I hope you're ready to binge eat butterscotch cookies! You can thank my Auntie Maureen for the recipe --shortbread style cookies filled with pecans and butterscotch chips, YUM!
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Why This is The Best Butternut Cookies Recipe
- It's only 6 ingredients! And to top it off, they are simple ingredients you probably already have in your house.
- They are ready in under 30 minutes start to finish!
- Who doesn't love butterscotch? These cookies use delicious butterscotch chips that provide such a cozy delicious taste to these pecan cookies.
- They are perfectly sweet and crunchy. The pecans give a delicious crunch while the butterscotch chips sweeten the shortbread cookie base.
Ingredients You'll Need
These butternut cookies are best topped with a rum sugar glaze. Here's what you'll need:
- Unsalted Butter - never use salted butter unless you want extra salty cookies!
- Icing (powdered/confectioners) Sugar - this adds the perfect sweetness while maintaining the melt in your mouth texture of these cookies
- Flour
- Butterscotch Chips - you're going to love the flavor these add to the cookies. If you haven't had them before, they have beautiful notes of brown sugar, butter, molasses.
- Chopped Pecans
- Rum (yes, trust me!) - if you're going to make the rum glaze (which oh my goodness you should!) rum is essential. The perfect boozy kick to these cookies.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Make them dairy free by using vegan butter instead of regular butter. I don't recommend using room temperature vegan butter. It typically is softer to begin with, so use slightly cool vegan butter.
- Make them gluten free by using gluten free flour - I recommend using Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour
- These are the vegan butterscotch chips I would recommend.
- If you aren't fond of pecan, you can switch them for any nut you prefer!
Step-by-step Instructions
This recipe is so fast and easy. Just the type of cookie recipe I love!
Step 1 - Chop pecans. Begin by chopping whole pecans to fill a measuring cup with exactly 1 cup of chopped pecans. Set aside.
**Note, 1 cup of chopped pecans is different than 1 cup of pecans chopped. In the first, you would chop pecans and fill a 1 cup measuring cup with the chopped pecans. In the second example, you would measure 1 cup of whole pecans and then chop them.
Step 2 - Cream butter and icing sugar. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy. (1-2 minutes)
Step 3 - Combine. Once you've creamed your butter and icing sugar, next add in your dry ingredients with the mixer on low speed. Finish by adding pecans and butterscotch chips and mix until combined. The cookie dough will be crumbly. When you shape your cookie dough into balls, the batter will come together.
Step 4 - Shape dough. Finish by shaping the dough into 1- 1 and ½" balls. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes until firm but not brown.
Cool on wire cooling racks. Place parchment paper under the rack (to catch glaze that drips off cookies).
Make Glaze
Mix glaze ingredients together until smooth. Dip the cookies in the glaze and place them on a cool rack to allow excess glaze to drip off. Allow the glaze to completely dry before enjoying.
FAQ
Here are some questions you might have when making these delicious pecan shortbread cookies.
Continue mixing for a couple of minutes to see if the dough comes together. Next, use your hands to press the dough together. If it still feels a bit too dry, add 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter and continue to mix. This should do the trick.
Yes! This cookie dough freezes well. I recommend making the dough, rolling the cookies into preformed balls and then placing them into an airtight container in the freezer. You can of course freeze the dough as one large ball, but I find it more work to allow it to thaw and then be able to roll into balls to bake. The dough can freeze for up to 3 months.
No! As a matter of fact, for a number of years I didn't add any glaze to the cookies. They are delicious with or without the glaze.
Make Ahead Tips
You can make the dough a couple of hours before baking and store it in the refrigerator or you can make the dough and freeze it for future baking. For both of these options it will need to come to room temperature before baking.
Storage & Freezing
Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freeze baked butternut cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Allow the cookies to come to room temperature before eating.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes to Try
Rich and Decadent Eggnog Cookie Recipe
Simple Gingerbread Man Cookie Recipe
Simple Classic Shortbread Recipe
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Butternut Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cups unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup powdered (icing/confectioners) sugar
- 1¾ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a cookie tray with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter for 30 seconds. Stop mixer and add in icing sugar. Cream together for 45 seconds.
- With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in flour and salt. Turn mixer to medium speed and mix until combined. (Note, the batter will appear crumbly, this is okay. When you form the balls it will come together)
- Add in pecans and butterscotch chips and mix to combine.
- Shape dough into 1" balls.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 15 minutes until firm but not brown.
- Cool on wire racks. Place parchment paper under the racks to collect glaze that spills off.
- Mix glaze ingredients together until smooth and spoon over cookies.
- Place a candied cherry or pecan on top for decoration!
Rum Glaze
Ingredients
- 1½ cups Icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon Rum extract
- ½ cup whole milk
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together icing sugar and rum extract and milk until smooth.
- Dip cookies in glaze and place on a cookie rack to allow excess to drip off
- Enjoy!
Steve says
These are my favorite cookies ever!
Brit says
My family really enjoyed these.
Jackie says
These have become a yearly must bake!!
Blair Braz says
Aren't they so delicious! I just love them.