slice & bake brown butter candied pecan cookies
With a half pound of chocolate poured atop. That’s what’s up.
Our final cookie recipe for 12 Days of Christmas! These may be my favorite, for they marked my inaugural incorporation of brown butter in a recipe. How had I not used it before? Brown butter works perfectly with these cookies. They’re brimming with candied pecans and brown sugar, finished off with dips and swizzles of dark chocolate and a dusting of flaky salt.
You could swap out the coconut oil for more butter if you wish, but I like the light sweetness coconut offers to these cookies. Oil does make the dough more liable to soften quickly at room temperature, so I recommend letting it chill briefly in the fridge – think 5 minutes – before molding the log from which the sliced cookies are made.
Yes, you are reading correctly: aside from eggs, these cookies contain no additional leaveners (baking soda or baking powder). Slice and bake cookies benefit from minimal spreading, else you’ll have thinned-out blobs rather than thick, chewy cookies ready for toppings and coatings.
Made this recipe and love it, or have questions? Let’s chat! Leave a comment with all your cookie baking escapades and don’t forget to follow me on Instagram!
More 12 Days of Christmas:
Day 1: Holiday Cookie Box
Day 2: Butterscotch Snickerdoodles
Day 3: Graham Cracker Gingerbread Crumb Bars
Day 4: Giant Turtle Cookies
Day 5: Salty Pretzel Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Bars
Day 6: Vanilla Mint Snowflakes
Day 7: Salted Caramel Mocha Fudge Brownies with Coffee Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 4 tbsp coconut oil, soft
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup candied pecans, chopped
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- flaky salt
Instructions
- First, brown the butter. Melt butter over medium-low heat in a light colored skillet for 5 minutes until solids sink to the bottom of the pan, butter turns golden and emits a nutty aroma. Sooooo good. Pour into a heat-safe container and pop in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to cool, or the freezer for about 10 minutes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, cream coconut oil, brown butter, and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and cinnamon, then add in two batches to wet ingredients until well mixed with some streaks of flour remaining. Be sure your pecans are chopped finely enough to not stab into the dough. My pieces were about the size of a small pearl. Fold candied pecans into dough with a spatula. Stick bowl in the fridge for about 5 minutes to firm the coconut oil.
- Form the log. Dump dough onto a slab of wax paper or plastic wrap and form into an 8-inch ish log by pushing and rolling the dough around. Work quickly, as coconut oil is very sensitive to body heat and the dough might get very soft. Once you've shaped the log, roll dough tightly, twisting the ends and folding them under. Stow in the fridge for at least two hours to harden.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment. Remove dough from the fridge and place onto a cutting board. With a sharp knife, cut AUTHORITATIVELY 16 cookies out of the dough about 1/4-1/3 inch thick. Slice in one swift motion to prevent breakage. Show it who's boss. Set onto prepared parchment about 1/2 inch apart – cookies won't spread overmuch. Bake 10-15 minutes or until tops are just set. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for about 20 minutes.
- Melt chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl in :30 increments, stirring after each. Dip half of each cookie in the chocolate, let excess drip off, and set back onto the parchment. Swizzle any remaining chocolate over the cookies if you have excess. Or just eat it. I don't care. Sprinkle with flaky salt. If you'd like the chocolate to set more quickly, place cookies in the fridge for 15 minutes. Eat immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
