Coconut Pecan Cookies With Brown Butter

I'd like to introduce you to my new favorite cookie: brown butter coconut pecan cookies! These cookies are perfectly chewy with slightly crisp edges and a balanced combination of coconut and pecan. I've baked these chilled and unchilled and they are perfect either way! We love a stable cookie.

If you enjoy German chocolate cake and/or German chocolate cake with coconut pecan filling, then you are in for a treat here! These cookies taste exactly like the filling, and they are truly a chef's kiss.

These cookies are perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas not only because of their delicious, cozy flavors but also because I find that they get better after a day or two, so they can easily be made in advance for your next holiday party!

I think these cookies would pair perfectly with my sourdough malted chai chocolate chip cookies or my pumpkin banana bread muffins! If you are looking for a variety of yummy cookies, I'd also recommend my chocolate-stuffed double-chocolate cookies! Those are one of my all-time favorites.

Ingredients

What I love about this recipe is that the cookies taste like they are made with complex ingredients (thank you, brown butter!), but they use only a handful of common ingredients.

• Unsalted butter - salted is fine too.
• Brown sugar - I used dark brown sugar.
• Cane sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Eggs
• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Sweetened shredded coconut
• Finely chopped pecans
• Cinnamon (optional)
• Cardamom (optional)

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Step 1: Brown the butter. You will start out with 170g of butter and by the end of the browning process you should have 140g.

Allow the butter to cool before mixing it with the brown sugar, cane sugar, vanilla, egg and egg yolk.

Step 2: Mix in the dry ingredients until fully combined.

Step 3: Stir in chopped sweetened shredded coconut and chopped pecans. Chill for 30 mins to an hour before baking at 350F for best results. (I've skipped chilling and they baked fine, however, chilling or resting the dough creates a deeper flavor with an even better texture in the end).

Step 4: Bake for 11-12 mins then enjoy after cooling.

Hint: Take them out of the oven when the edges are slightly browning and the center is matte and domed (it shouldn't look shiny or raw on the outside). They will collapse a bit while cooling. Taking them out before they overbake is essential to making a perfectly chewy cookie!

Substitutions

If some of these ingredients don't work for you, that's okay! Here are some of my tried and true baking substitutions: 

• Butter:  Use a non-dairy butter like Country Crock's plant butter. A neutral oil (like coconut oil) would work well here too!
  • Note: this butter is salted, so you might want to use a little less salt in the rest of the dough. I normally don't find the need to adjust it when using salted butter, but if you are sensitive to salt, you might want to cut the additional salt in half to start.

Variations

• Chocolate dough - Add ¼ of a cup of unsweetened cocoa powder to the recipe with the dry ingredients. (add 1-2 tablespoons of milk if batter is too dry).
• Chocolate chips - add ½ cup of chocolate chips, ½ cup of coconut, and ½ cup of chopped pecans (1 ½ cups of mix-ins total)

Equipment

• Kitchen scale
• Stand mixer
• Baking sheets
• Parchment paper
• Two-tablespoon cookie scoop
• Butter warmer saucepan

Storage

Store at room temp for 3-5 days. Freeze for up to 6 months.

FAQ

Related

Looking for other cookie recipes like this? Try these:

Brown Butter Coconut Pecan Cookies

Audrey

I'd like to introduce you to my new favorite cookie: brown butter coconut pecan cookies! These cookies are perfectly chewy with slightly crisp edges and a balanced combination of coconut and pecan.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 11 minutes mins

Chill Time 11 minutes mins

Total Time 37 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 24 Cookies

Equipment

• Kitchen Scale
• Stand Mixer
• Baking sheets
• Parchment Paper
• Two-tablespoon cookie scoop
• Butter warmer saucepan

Ingredients

  

• ¾ cup unsalted butter 170g
• 1 cup brown sugar packed 200g
• ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk room temp preferred
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 220g
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cups chopped pecans 100g
• ¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut 60g

Instructions

 

• Brown the butter. Start by putting your butter in a small saucepan and melt it on medium heat, stirring or whisking constantly to prevent burning.
• You will know when it is done browning when it starts to smell nutty and the bubbling butter develops a film on top. You will start with 170g of butter and by the end of the browning process you should have 140g.
• If you have less than 140g at the end, add milk to the butter until you reach 140g.
• Allow the butter to cool before mixing it with the brown sugar, cane sugar, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk.
• Mix the dry ingredients separately and mix into the liquids until fully combined.
• Stir in the coconut and pecans.
• Chill for 30 mins to an hour before baking at 350F for best results.*
• Bake for 11-12 mins**. Allow them to cool on the pan for 5 mins before moving them to a cooling rack.

Notes

*I've skipped chilling and they baked fine, however, chilling or resting the dough creates a deeper flavor with an even better texture in the end.
**Take them out of the oven when the edges are slightly browning and the center is matte and domed (it shouldn't look shiny or raw on the outside). They will collapse a bit while cooling. Taking them out before they overbake is essential to making a perfectly chewy cookie!

Keyword cookies