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Browned Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Chill Time2 hours
Total Time3 hours 15 minutes
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: bourbon, chocolate, cookie
Servings: 60

Equipment

  • 1 Tbsp scoop (disher)
  • Baking sheet with silicon liner or parchment paper
  • Stand mixer with paddle beater
  • 10" skillet (light colored interior so you can judge butter browning)

Ingredients

Buttered Toasted Pecans

  • 1½ tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1½ cups pecans finely chopped

Browned Butter

  • 8 oz unsalted butter

Dough

  • 2⅓ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp bourbon
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chunks
  • pecan halves optional
  • Fleur de sel

Instructions

Brown butter

  • Put 8 oz butter into a 10" skillet over medium heat. Cook until butter is melted and lightly browned (the color of whole wheat bread), stirring almost constantly to avoid burning milk solids, approx 3-5 minutes. Immediately pour into a shallow heatproof bowl, scraping browned bits out of pan. You need to do this quickly as the butter will continue browning for a few minutes off heat.
  • Cover and place butter into fridge to chill until solid - there shouldn't be any liquid portion, approx 2 hours. You can put it into the freezer for 30 minutes to start the process, but don't leave it to harden or it will be too firm to work with. The butter should be firm but not hard; pressing a finger into the top leaves a slight impression.

Buttered Toasted Pecans

  • Melt butter in 10" skillet over medium heat. Add chopped pecans and stir occasionally until lightly toasted, approx 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside until needed.

Dough

  • Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheet with silicon liner or parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder; whisk to mix thoroughly. Set aside.
  • In the workbowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, approx 2 minutes. Scrape down bowl and beater.
  • Add in the vanilla and bourbon and mix until well combined.
  • Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing 15 seconds after each addition. Scrape down bowl and mix again briefly to combine thoroughly.
  • Take bowl off mixer and fold flour mixture into egg mixture, combining well with a wooden spoon or stiff spatula. Fold in the pecans and chocolate chips/chunks.
  • Using a 1 Tbsp scoop or a spoon, make walnut sized mounds of dough on baking sheet, spacing cookies at least 2" apart (I get 20 on a half-sheet sized pan). If desired, press a pecan half on top of each cookie.
  • Bake one sheet at a time, approximately 8-10 minutes, rotating half way through baking time. Cookies will be soft in the middle with lightly browned edges.
  • Immediately sprinkle lightly with fleur de sel. Let cool on sheet pan 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.