Caramel Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies – a decadent twist on a classic cookie! You’ll love the infusion of buttery caramel and nutty flavor in these chewy cookies.
Remember this Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe? I changed it up by adding caramel bits and pecans! Our caramel stuffed chocolate chip cookies are equally delicious, and even easier!
Why This Recipe Works
Once you learn how to make chocolate chip cookies, it’s so easy to change up the flavors and mix-ins.
These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are another variation you need to try–especially if you love peanut butter treats.
- These Caramel Pecan Cookies are based on my favorite chocolate chip cookies recipe.
- It has the perfect ratio of dough to chocolate chips.
- Caramel bits make the centers just slightly ooey-gooey.
- You’ll love the crunchy pecans in these soft baked chewy cookies!
Today’s recipe is designed with caramel lovers in mind!
Ingredient Notes
You’ll need all the same ingredients you use for regular chocolate chip cookies, with a few additions.
- Butter – Softened butter makes cookies soft and chewy without spreading too much.
- Sweeteners – We use a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar in this recipe.
- Eggs – Bind the dough together and add moisture.
- Vanilla – Pure vanilla extract is essential for flavoring the dough and enhancing the taste of the chocolate and caramel.
- Milk – You can use any kind of milk to add more moisture to the dough.
- Dry ingredients – You will need flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Milk chocolate morsels – Feel free to swap them out for semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate!
- Caramel baking bits – Find these in the baking aisle near the chocolate chips; or use chopped up caramel candies instead.
Easy Instructions
- PREP- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Mix Wet Ingredients- In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar. Cream these together for about 2 minutes, until fully blended. Add in eggs and vanilla extract.
- Add Dry ingredients- Add in flour, salt, and baking soda. Beat JUST until fully combined. Fold in chocolate chips, caramel bits, and pecans.
- Bake- Using a 3 Tablespoon scoop, drop onto parchment paper lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 11-13 minutes, until outside of cookie is lightly browned.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool several minutes on baking sheet. Remove and cool completely on wire rack. The number of cookies is determined by the size scoop you use. I prefer these to be larger…which yields about 2 dozen cookies.
Tips and Tricks
- How to freeze: Make the dough ahead of time, then scoop it onto a baking sheet. Freeze scoops of dough for 30 minutes. Now transfer the dough to an airtight container and store in the freezer until ready to bake.
- Baking frozen dough: Place frozen cookie dough right onto the baking sheet. Bake in the oven as directed, adding 1 -2 minutes of additional baking as needed.
- Use a pizza stone: I find that baking cookies on a pizza stone keeps them from getting too brown and helps them spread less.
Recipe FAQs
Chilling the dough before baking works like a charm! If you find chocolate chip cookies tend to spread a lot in your oven, stick the dough in the refrigerator for 20 – 30 minutes, then bake as directed in the recipe.
You can unwrap caramel candies and chop them into small pieces. They taste delicious as a substitute for caramel baking bits.
I recommend baking the dough within 3 months of freezing for best taste.
Yes, the baked cookies can be frozen as well! Store them in a freezer safe container to preserve freshness.
More Cookie Recipes
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chunk
- Snickerdoodles
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Caramel Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 bag milk chocolate morsels 11 ounce
- 1 ¼ cup caramel bits or whole caramels, chopped
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars for about 2 minutes, until fully blended. Add in eggs and vanilla and beat until well mixed.
- Add in flour, salt, and baking soda. Beat JUST until fully combined. Fold in chocolate chips, caramel bits, and pecans.
- Using a 3 Tablespoon cookie scoop, drop onto parchment paper lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart. If desired, press some extra chocolate chips into the top of the cookies.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes, until outside of cookie is lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool several minutes on baking sheet. Remove and cool completely on wire rack. The number of cookies is determined by the size scoop you use. I prefer these to be larger…which yields about 2 dozen cookies.
Notes
- To freeze cookie dough, scoop dough onto a parchment paper lined, freezer safe, cookie sheet. Freeze for about 30 minutes. Remove dough and place in a freezer bag, labeled. When ready to bake, remove desired amount of dough and bake as directed. Add several minutes for frozen dough.
- Chilling the Dough- I love the texture and flavor when you chill the dough for 24 hours. HOWEVER, it's not mandatory. Sometimes you just can't plan that far in advance!
- Use my homemade vanilla extract recipe for delicious flavor.
Nutrition
You’ll love these decadent and gooey Caramel Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies! Just as easy as traditional chocolate chip cookies with an extra sweet and nutty twist.
I love this idea to freeze the cookie dough! My son always asks for a cookie after school and this would be a great way to have them on hand.
Fall is on its way and that means TONS of time for cookies, and by time I mean time where I am not a gross sweaty mess and baking cookies will NOT leave my apartment an inferno of heat. I love the caramel and pecan combo, Aimee, so chewy and decadent! 😀
You had me at caramel and pecan. Girl, these look bonkers good. Cookies every Monday? I’ll be over with my sleeping bag. I love that you scooped out the dough for freezing–genius! Pinned.
Consequently tasty! That seems impressive.
Such a great idea Aimee! I’m totally doing that from now on – with my regular batches. Less for me to eat…right away…
Yeah, I do it with regular sized batches too! It’s such a great trick, and fresh cookies each week keep me in my kids graces 🙂
Loving the combination in these cookies–I haven’t tried caramel and pecans with chocolate but now it is on my list!
Decadent, chewy delight is RIGHT! These cookies are on-point, Aimee! Love them.
I love that Monday is your cookie day!!! I usually do Sunday or Monday too…that way we are stocked for the week. I don’t freeze the cookie dough though. I bag up the extra cookies in lunch box sizes and freeze those instead…if there are extras. Usually we give away half of what I make for different meetings.
Very clever indeed! I’d probably resort to eating frozen dough though! The caramel bits makes these cookies especially delicious!
These cookies!! I used not to like nuts in my cookies but now I am crazy about them. I need these!
I love your “living off the fat of the land” in the summer…a freezer full of cookie dough is a very good thing! I get lazy, so having them in the freezer to bake up at a moment’s notice is perfect for me. 🙂
I’m such a dramatic teenager. Or, really, I’m so dramatic cause I live with teenagers. LOL
I need to make these right now!
My kids would love the Monday cookie schedule. Makes me think I should start this to ease into the school year. These look delicious!
I have so many dough balls JUST LIKE that in my freezer, with the name of the dough, date, and all stacked up, layer by layer. It’s a good thing that I don’t need my freezer for anything else b/c I am not kidding you when I say that 90% of my freezer is frozen cookie dough and 10% frozen fruit/veg from TJs 🙂 These cookies look so perfectly chewy – love them! Pinned 🙂
Haha, is it wrong I want to come raid your freezer 🙂
Oh gosh, Aimee.. you are mom of the year! Fresh cookies every monday? Will you adopt me?!
Sure! What’s one more cookie eating mouth to feed?!?
These chocolate chip cookies are loaded with all the flavors I love. I’m going to have to try these.
Let me know if you do!! They are awesome, if I do say so myself 🙂
WOW, these cookies look sooo good! I’ve been meaning to make some cookies lately and these are perfect!
Thanks Kristy, if you’ve been craving cookies, these definitely have it all 🙂
These cookies look fantastic! I’m going to whip up a batch of dough and freeze it, right now!
You go girl, you won’t regret it 🙂
The fat of the land, huh? In that case, I have a lot of land. Or a lot of fat. Because my freezer stash is HUGE. I’m more than a little scared of it!
These cookies are fanabulous. Especially because you added caramel! And your kids are super lucky to have such a great Monday treat!
Sounds to me like you’re ready for your own personal bake sale 🙂
My daughter would love to be at your house on Mondays. She adores cookies and would love these. So would I. I love any kind of nut in a chocolate chip cookie plus you added caramel. Oh, I love these.
I love nuts in my cookies too. Usually my kids rebel, but the caramel won them over they forgot the nuts were in there!