a dense center with a bit of chewiness.

I use milk chocolate chips so that the butterscotch isn’t overwhelmed. If you prefer semi-sweet or dark, reduce the quantity of chips from 1-1/4 cups / 310 ml to 1 cup / 250 ml.

If chocolate isn’t your thing, you can use butterscotch chips for Double Butterscotch Pecan Cookies.

(And if you have a bacon-craving daughter who has been tolerating tofu, lentils and cruciferous vegetables with minimal complaining, these are a good compensation.)

5 from 1 vote

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Butterscotch Chocolate Pecan Cookies

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

25 mins

 

These cookies are a change from regular chocolate chip cookies. The butterscotch base creates a crispy cookie that is perfect for dipping in milk.

Servings: 4 dozen

Author: Mary Gillespie

Ingredients

• 1 cup / 250 ml butter salted - see note
• 1 cup / 250 ml brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon / 5 ml vanilla
• 1 egg beaten
• 2 cups / 500 ml flour
• 3/4 teaspoon / 3.75 ml salt
• 1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 ml baking powder
• 1-1/4 cups / 310 ml milk chocolate chips
• 1-1/4 cups / 310 ml coarsely chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F / 176 degrees C. Lightly grease cookie trays, or line with parchment paper.
2. In medium saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar together over medium-low heat.
3. When the butter has melted, heat mixture until bubbles form, then cook for one minute. Stir constantly to prevent burning.
4. Remove from heat and add vanilla. The Let cool slightly.
5. While butter mixture is cooling, stir together flour, salt, and baking powder.
6. Add egg to butter mixture and stir in quickly until it is completely mixed in.
7. Add butter mixture to flour and stir until no streaks of flour are visible.
8. Add chocolate chips and pecans and mix until the add-ins are evenly distributed in batter.
9. Scoop spoonfuls (approximately 1 tablespoon / 15 ml) of batter on to prepared trays, leaving room for spreading.
10. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. If they are very soft, let the cookies sit for 1-2 minutes before removing to cooling rack. Cookies will harden as they cool. (For even crisper cookies, bake for 1 or 2 minutes longer.)
11. For the next batch, the cookies will have to be pressed lightly to flatten before baking. (The caramel stiffens as the dough sits, so the cookies will not spread as much as they do with the first batch in the oven.)

Recipe Notes

If you do not have salted butter, increase the salt in the flour mixture to 1 teaspoon from the 3/4 teaspoon specified in the recipe.

Variation: Double Butterscotch Pecan Cookies

For a double dose of butterscotch flavor, replace the milk chocolate chips with butterscotch chips.