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These brownie-like White Chocolate Pecan Cookies are thick, decadent, and better for you than the average cookie. They’re gluten-free and dairy-free, but still packed with rich cocoa powder, sweet white chocolate, and topped with crunchy pecans.
If you’re looking for a healthy pecan cookie recipe, look no further than this pecan chocolate chip cookie recipe! It combines chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips and pecans to create a luscious sweet treat. This recipe uses a blend of gluten-free flours and natural sweeteners, so it’s healthier than the average cookie. Everyone will be begging you for this cookie recipe!
If you like healthy and nutty cookie recipes, you will love my healthy white chocolate macadamia cookies and healthy lemon cookies!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Decadent and Crunchy: These cookies taste chocolatey and decadent thanks to the cocoa powder in the dough, but also have a delightful crunch from the pecan topping.
- Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free: My white chocolate and pecan cookies are made with almond flour and coconut flour, so they are completely gluten-free and dairy-free.
- Ready in Less than 20 Minutes: These cookies bake in 12 minutes or less, so after mixing, baking, and cooling, they are still ready in about 20 minutes! That’s perfect for when a sweet treat craving hits!
Ingredients
- Almond Flour: Not only is almond flour gluten-free, but it’s also rich with protein and fiber to help balance the carbs, making these cookies better for you.
- Coconut Flour: This gluten-free flour is great for managing blood sugar and is also full of fiber. It absorbs a lot of moisture in doughs, so be sure to follow my tips for measuring flour properly for baking!
- Cocoa Powder: Unsweetened cocoa powder doesn’t have any added sweeteners. It’s just full of chocolatey flavor.
- Almond Extract: Add a depth of flavor with a splash of almond extract in the dough. You can also use vanilla extract if you don’t have almond on hand.
- White Chocolate Chips: Be sure to grab dairy-free white chocolate to keep this recipe dairy-free!
- Pecans: These pecan white chocolate cookies are topped with whole, raw pecans for an added crunch and nutty flavor.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations & Dietary Modifications
- Try Different Nuts: Make your cookies with walnuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, or even almonds! If you love nutty cookies, my pistachio chocolate chip oatmeal cookies are always a hit!
- Add More Chocolate: Try adding chunks of dairy-free dark chocolate or chocolate chips to add even more chocolatey flavor and gooeyness to the cookies!
- Mix in Dry Fruit: These cookies taste amazing with dried cranberries, cherries, or raisins mixed in for a little added sweetness and texture. You could also use freeze-dried strawberries to totally transform the flavor.
How to Make White Chocolate Pecan Cookies
These white chocolate chip pecan cookies are a simple but unique recipe. You’ll need a stand mixer or electric hand mixer to combine the ingredients and a cookie scoop for easy scooping. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line your baking sheet with parchment paper before getting started.
Step 1: Combine Oil and Liquids. Combine the oil, maple syrup, almond extract, and salt in your mixing bowl.
Step 2: Add Dry Ingredients. Slowly blend the almond flour into the batter. Once it’s fully mixed, add your cocoa powder and coconut flour. Then fold in the white chocolate chips by hand.
Step 3: Scoop Dough and Add Pecans. Use your cookie scoop to scoop out the dough onto your parchment paper lined baking sheet. Gently press the batter down with your hand, then press a pecan into the top of each cookie.
Step 4: Bake. Bake the cookies at 350°F for 10-12 minutes until the edges are firm. The middle may appear slightly undercooked, but they will continue to bake on the hot pan as they cool. Let them cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Expert Tips
- Chop the Pecans: Add a little crunch to every bite of your cookies by chopping the pecans and mixing them directly into the dough instead.
- Refrigerate Dough: For a thicker, softer cookie, chill the dough in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes before scooping and baking. This will slow down the spreading of the cookies during baking.
- Don’t Use Hot Oil: You’ll need to melt your coconut oil to mix it into the dough, but let it cool before adding it to your mixing bowl. Hot oil will cause the dough to be too warm, and cookies won’t hold their shape. Let the melted oil cool before adding it to your dough.
Storage Directions
- Storing: Keep cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can also freeze these cookies for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: For that fresh out of the oven flavor, pop your cookies in the microwave for 30 seconds before eating.
Serving Suggestions
These white chocolate pecan cookies are the perfect cookies for chocolate and pecan lovers! The cookies are almost like brownies with sweet chunks of white chocolate and crunchy pecans. Take these cookies to share with friends at parties or during the holidays, or make them for yourself whenever your sweet tooth acts up.
- Whip up these cookies with your leftover pecans after making my kale butternut squash salad, or if you made my healthy sweet potato casserole for the holidays.
- Enjoy a cookie with a nice mug of peanut butter hot chocolate in the afternoon to satisfy those chocolate cravings.
- Pair a cookie with a high-protein snack, like cottage cheese spinach artichoke dip, to keep you full for longer and curb any additional cravings.
Recipe FAQs
If the dough is too warm when you start baking, the cookies will spread across the pan. To reduce spreading, chill your dough in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes before baking.
If your cookies don’t spread at all, then the dough is probably too cold. Let it sit on the counter for 5 minutes after chilling before scooping and baking if you have this problem.
Dry, crumbly cookies are a result of overbaking. Be sure to remove the cookies from the oven when the edges are firm. It’s okay if the centers look a little underdone; the cookies will continue to bake on the hot baking pan after it’s removed from the oven.
Yes! It’s a great idea to freeze cookie dough so you can bake 1 or 2 cookies at a time as the mood strikes. Mix the batter and scoop the cookies, then instead of baking, freeze the preportioned cookies for a few hours. Remove the hardened cookie dough balls from the baking sheet and place them in a freezer-safe container. Then grab one or two cookies at a time to thaw and bake. Add 1-2 minutes to the cooking time when baking straight from the freezer.
More Delicious Healthy Cookie Recipes
If you tried this White Chocolate Pecan Cookies recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below.
White Chocolate Pecan Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups Almond Flour
- 2 tablespoons Coconut Flour
- ½ cup Cocoa Powder, unsweetened
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Almond Extract, or vanilla extract
- ½ cup Maple Syrup
- ½ cup Coconut Oil, melted, room temperature or olive oil
- ½ cup White Chocolate Chips, dairy free as needed
- 12 Pecans, raw
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a standing mixer or bowl for a hand mixer, combine coconut oil, maple syrup, almond extract, salt and mix to combine.
- Slowly add almond flour to the batter as you continue to blend. Once almond flour is fully mixed, fold in coconut flour and white chocolate chips.
- Using a small ice cream scoop, add a scoop of batter to the baking sheet to form a cookie.
- Press the batter down a bit with your hand to flatten slightly. Press 1 pecan on top of the cookie to bake it into the cookie.
- Bake at 350 F 10-12 minutes until the edges are firm.
- Remove from the oven and cool on the pan 5 minutes until firm then transfer to a wire baking rack and enjoy.
Notes
- Get a nutty crunch in every bite by chopping the pecans and mixing them into the batter.
- Chill your dough for 15-30 minutes in the refrigerator before scooping and baking to prevent the cookies from over-spreading.
- Melted coconut oil is best for mixing this dough, but you need to let it cool after melting before adding it. Hot oil will disrupt the texture of the cookies.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I don’t know how i missed these! These cookies are gorgeous! I wish I could take them right off the screen and enjoy with some coffee right now 🙂
Thank you! I wish I could hand them out through the screen. 😉
Burnout definitely happens and its hard when it’s from something we love.
Yes! It’s tough to set boundaries on a passion.