Chocolate Chip Pecan Shortbread Cookies

by Dorothy Reinhold on January 25, 2022


Print This Post Print This Post 4 Chocolate Chip Pecan Shortbread Cookies stacked on top of each other against a white background

Chocolate Chip Pecan Shortbread Cookies are so easy and delicious, full of butter, toasted pecans, brown sugar and chips, that you might not make drop cookies again!

I have a great recipe for Butterscotch Pecan Shortbread Cookies on this site, and I love them because they are a butter-and-sugar delivery system. That’s what a cookie should be, right? I’m constantly touting them to friends as a great all-around cookie that is good on a cookie platter, to bring to neighbors who did you a favor, or even to mail to college students who need a taste of home.

But a friend doesn’t like butterscotch, and admitted she took my recipe and subbed in chocolate chips for the butterscotch chips, and thought they were divine that way. 

You don’t have to tell me twice. I had that version in the oven lickety split, and guess what? So should you!

How to make Chocolate Chip Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients for cookies arranged on a white counter topFirst, gather your ingredients. For this recipe, you’ll need:

  • Butter
  • Dark brown sugar
  • Vanilla extract (my favorite is Heilala Vanilla from New Zealand, which you can get in a better grocery store, or through LoveFromNewZealand)
  • Flour, salt
  • Chocolate chips
  • Toasted chopped pecans

Whipped butter on the paddle of an electric mixerBeat the butter — whip it good! (If you’re not smiling from the Devo reference, we can’t be friends.)

Hand holding a white spoon stirs chocolate chips and pecans into the doughMix in the rest of the ingredients, and then stir in the chips and pecans by hand, so the paddle/beater doesn’t make them disintegrate.

Hand holding an offset spatula hovers over plops of thich dough in a gold toned baking panScrape the dough into a parchment-lined 9-inch square baking pan.

Hand holding an offset spatula spreads thick cookie dough in a gold toned baking panUse an offset spatula to spread the dough evenly. 

Light brown Chocolate Chip Pecan Shortbread Cookies in a gold toned baking panBake. The edges will be light brown, but there is no leavener in this cookie so it won’t puff up.

Hand holding a large knife cuts cookies into long stripsCut into 36 squares, and share some with the neighbors. Or your college kid. Or the Amazon driver.

A hand holds a glass serving plate with Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies piled on the platePut some in an elegant serving piece if you want to feel fancy. 

Hand holding a Chocolate Chip Pecan Shortbread Cookie on ShockinglyDelicious.comTrust me that you can freeze these, but they taste just as good straight from the freezer, so don’t think you’ll be hiding them from yourself in there. Not that I would know.

Chocolate Chip Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

Yield: Makes 36 cookies

Chocolate Chip Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Chocolate Chip Pecan Shortbread Cookies are so easy and delicious, full of butter, toasted pecans, brown sugar and chips, that you might not make drop cookies again!

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces (2 sticks or 16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2-2/3 cup finely chopped toasted pecans

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 300F degrees.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light colored in fluffy, about 3 minutes. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, allowing excess on each side so it can be used to lift cookies from pan later. Set the pan aside. (OR use the butter wrapper to grease the inside of the baking pan.)
  3. Add vanilla, reduce speed to low, and slowly add flour and salt, beating until just combined. Scrape down the paddle, and mix in chocolate chips and pecans by hand (so they don't disintegrate). Feel free to use the larger amount of pecans if you adore them.
  4. Scrape dough into the prepared dish, and using an offset spatula, spread the dough evenly.
  5. Bake for 50 minutes, until firm and slightly golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven, and, using a sharp-edged metal spatula, immediately cut through the cookies to make 36 squares; do not remove cookies from pan. Allow cookies to cool completely in pan, for about 1 hour. (If you don't cut into them immediately after baking, they might not cut evenly and are more likely to crumble.)
  6. Using the parchment paper "handles," remove whole block of cookies from pan to a cutting board. Separate cookies into squares, using a knife if needed. Store in an airtight container on the counter. They can also be frozen, airtight.
  7. Makes 36 cookies.

Notes

Recipe source: Based on the recipe for Butterscotch Pecan Shortbread Cookies on Shockingly Delicious. That recipe was adapted from Gail Simmons' recipe for Chocolate Butterscotch Shortbread published in People magazine, Dec. 14, 2015.

https://www.shockinglydelicious.com/chocolate-chip-pecan-shortbread-cookies/

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Stack of 4 Chocolate Chip Pecan Shortbread Cookies with words superimposed on top of the photo

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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }

Bella Adams February 21, 2022 at 9:26 am

Thank you for this recipe, it worked great the first time!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold February 27, 2022 at 7:28 pm

Bella,
Thank you! So glad you loved it!

Reply

Christie February 7, 2022 at 3:38 am

These look so easy and delicious! And I’m a sucker for a shortbread.

Reply

Radha January 30, 2022 at 10:35 am

I love these! SO delicious with pecans and chocolate! YUM!

Reply

SallyBR January 29, 2022 at 6:17 pm

Cannot beat shortbread! this sounds amazing, just saved the recipe!

Reply

Rebecca January 28, 2022 at 10:48 am

I love when neighbors share! What a great recipe

Reply

Kathleen Pope January 27, 2022 at 6:16 pm

You had me at shortbread and while I cannot understand why your friend doesn’t like butterscotch chips, I certainly would never turn down chocolate chips.

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold January 28, 2022 at 12:09 am

Kathleen,
I felt exactly the same. Butterscotch chips are just…so…amazing. However, chocolate chip anything is nothing to sniff at.

Reply

Lisa Kerhin January 27, 2022 at 4:31 pm

I love shortbread cookies and with chocolate chips they sound even better

Reply

Beti | easyweeknightrecipes January 27, 2022 at 12:28 pm

These cookies are fabulous! The flavors are incredible!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold January 27, 2022 at 5:58 pm

Beti,
Thank you! I agree!

Reply

katerina @ diethood.com January 27, 2022 at 12:27 pm

I would love one of these right now! They sound amazing!

Reply

Erik January 27, 2022 at 8:40 am

I seriously love this flavor combo!

Reply

Allyson Zea January 27, 2022 at 8:14 am

This was so flavorful and delicious! Thank you for the easy recipe!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold January 27, 2022 at 5:59 pm

Allyson,
Easy and delish wins the day!

Reply

Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert January 27, 2022 at 7:36 am

These shortbread cookies are on my must-make list!

Reply

Cindy January 27, 2022 at 4:55 am

I’m a big shortbread fan. I love yours with all those chips!

Reply

Hezzi-D January 26, 2022 at 6:25 pm

Pecans and chocolate go so well with shortbread.

Reply

Jolene January 26, 2022 at 5:49 pm

What an awesome spin on shortbread! Chock full of yummy stuff!

Reply

Beth January 26, 2022 at 3:12 pm

Everything about these is amazing! I love the flavors and the texture looks fantastic.

Reply

Karen January 26, 2022 at 1:29 pm

If I had to choose only one kind of cookie for the rest of my life, it would be shortbread. Love the close up!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold January 27, 2022 at 5:59 pm

Karen,
I agree with you. You just cannot go wrong.

Reply

Wendy Klik January 26, 2022 at 12:48 pm

Shortbread is my favorite cookie and you just went and improved on them.

Reply

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