These Butter Pecan Cookies live up to their name. They are buttery and chock full of pecans. They are crisp, sweet, and are the perfect sweet bite after supper. Whether you need eggless cookies or not these are divine.
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These are one of my favorite cookies ever. I made them for the first time as a newlywed almost 13 years ago when this recipe came in my little Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine. I've made them countless times since. I loved those little Everyday Food recipe books when I had a subscription. As a new bride cooking for 2 for the first time I needed a bit of help.
I've always enjoyed cooking. My best friend and I used to destroy our moms' kitchens regularly with our experiments. Like typical teenagers, we did things like put Twizzlers into pancakes to see what would happen. They melted and made a mess.
Meg and I had a blast but between crazy experiments and spending my teenage years as a vegetarian, there were many things I needed to learn how to cook properly. In the early 2000s, Food Network wasn't around that I remember so I resorted to cookbooks and magazines. I still have a folder of dozens of recipes I cut from magazines or jotted down on scraps of paper from cookbooks from the library.
The Best Butter Pecan Cookies
A few of my favorite recipes besides these Butter Pecan Cookies came from the Everyday Food books. Upside Down Cranberry Cake and Cookie Breakup (a crunchy eggless chocolate chip cookie you cook on a sheet pan and break into pieces) to name two. They will appear in healthier versions here at Joy Filled Eats someday!
When I perfected my shortbread cookie dough early this month I knew that adding pecans to it would change it into the special sweet known as Butter Pecan Cookies. My husband has always loved these as well. He's not a huge sweets guy but he has a special place in his heart for nut cookies.
Pecan Sandies
If you loved pecan sandies growing up I'm sure you'll love this recipe too. They are ready before you could even put on your coat and head out to the store to buy a package. And with healthy ingredients, my pecan cookies recipe is the better choice.
Using a food processor to mix up the dough for these is the way to go. If you don't have a food processor you can finely chop the nuts by hand and then cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until the dough looks like my dough in the above photo.
Rolling the dough in sweetener and pressing them out helps to create a crisper cookie. It can be tricky to get cookies with almond flour to firm up like a traditional shortbread.
The method paired with my eggless cookie dough creates the perfect shortbread texture!
Expert Tips for Crisp Keto Cookies
Using gelatin in place of eggs in recipes is the trick I've found to crisp up cookies made with alternative flours like almond flour and coconut flour.
I use gelatin in place of eggs in my other eggless cookies too.
All of these cookies are eggless!
Jam Thumbprint Low Carb Cookies
English Toffee Cappuccino Cookies
Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
Almond Crunch Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
How to store Butter Pecan Cookies
This recipe makes 16 medium-sized cookies perfect for dunking into a glass of reduced carb milk to serving alongside a cup of steaming coffee. I always add them to my cookie trays at Christmas and have frequently gifted them to family and friends. I store all my low carb baked goods in the fridge so they last longer but these are fine on the counter for a few days. And they freeze really well!
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📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 oz cold salted butter cut into pieces
- 1 cup almond flour
- ⅓ cup coconut flour
- ⅔ cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes) divided
- 2 teaspoon gelatin
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the butter, almond flour, coconut flour, ⅓ cup of the sweetener, gelatin, and vanilla in a food processor. Pulse until wet crumbs form. Add the pecans. Pulse until they are chopped. The dough will come together into a ball as the pecans are chopped.
- Divide the dough into 16 pieces. Put the remaining ⅓ cup sweetener in a shallow bowl. Roll each piece of dough into a ball. Put in the sweetener and press it into a disc. Flip it over and press again so both sides are dusted with sweetener. Put on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the edges are golden. (Begin checking these around the 8-10 minute mark, they seem to bake fast in some ovens).
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Originally Published December 18, 2016. Revised and Republished April 20, 2020.
Susanne McAllister says
why the gelatine?
Taryn says
Using gelatin in place of eggs in keto recipes is the trick I've found to crisp up cookies made with alternative flours like almond flour and coconut flour.
Valerie says
Love these cookies and so easy to make. I have one (very hard to keep to just one) every day for afternoon tea, it’s my treat for the day. Thank you for the recipe just delicious 😋
Cheryl Sade says
These look fabulous! I love Pecan anything!
Cheryl Burns says
Yum, 😍
JoAnne Pitre says
Where do I find the video?
Taryn says
It is in the recipe card. You can just click 'jump to recipe' under the title at the top.
Carolyn says
Very easy and quick to make- BONUS----Nice and crispy!!
Tanya says
Oh my! These are so easy and fast to make. My husband and I both LOVE these. Thanks for sharing your recipe with us.
Debby says
I am not getting a dough .. I followed exactly and it just is powder..the only liquid is a tsp of vanilla, right..?
Taryn says
Did you use a food processor? The food processor breaks down the almond flour releasing the natural oils. Combined with the butter the dough comes together without added liquid.