Chocolate Pecan Pie Cookies

These Chocolate Pecan Pie Cookies are the best parts of a pecan pie rolled into buttery cookies with a gooey pecan pie filling then drizzled with semi-sweet chocolate. This is the perfect cookie for the holiday seasonmake them for dessert or cookie exchanges!

Originally posted December 2012, updated September 2024

Chocolate Pecan Pie Cookies on a wire rack over newsprint

Chocolate Pecan Pie Cookies

Let me tell you a little story about how I got here… to these cookies with pecans.

I’m scared to say this in the South, but my husband and I are not big fans of traditional Pecan Pie. We love the idea of pecan pie, but that thick, gooey, super sweet filling just doesn’t really appeal to either of us. 

We do love pecans, and a flaky pie crust… so a few years back, I decided to make some Pecan Pie Bars for Richy and see what he thought of them. 

Well… he loved them! These bars quickly became a holiday staple for us, and he requests them every year around Christmas.

Chocolate Pecan Pie Cookies on a wire rack over newsprint

Pecan Pie Cookies Recipe

The next time I decided to venture out, I made an easy pecan cookies recipe. My favorite thing is – these cookies are easy to make but they taste and look so impressive!

These Chewy Pecan Pie Cookies were a huge hit from the first time I made them. They have all the “good parts” of Pecan Pie without that super-thick sticky filling. 

These Easy Pecan Pie Cookies are perfect—a pecan pie in cookie form. This recipe also works well as a Christmas cookie.

Chocolate Pecan Pie Cookie with a bite missing

My husband instantly declared them wonderful, and I shared them at my son’s birthday party over the weekend. They ended up being a bigger hit than the cake 😉

Someone even said they tasted like Crumbl Cookies. I haven’t ever had those but I’ll take that as a compliment.

What are Pecan Pie Cookies?

Pecan Pie Thumbprint Cookies are buttery thumbprint cookies with nutty filling. This delicious cookie is soft and buttery and replaces the flaky crust of a pie.

I then put a small amount of the pecan pie filling in the center of the cookie. It’s not exactly the classic pie filling, but it’s oh-so-good.

For a fun twist, we drizzle them with melted semi-sweet chocolate and call them Chocolate Pecan Pie Cookies. I found this idea in a magazine along with the recipe for pecan cookies.

Pecan Pie Cookies on a wire rack over newsprint
  • You get all the flavors of pecan pie in an easy-to-serve, delicious cookie.
  • They’re perfect for the holidays and impressive for a cookie exchange.
  • Our whole family loves them and they’re a crowd-pleaser too.

Tools

Ingredients

These cookies are made from staple ingredients in your pantry or easily found at your local grocery store.

Chocolate Pecan Pie Cookie Ingredients sitting on a surface with newsprint

Cookies

Filling

Chocolate Drizzle

Find the complete recipe for butter pecan cookies with chocolate drizzle and full list of ingredients with measurements in the recipe card below.

Chocolate Pecan Pie Cookies on a wire rack over newsprint

How to Make Pecan Pie Cookies

This pecan pie cookies recipe is an easy recipe. It has the classic nutty flavor of pecan pie with a buttery sugar cookie as the base. 

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  2. For the cookie base, in a medium mixing bowl, cream together the wet ingredients (brown sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla) until very smooth and light. Add the dry ingredients (flour and baking powder), then mix the flour mixture on low until well combined. It will be a firm sugar cookie dough.
  3. Shape dough into 1.5 inch balls. I used a small cookie scoop to do this… that makes it so easy!
  4. Place the cookie dough balls 3 inches apart onto a lined baking sheet. Be sure to leave that much space – these babies spread out!
  5. Make an indention in the center of each cookie using your thumb – roll it around to hollow out a good “pocket” for the pecan pie filling. This is why they’re also called Pecan Thumbprint Cookies.
  6. For the easy pecan pie filling, gently stir together the filling ingredients: chopped pecans, brown sugar, heavy whipping cream, and vanilla in a small mixing bowl.
  7. Fill each cookie with a heaping teaspoon of pecan filling. That stuff is good!
  8. Bake cookies for 10 – 14 minutes or until golden brown. Allow them to cool on the pan for at least one minute, then transfer to a wire rack and let them cool for at least another 10-12 minutes.
  9. Melt the chocolate chips in a glass bowl for 1-2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth and completely melted. Drizzle with a fork over the cooled cookies and let them set for a few minutes.
  10. Or eat them instantly… licking the warm chocolate off your lips to avoid being caught!
wet ingredients in a clear glass bowl
wet ingredients mixed up in a clear glass bowl
dry ingredients added to wet ingredients
pecans added to pecan pie cookie dough
pecan pie filling mixed up
thumbprint cookies on a baking sheet
pecan pie thumbprint cookies on a baking sheet - filled with pecan pie filling
thumbprint cookies with pecan pie filling
finished chocolate pecan pie cookies  on a wire rack with ingredients around it

Variations

Instead of drizzling with chocolate or along with the chocolate, you can drizzle these with caramel and call them “Caramel Pecan Thumbprint Cookies.”

Most of the time we call them Chocolate Pecan Cookies or Chocolate Pecan Pie Cookies.

Serving Suggestions

These soft cookies are great for Thanksgiving, Christmas, a cookie exchange, a classroom or office party, or dessert at home for no special occasion at all.

Storage Directions

Chewy pecan cookies can be stored in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in a couple of layers of plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. The cookies will soften over time due to the pecan pie filling. 

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Chocolate Drizzled Pecan Pie Cookies


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 1 review

  • Author: Rose
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 3 Dozen 1x

Description

These Chocolate Pecan Pie Cookies are the best parts of a pecan pie rolled into buttery cookies with a gooey pecan pie filling then drizzled with semi-sweet chocolate. This is the perfect cookie for the holiday seasonmake them for dessert or cookie exchanges!


Ingredients

Units Scale

Cookies

Filling

Chocolate Drizzle


Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°.
  2. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the brown sugar, butter, egg and vanilla. Beat until very smooth and light. Add the flour and baking powder, then mix on low until well combined.
  3. Shape the dough into 1.5 inch balls. I used a cookie scoop to do this… that makes it so easy!
  4. Place the balls 3 inches apart onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Be sure to leave that much space – these babies spread out!
  5. Make an indention on each cookie using your thumb – roll it around to hollow out a good “pocket” for the pecan pie filling.
  6. In a small mixing bowl, gently stir together the filling ingredients: pecans, brown sugar, heavy whipping cream and vanilla.
  7. Fill each cookie with a heaping teaspoon of filling. That stuff is good!
  8. Bake for 10 – 14 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow them to cool on the pan for at least one minute, then transfer to a cooling rack and let them cool for at least another 10 minutes.
  9. Melt the chocolate chips in a glass bowl for 1-2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth and completely melted. Drizzle with a fork over the cooled cookies and let them set for a few minutes.
  10. Or eat them instantly… licking the warm chocolate off your lips to avoid being caught!
  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Cook Time: 10 mins
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
Recipe Card powered byTasty Recipes
chocolate pecan pie cookie with bite missing and text overlay
chocolate pecan pie cookies on wire rack with bite missing and text overlay

More Delicious Recipes

13 Comments

  1. I will def. try this recipe.. the key to a better pecan pie… more pecans!! Try cutting the “filling” recipe in half and tripling (or even more) the pecans… What you end up with is a ton of pecans coated in the yumminess instead of a lot of goo and a few pecans 🙂

  2. So delicious! This post is one of my features for this week’s SSPS, thank you for sharing with us! Melynda @scratchmadefood!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star