These soft and gooey bourbon pecan chocolate chip cookies start with bourbon-soaked pecans and are mixed with loads of chocolate chips and the perfect cookie dough! If you love bourbon and chocolate, these are the PERFECT cookies for you!
These are the perfect cookies for pecan and bourbon lovers; the bourbon-soaked pecans pack a huge flavor punch, and the chocolate chips completely complement the bourbon-y pecans.
They are also a great recipe for Kentucky Derby parties because they taste like Kentucky Derby pie in cookie form! Serve them alongside the best mint julep recipe or this fresh blackberry mint julep for a really successful derby party!
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⭐ Why you will love this recipe:
- Bourbon-soaked pecans pack a divine flavor punch! Pecans can absorb a lot of flavor, which means the bourbon flavor really comes through in these cookies.
- So easy! These cookies so easy to through together and can be made with no fancy equipment, just a couple of bowls and a spatula!
- The perfect gooey texture! The chocolate, pecans, and brown sugar give these the perfect cookie texture with a crisp shell and gooey center!
🥘 Key Ingredients
Pecans: I used toasted pecan pieces for this recipe. The toasting provides great flavor and helps with the bourbon's absorption. I use these same pecan pieces in these toasted coconut pecan cookies and soft pecan banana bread cookies.
Bourbon: These cookies use a whopping ⅓ cup of bourbon, and most of it is absorbed into the pecans, making them soft and flavorful.
🥃 What bourbon is best for this recipe:
My favorite bourbon for baking is either Woodford Reserve or Four Roses. Both are great medium-priced bourbons that pair well with sweet baked goods.
Chocolate chips: 1 full 1 cup of chocolate chips are mixed into the dough, and the cookies are full of chocolate falvor.
Brown and granulated sugar: The combination of brown and granulated sugar gives these cookies their crispy crust and gooey center!
Eggs: Eggs help the cookies spread and keep the cookies together while baking.
All-purpose flour: Flour is what binds these cookies together, but be sure to measure it accurately; too much will make dense cookies, and too little will be soupy.
See recipe card for quantities.
🔪 How to make this recipe:
Step 1: Add the pecans and bourbon to a small bowl and let sit for 30 minutes.
Step 2: Mix the melted butter with the two sugars in a large bowl until well-mixed.
Step 3: Mix in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated, followed by the vanilla and the dry ingredients.
Step 4: Pour in the pecans with bourbon and chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed. Chill for 1 hour.
Step 5: Use a 2 tablespoon or spoon to scoop out batter onto a lined baking sheet 3 inches apart. (Optional: top with more chocolate pieces, chocolate bar bits, and/or whole pecans.)
Step 6: Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies have puffed up and the sides are slightly browned.
💭 Expert Tips:
- Ensure your butter has cooled to room temperature before using. If it's still hot, it will start cooking the sugar and the eggs.
- Use a 2-inch cookie scoop; using a smaller scoop will result in less gooey cookies.
- Place the cookies 3 inches apart so they don't bleed into each other.
- Accurately measure your flour. I use a fluff and level method, where I scoop and "fluff" the flour several times before scooping and leveling.
- Optional, but for a visual punch, add pecans and a piece of a chocolate bar to the tops of the cookies before baking. And if desired, add a few more pecans right after baking and before cooling for an even more aesthetic cookie.
📖 Substitutions and Variations:
- You can switch out the pecans for any nut of your choosing.
- Switch the bourbon out for your favorite spirit! These cookies would be great with rum, scotch, or Irish whiskey.
- Use your favorite chocolate.
🎥 Here's a video showing how to make these cookies!
💬 FAQs
Baked cookies will last 3-4 days at room temperature in an airtight container.
My favorite bourbon for baking is either Woodford Reserve or Four Roses. Both are medium-priced bourbons of great quality that pair well with sweet baked goods.
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
The Best Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 18 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These soft and gooey bourbon pecan chocolate chip cookies start with bourbon-soaked pecans and are mixed with loads of chocolate chips and the perfect cookie dough! If you love bourbon and chocolate, these are the PERFECT cookies for you!
Ingredients
- 1 cup toasted pecan pieces
- ⅓ cup bourbon
- ¾ cup unsalted butter - melted
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Add the pecans and bourbon to a small bowl and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
- Mix the melted butter with the two sugars in a large bowl until well mixed.
- Mix in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated, followed by the vanilla.
- Top with the flour, salt, and baking soda and mix until just a few streaks of flour remain.
- Pour in the pecans and bourbon mixture and the chocolate chips and mix until they are evenly distributed. Chill for 1 hour.
- Use a 2 tablespoon or spoon to scoop out 2 - 2 ½ tablespoons of batter onto a lined baking sheet 3 inches apart. (Optional: top with more chocolate pieces, chocolate bar bits, and/or whole pecans.)
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies have puffed up and the sides are slightly browned.
Notes
*Measure your flour properly. This is my best baking tip! I typically fluff my flour, then scoop and level.
* Make the cookie dough up to 2 days in advance and keep it refrigerated in a sealed container.
*Baked cookies will last 3-4 days at room temperature in an airtight container.
If toasted pecan pieces are unavailable, roughly chop whole pecans, then toast at 350 degrees for 3-5 minutes.
Elizabeth says
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Alexa says
Can you make the dough ahead of time and freeze it? Each year I get a head start on all my holiday baking and make/portion my cookie dough to throw into the freezer to make holiday cooking and baking that much easier. I'm adding these cookies into my christmas cookie collection and would love to know if the dough for these is also freezer friendly? And if so, how do you bake them once frozen? Do you let them thaw overnight? at room temp on the counterfor an hour? Is the baking time and temp the same?
I usually get my all cookie dough made about a month before christmas if that makes a difference.
Can't wait to try these!!
Pate Giltner says
Hi! I haven’t tried freezing them but I think they would do really well. I would let it thaw in the refrigerator before baking, but other than that I think they would do great!
Kathy says
Hi do you think you could make them ahead wrap tightly and freeze? Thanks