Brown Butter Cranberry Pecan Cookies
Brown butter cranberry pecan cookies are the perfect mix of sweet, chewy, nutty, and delicious! Made using brown butter, the cookie base has a toasted flavor and is studded with sweet and tart-dried cranberries and chopped pecans. Made easily without a mixer and no chilling required you can have a batch of these cranberry pecan cookies in under 30 minutes!
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Cookies are my love language! I love sugar cookies and can eat them almost every day, but these cranberry pecan cookies with brown butter are definitely rivaling for the top spot in my heart!
My older sister calls these cookies – healthy fruit cookies, but really there isn’t anything healthy about these cookies! They’re just amazing, and are made like always with all organic and whole ingredients!
This is one of those recipes that anyone can whip up and they’ll turn out amazing. The secret is using brown butter. If you have ever made ghee or clarified butter before you can make brown butter. Just cook the ghee just a bit longer until it has developed a rich deep golden color and you’re good to go!
Key Ingredients in this Brown Butter Cookie Recipe
Brown butter – instead of using softened butter to make these cookies, we are cooking the butter until it has reached a dark golden color. It creates soft and chewy cookies with a subtle nuttiness.
Cornstarch – helps to give the best chewy texture to the cookies.
Vanilla extract – A must in any cookie recipe. Use a good quality vanilla extract for the best flavor.
Mix of brown and white sugar – both brown and white sugar help to give a caramel and chewy flavor to the cookies. If you don’t have brown sugar, combine 1 – 2 teaspoons of molasses with white sugar and mix until it reaches a medium/dark brown color, then use as usual.
Chopped pecans – organic and 6 tablespoons give the perfect amount of nutty crunch.
Dried cranberries – add a nice sweet and tart flavor.
How to Make The Best Cranberry Pecan Cookies With Brown Butter:
Step one: Brown the butter by melting it in a medium sauce pot at medium heat. Cook for 7 minutes or until it turns a dark golden color. Swirl the pan every few minutes to check the color. Then set aside to cool for at least 5 – 10 minutes.
Step two: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl combine the dry ingredients, and set aside.
Step three: In a large mixing bowl add brown sugar, white sugar, and browned butter. Mix until combined, then add the egg and vanilla extract and mix again. Then add in the flour mixture, and stir to combine. The dough should be very soft. Then fold in the chopped pecans and dried cranberries.
Step four: Using a cookie scoop form uniform dough balls, and roll until smooth. Place on a cookie sheet with 1 – 2 inches of space in between. Optional: top each cookie with a few pieces of pecans and cranberries for a nice presentation.
Step five: Bake at 350 F degrees for 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers are almost set. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step six: Serve and Enjoy!
Recommended Tools
Cookie scoop (similar)
Recipe Notes and Tips
Allow the brown butter to cool before using. After the butter is finished cooking it is incredibly hot and if used immediately it can heat the eggs up too much.
Use a cookie scoop to get uniform cookies. I linked my favorite one above!
Don’t overcook the cookies. Cook the cookies for 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers are just underset. They will continue to cook on the cookie sheet as they cool so we don’t want to overcook them in the oven.
Fluff the flour in the bag before measuring. You don’t want the flour to be packed when you are trying to measure it because there could be too much flour in the scoop and throw off the whole recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions —
Brown butter is created when butter is heated to the point when all the moisture has evaporated leaving only the fat content and browned milk solids. Made in a similar way to ghee – the butter is cooked until it has reached that signature dark brown color.
Using browned butter instead of creamed butter gives the cookies a slightly nutty and toasty flavor.
Both are great but it just depends on what kind of cookie you want. However, I find that brown butter gives a depth of flavor that regular creamed butter doesn’t have.
Looking For More Recipes?
Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies with Dipped in Chocolate
Chocolate chip cookies with walnuts
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Brown Butter Cranberry Pecan Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter ½ cup
- 1 cup all-purpose flour* + 2 tablespoons
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- 6 tablespoons pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a medium sauce pot cook the stick of butter until it has started to brown and the milk solid bits have browned at the bottom of the pot, 7 minutes. Allow the brown butter to cool for 5 – 10 minutes before using.
- In a small mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl add brown butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Mix until combined, then add the vanilla extract and egg. Mix until well incorporated.
- Next, add the flour mixture to the egg and sugar mixture and mix until combined. The dough will be soft. Add dried cranberries and chopped pecans.
- Using a cookie scoop to form uniform dough balls. Roll into smooth balls then place on a cookie sheet with 1 – 2 inches of space in between. Optional: Top each ball with chopped pecans and cranberries for a nice presentation.
- Bake for 12 minutes, the edges should be lightly browned and the centers almost set. Allow the cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes then transfer them to a cookie sheet to completely cool.
- Serve with a cup of hot or iced tea and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition information is automatically generated and should be only used as a rough estimate. This recipe card may contain affiliate links.
What size of the egg used? Thank you.
Large.
Haven’t made these yet but wondered could you boil and replump the cranberries instead of using dried if you drain and dry them well? Is this a cake style cookie?
Hi Lori! I haven’t tried replumping the cranberries, but it sounds like it should be fine. No, they aren’t cakey at all!