Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies are a delicious twist on the classic chocolate chip cookie, featuring almond butter to add a nice nutty flavor. With this small batch recipe, you get six large cookies that are super soft and chewy in the center, with a light, crispy, golden brown outside packed with semi-sweet chocolate chips and chopped pecans. And for a touch of saltiness to all that sweetness—sprinkle on some sea salt flakes!
Table of Contents
Reasons Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Super soft and chewy inside with a crispy outside.
- A simple, no-fuss cookie recipe.
- No cookie dough chilling is required.
- 15 minutes or less to prep.
- Loaded with chocolate chips and chopped pecans.
- A small batch recipe that makes six large chocolate chip cookies.
- Tastes incredibly good warm.
- A great treat to make for the family or a new neighbor.
These almond butter chocolate chip pecan cookies really are an easy-to-make recipe that anyone can enjoy! And if you love this recipe, definitely check out my Super Soft Molasses Cookies, Classic Peanut Butter Blossoms, and Double Chocolate Salted Caramel Cookies!
How to Freeze Cookie Dough
Freezing this almond butter chocolate chip pecan cookie dough is easy and a great time-saver! You will need a cookie scoop, a baking sheet, a freezer bag, and a permanent marker.
The following instructions also work for my other cookie recipes.
- Make the cookie dough.
- Using a cookie scoop and/or your hands, shape the cookie dough into six balls and place them onto a baking sheet.
- Freeze the cookie dough balls until they are firm (1-2 hours).
- Place them side by side in the freezer bag, and before sealing, remove as much air as possible. If using a vacuum sealer, it will remove the air for you.
- Write the cookie dough name on the bag and include the expiration date (3 months from the date it was made).
- Bake when ready to eat! Do not bring it to room temperature before baking. Simply add a few minutes to the recommended baking time.
As an alternative to a freezer bag, you can also use a food vacuum sealing system like FoodSaver. I swear by mine! Note, you will also need vacuum-sealed bags.
I recommend freezing them in smaller-sized cookie dough balls.
Substitutions
Almond Butter Substitutions. While I have not made these with any other nut butter, you can use peanut butter, cashew butter, or sunflower butter in place of almond butter. The ratio is a 1:1 replacement.
Pecans Substitutions. If pecans are not your thing, you can use walnuts, almonds, or macadamia nuts! Or you can omit the pecans from the recipe entirely and double up on the chocolate chips!
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip Substitutions. While I didn’t test this recipe using anything but semi-sweet chocolate chips, you can try swapping them out for milk chocolate chips. You can also replace them with chopped dark chocolate. Use the same measurements as noted in the recipe.
Recipe FAQs
I recommend using a creamy, no-stir almond butter. You can also use the crunchy kind if you prefer a slightly crunchier cookie. If you have the type that requires stirring, that is fine. Just make sure to stir it well before adding it to the other ingredients.
For a larger almond butter chocolate chip pecan cookie, like the ones I made here, I recommend using a 3 1/2 tablespoon-size cookie scoop. The cookie scoop I used is size #16 from Solula. This will yield a roughly 4 to 4 1/2 inch diameter cookie.
For a smaller almond butter chocolate chip cookie, use a 1 1/2 tablespoon, medium-sized cookie scoop. You should also reduce your baking time by a few minutes.
More Chocolate Chip Dessert Recipes!
If you tried this Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookie Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know what you thought in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies
Equipment
- Large Cookie Scoop
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup Creamy Almond Butter
- 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/8 cup Light Brown Sugar, lightly packed
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 1/2 cup Chopped Pecans
- Sea Salt Flakes, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the 2nd level mark (just above center) and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well blended. Set to the side.1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour, 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder, 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda, 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- Using your hand held mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the unsalted butter until soft and creamy (about 1-2 minutes).2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- Add in the almond butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar, and mix together until well blended.1/4 cup Creamy Almond Butter, 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar, 1/8 cup Light Brown Sugar
- Add in the egg and vanilla extract.1 Large Egg, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Reduce the mixer speed to low, gradually adding in the whisked dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl we needed.
- With a spatula, fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips and chopped pecans.1/2 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, 1/2 cup Chopped Pecans
- Scoop the cookie dough into 6 large size balls and place them onto the cookie sheet leaving at least 2 inches between them. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes, if desired.Sea Salt Flakes
- Bake for 14-16 minutes at 350ºF. The cookies should be soft in the middle with the edges being a light-medium golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Top with more chocolate chips and pecans, if desired.
- Using a large serving spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- While I have not made these with any other nut butter, you can use peanut butter, cashew butter, or sunflower butter in place of almond butter. The ratio is a 1:1 replacement.
- If pecans are not your thing, you can use walnuts, almonds, or macadamia nuts! Or you can omit the pecans from the recipe entirely and double up on the chocolate chips!
- While I didn’t test this recipe using anything but semi-sweet chocolate chips, you can try swapping them out for milk chocolate chips. You can also replace them with chopped dark chocolate. Use the same measurements as noted in the recipe.
Nutrition
Nutritional information provided above is an estimate only and will vary based on specific ingredients used. See Nutritional Disclaimer for more info.
hello! how should i subsitiute the almond butter (i suppose it’s natural), for creamy PB (like skippy?)
Hi! It would be a 1:1 substitution.
Just made these with Bob’s gf flour and added 1/2 tsp espresso powder,toasted the pecans and chilled the dough balls for 45min. They’re fabulous!!!
These cookies are amazing!! I added a tiny bit of extra salt as my
nut butter was unsalted, and I didn’t have any flakey sea salt to put on top. I made these with a mix of milk chocolate chips and dark chocolate chunks and omitted the pecans, super good.
That’s wonderful! Thank you so much for trying them and for including the tweaks you made!
I normally put my natural peanut butter in the fridge (so it’s a little thicker, otherwise it’s too liquidy). would I need to bring it to room temperature /let it get super creamy (liquidy) for this recipe?
Yes, I would recommend bringing it to room temperature. It shouldn’t be liquidy though, just the normal consistency of creamy peanut butter. If you use a natural organic peanut butter where the oil separates make sure it’s well stirred before adding to the cookie dough mixture.
So so so good!!! Can’t wait to make them again, thank you for sharing!
The cookies turned out so yummy and perfect! I know I’m gonna be making these again. I cut the granulated sugar by half.
Loved it! It’s one of my top 3 cookie recipes now. I added a little extra butter since my almond butter was a bit dry which I am confident was the right choice. I also swapped 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract for caramel extract. Something I do in a lot of my baking. 🙂 Thank you for sharing this recipe! It’s great!
Thank you so much for trying them, Tressa! I’m glad they’re a new favorite! Also, love the idea about swapping out the vanilla extract for caramel!
I like these but they came out a little dry. The shape held up great for not having to chill.
I’m wondering if the organic almond butter from WF wasn’t a good fit? It was oily but more solid before I put into mixer. Thought it would work fine because the mixture came together well.
Hi Kathy! That’s a bummer they didn’t come out right for you. It is possibly the organic almond butter with the oils played a part. You really have to make sure it’s well stirred before adding it to your cookie dough. The brand I’ve used was from Wegman’s, I believe, and it was already stirred together and creamy. No layer of oil on top.
Jennifer these were so great! Made these in between zoom meetings today!
Excellent! I’m so glad they were a hit!
I made these today! Turned out great.
Yay! I’m so glad you loved them!