Pecan Brown Sugar Cookies (with Brown Sugar Frosting)
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Today’s Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies are soft, buttery and topped with a rich brown sugar frosting. Their rich caramel-nut flavor profile makes them the perfect decadent choice for fall baking (and snacking) PLUS this recipe is practically fool-proof! (So whether you’re a new baker or have little helpers assisting you in the kitchen, these cookies are still going to turn out great.)
Brown Sugar Pecan Cookie Recipe
One of our most popular sugar cookie recipes on Sugar, Spice and Glitter is our Amish Sugar Cookies, inspired by our family’s near weekly trips to the farmer’s market.
We’ve given this base recipe a few tweaks over the years, with our Amish Chocolate Chip Cookies and Amish Snickerdoodles, and for our latest iteration, I wanted a recipe that was a bit more indulgent with a more caramel-ly flavor profile and the rich nuttiness of pecans but still had that soft, melt-in-your mouth texture that the original is known for.
With a few simple swaps and a thick slathering of a lusciously sweet brown sugar frosting, I think I have a new favorite in these Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies.
The result? Soft and tender brown sugar cookies with a deep, caramel-ly sweetness and crunchy, rich pecans throughout. The silky brown sugar frosting takes this recipe over the top and makes these indulgent cookies perfect for entertaining or gifting to friends and family.
Our brown sugar pecan cookies are not a vintage recipe, but their flavor profile makes them feel old-fashioned and cozy and the chewy yet melt-in-your-mouth texture makes them a new family favorite!
Brown Sugar Pecan Cookie Recipe Variations:
- Maple Pecan: Add a teaspoon of maple extract to either the cookie batter or frosting for a rich, winter-inspired flavor profile.
- Toasted Coconut Pecan: Fold ¼ cup toasted shredded coconut into the dough with the pecans for added chew and coconut flavor. (You can also toast some coconut as a garnish.)
- Salted Caramel Pecan: Drizzle each frosted cookie with a thin zig-zag of salted caramel before garnishing with pecans.
- Candied Pecan Topping: Swap the plain pecans for our Candied Pecan recipe for a added sweetness and a crispy, caramelized topping.
For this recipe, I used Millican Pecan’s Pecan Pieces. I didn’t realize what a difference there could be between pecan brands, but these are so incredibly fresh and flavorful. They also have delicious snack options like the Sweet and Spicy Pecans which are perfect for the holidays. My next order, I’m trying their Pecan Butter and the Caramel Pecan Coffee! (And by the way, this is not sponsored – I just really love them.)
Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies FAQs
Can these cookies be frozen? Yes! That is one of the best things about these cookies is that they freeze beautifully. Just wrap the cookies and place in an airtight freezer container for up to 3 months. (This set of freezer containers is a crazy bargain.)
Why is cream of tartar optional? Cream of tartar provides a subtle tang to balance the sweetness, helps the cookies stay soft longer and also helps give the cookies a puffy, soft texture, however the recipe works well without it if you don’t already have cream of tartar on hand.
(I wouldn’t go out and buy a new container of cream of tartar just for this recipe – I personally always have it on hand because I use it to make homemade play dough and for my favorite snickerdoodle cookies.)
Can I make the brown sugar cookie dough ahead of time? Yes, you can chill it up to 48 hours before baking. Let it rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before scooping. Alternatively, you can freeze the cookie dough by wrapping well and storing in ziptop freezer bags or your favorite freezer containers for up to 3 months. (This set of freezer containers is a crazy bargain.)
How to store frosted brown sugar cookies: Store them in an airtight container with parchment between layers to prevent the frosting from sticking to the bottom of the other cookies. They keep for up to 4 days at room temperature or up to a week refrigerated.
How to freeze brown sugar pecan cookies: Unfrosted cookies freeze best. The baked but unfrosted cookies can be kept in airtight freezer containers for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature before frosting.
Pecan Brown Sugar Cookie Ingredients
- Butter
- Vegetable Oil
- Brown Sugar
- Egg, room temperature
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Cream of Tartar, optional
- Pecans, finely chopped
For the Brown Sugar Frosting:
- Salted Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Powdered Icing Sugar
- Heavy Cream
- Vanilla or Maple Extract, if desired
- Additional Pecans, for garnish
Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.
Tip: You can toast the pecans before using in this recipe for a deeper flavor; bake at 350F for 7-8 minutes, stirring once halfway through the baking time. Allow to cool before incorporating in to the recipe.
Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful
- Electric Mixer <– this is a great hand mixer if you don’t want to make the investment into a stand mixer
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Medium-sized mixing bowl
- Cookie Sheet <– you will want two so you can bake one tray while the other is cooling
- Parchment paper
- Cookie scoop
- Offset Spatula
How to Make Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies
For the Pecan Cookie Dough:
Preheat oven to 375F.
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the butter, oil and brown sugar.
Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat until just combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and optional cream of tartar.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until combined.
Gently stir in the finely chopped pecans until distributed evenly throughout the batter.
Use a cookie scoop to portion 1 Tablespoon-sized scoops of the cookie dough onto an uncreased cookie sheet, about 2” apart.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are just slightly golden.
Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
For the Brown Sugar Frosting:
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar and 3 cups of the icing sugar until crumbly.
Add in the heavy cream (and optional vanilla extract) and beat for 2 minutes until smooth.
Add more icing sugar, as desired to make the frosting stiffer.
To Decorate the Cookies:
Use an offset spatula to smooth about 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar frosting onto each cookie and then garnish with pecans, as desired.
Pin this Frosted Brown Sugar Pecan Cookie recipe for a fool-proof and indulgent treat:
Grab your free printable recipe card for our brown sugar pecan cookies recipe:
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Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies
Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies are soft and tender brown sugar cookies with a deep, caramel-ly sweetness and crunchy, rich pecans throughout. Slathered with silky brown sugar frosting, these cookies are chewy yet melt-in-your-mouth and are guaranteed to be a new family favorite!
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough:
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar, optional
- 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
For the Brown Sugar Frosting:
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3-4 cups powdered icing sugar
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or maple Extract, if desired
- Additional pecans, for garnish
Instructions
For the Pecan Cookie Dough:
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the butter, oil and brown sugar.
- Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat until just combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and optional cream of tartar.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until combined.
- Gently stir in the finely chopped pecans until distributed evenly throughout the batter.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion 1 Tablespoon-sized scoops of the cookie dough onto an uncreased cookie sheet, about 2” apart.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are just slightly golden.
- Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
For the Brown Sugar Frosting:
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar and 3 cups of the icing sugar until crumbly.
- Add in the heavy cream (and optional vanilla extract) and beat for 2 minutes until smooth.
- Add more icing sugar, as desired to make the frosting stiffer.
To Decorate the Cookies:
- Use an offset spatula to smooth about 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar frosting onto each cookie and then garnish with pecans, as desired
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
36Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 207Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 5gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 84mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 1gSugar: 11gProtein: 2g
Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information.
I hope your family loves these decadent brown sugar pecan cookies with brown sugar frosting as much as mine did!
For more scrumptious cookies, check out our full cookie recipe collection here:
For more decadent desserts, check out our full dessert recipe collection here:
These pecan brown sugar cookies with brown sugar frosting look absolutely irresistible. Crunchy pecans, rich brown sugar sweetness, and that creamy frosting – very good. Also, full disclosure – I just came from a cleaning at Shoreline Dental Studio and these cookies are all the more tempting now that my teeth are sparkling clean, maybe a treat well earned https://www.shorelinedentalstudio.com