Easy Caramel Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
These turtle-candy-inspired cookies bring a trifecta of flavor with crunchy pecans, decadent chocolate, and pools of sweet and buttery caramel.
Equipment
- Cookie Scoop optional
Ingredients
- ½ cup softened unsalted butter ½ cup butter = 1 stick
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup pecans ½ cup pecans = approx. 2 ounces
- ¼ cup chewy caramels ¼ cup caramel = approx. 2 ounces
- ¼ cup chocolate chips dark or semi-sweet
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or a reusable baking mat. Chop the pecans and caramels into small chunks.
- To a large mixing bowl, add softened butter and brown sugar. Use a hand mixer on high to cream together until light and smooth (about 2-3 minutes).½ cup softened unsalted butter, 1 cup light brown sugar
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and use your hand mixer on low to combine.1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 large egg
- Add the flour, salt, and baking soda and mix to combine, careful not to overbeat. Use a spatula to scrape any flour off the sides of the bowl and integrate it into your dough.1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon table salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Add the pecans, caramels, and chocolate chips to your dough and use a rubber spatula to fold to combine. I like to keep a small handful of each out to place on top of the cookie dough once it's formed into cookies.½ cup pecans, ¼ cup chocolate chips, ¼ cup chewy caramels
- Use a large cookie scoop or 2 heaping tablespoons of dough to form your cookies, adding them to the prepped baking sheets. Leave at least an inch of space in between each cookie for minor spreading.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes on the top rack. It's okay if they are slightly underdone. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet so they continue to bake as they cool. If any caramel spills out the sides, use the curved part of a spoon to push the melted caramel back into the edge of the cookies while they are still hot. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure to use plain chewy caramels instead of caramel sauce, caramel hard candies, or cream-filled caramels. If you're having trouble finding them for baking, you can use individually wrapped chewy caramels (usually the Werther's brand is widely available in the candy aisle).
- You can freeze excess cookie dough before baking it to give you fresh baked cookies every time when the craving hits! Just bake them as normal straight out of the freezer.
- Cookie monsters are always happy at my house with this delicious selection of my best cookie recipes to choose from! Nom nom nom!