Maple Butter Pecan Cookies are my fall twist on butter pecan cookies. I roast the pecans first to bring out their nutty flavor, then pair them with pure maple syrup and a little cinnamon. They're a welcome addition to my collection of fall cookies.
Maple and pecans are a combination I love baking with in the fall. If you're looking for more maple flavor, try my Double Maple Sugar Cookies. For another cookie with chunky pecans, take a look at my Banana Pecan Cookies with Caramel Chips.
I've updated this recipe to improve the texture and let the maple and pecan flavors come through more clearly. You'll also find new photos and more detailed instructions.
A Quick Look:
Recipe Name: Maple Butter Pecan Cookies
Ready In: 1 hour and 14 minutes, including chill time
Yield: 24 cookies
Texture: Buttery with chunky roasted pecans
Flavor Profile: Maple, pecan, brown sugar, and cinnamon
Difficulty: Easy
Why You'll Love These Cookies
- Pure maple syrup pairs so well with the roasted pecans.
- A little cinnamon and light brown sugar add to the fall flavor.
- Chunky pecan pieces give you plenty of nuts in each bite.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to make the cookies easy to shape.
Ingredients
- Pure maple syrup: I use Escuminac pure maple syrup because I like its flavor in these cookies. Choose a pure maple syrup you like the taste of, since the flavor comes through in the cookies.
- Pecan halves: Roast, cool, and roughly chop them. I like chunky pieces in these cookies.
- Unsalted butter: Let it come to room temperature so it blends well with the sugars.
- Kosher salt: I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Maple Butter Pecan Cookies
I roast the pecans before mixing the dough to bring out their nutty flavor. Keep an eye on them while they are in the oven, since nuts can go from roasted to burned quickly.
Roasting the Pecans
Step 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C). I use a small quarter-size cookie sheet pan to roast my nuts.
Step 2: Take the pecans and spread them out in a single layer on your pan. Bake for 4-6 minutes. If you open the oven, you should smell nuts. Pull them out and add them to a cutting board.
Step 3: It only takes a few minutes until they are not hot anymore. Then, taking about a quarter of the pecans at a time, roughly chop them. I like relatively big pieces in this cookie. Pecans are soft and easy to chew, so having bigger pieces will not make your cookies hard and crunchy.
Once the pecans are roughly chopped, time to move on to prepping the other ingredients.
Prep
Step 4: Using a scale or measuring, add the sugars to a bowl and set it aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon, whisking to blend.
You can use a stand or hand-held mixer for this next part.
Mix the Dough
Step 5: Cube the butter and add it to a mixer bowl.
Step 6: Cream the butter for about 1 minute. It should look creamy and form soft peaks so it will blend well with the sugars.
Step 7: Add the sugars to the creamed butter and mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.
Step 8: Next, add the vanilla extract and maple syrup and blend.
Step 9: Now, break the egg into a small bowl to make sure there are no egg shells and incorporate it into the cookie dough.
Step 10: Scrape down the sides, turn the mixer back on at a low speed, and add the flour mixture about a quarter at a time. Add the pecans and blend for about 5 seconds. I use a spatula to make sure the pecans are mixed throughout the cookie dough.
Chill
Step 11: Cover the mixer bowl loosely and chill for 30 minutes.
Scoop and Bake
Step 12: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C). Line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper.
Step 13: Using a medium cookie scoop, add 12 scoops to a pan, keeping them about 2 inches apart.
Step 14: Bake 1 sheet pan at a time at 350°F (175°C or 180°C) for 11-13 minutes. After baking, move the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Storage & Freezing
🫙🍪 Storage
Store the cooled cookies in a container with a tight-fitting lid for about 5 to 7 days. If they start to dry out a little just add a piece of bread to the container without touching the cookies.
❄️ Freezing
For these Maple Butter Pecan Cookies, I recommend freezing the unbaked dough rather than the finished cookies. This allows home bakers to enjoy freshly baked cookies while preserving more of the original texture.
Both methods are reasonable options, but these recommendations are based on the recipe's ingredients and general freezing practices, rather than a freezer test of this specific recipe.
A note about freezing: I don't typically freeze my cookies or cookie dough, so the freezing information provided here has not been personally tested in my kitchen.
Looking for substitutions or freezing tips? Choose an option below for additional guidance.
Maple Butter Pecan Cookies FAQs
Roasting the pecans brings out a deeper nutty flavor. Let them cool before adding them to the dough.
Pure maple syrup pairs well with the roasted pecans, while light brown sugar and cinnamon add to the flavor.
You can try adding ½ cup of dark or white chocolate chips and reducing the pecans by the same amount. This variation has not been tested with the updated recipe.
Other Pecan Cookies
If you tried this Maple Butter Pecan Cookies recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it goes below. Thanks!
Recipe
Maple Butter Pecan Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) Butter unsalted room temperature
- ½ cup (110 g) Light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) Sugar white
- 2 Tablespoon Pure maple syrup
- 1 Eggs
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 ½ cups (312.5 g) All-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- 1 ¼ cup (161.25 g) Pecan halves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C). Spread the pecan halves in a single layer on a small baking sheet pan and roast for 4-6 minutes. Move them to a cutting board and let them cool for a few minutes. Roughly chop the pecans. I like chunky pieces in these cookies. Set them aside.
- Weigh or measure the light brown and white sugars into a bowl and set it aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk to blend.
- Using a stand or hand-held mixer, cream the cubed room-temperature butter for about 1 minute. Add the sugars and mix on medium speed for 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and across the bottom of the bowl.
- Add the maple syrup and vanilla extract and blend. Break the egg into a small bowl to check for shells, then add it to the dough and mix until incorporated.
- Scrape down the sides and across the bottom of the bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture about a quarter at a time. Add the pecans and blend for about 5 seconds. Use a spatula to make sure the pecans are mixed throughout the dough.
- Cover the bowl loosely and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C). Line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. Using a medium cookie scoop, place 12 scoops of dough on a pan about 2 inches apart. Bake 1 sheet pan at a time for 11-13 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email a link of this post to you, so you can come back any time!
Share this recipe
NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.
Laura Adams says
Hi Barbara, After tasting a C. Krueger Iced Maple Butter Pecan cookie, I immediately went searching for a recipe. Yours was the first I came across, and it has the exact same ingredients listed as the cookie wrapper, except for the cinnamon, and aside from the icing ingredients. Thank you! I'm going to give them a try, but first I'll go looking for a maple buttercream cookie frosting recipe. The commercial cookie had a few small, toasted pecan pieces sprinkled on the icing, too.
Barbara says
Hi Laura, I have never had a C Krueger Iced Maple Butter cookie, but I will look it up. Yes, I have a hard time deciding whether to put icing on top of a cookie or not. I opted not to on this cookie since there were 3 types of sweetener in it. But the maple buttercream sounds awesome.