Butter Pecan Cheesecake Cookies
Buttered pecans, brown butter, graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, and a white chocolate cheesecake filling create a wonderful cookie version of a Southern favorite, butter pecan cake.
This butter pecan cookie is highly inspired by a delicious slice of Southern style butter pecan pound cake. I love this recipe from Soulfully Made for butter pecan pound cake, recipe HERE. I added an upgrade of a white chocolate cheesecake filling in lieu of cream cheese icing to add a fancy flair for Mother’s Day!
If I could have my way, I’d have pecans in almost every cookie recipe on this blog. They are high fat, buttery, naturally sweet, and add a yummy bite of texture to any dish they are added to. Plus, I am lucky to have local Texas pecans available near me.
Toasting the pecans in butter intensifies the already buttery nature of this delicious ingredient and adding small amounts of cinnamon keep the flavors warm inside the buttered pecan cookie. I wanted to highlight a warm buttery cookie without adding too many extra ingredients so the main flavors could shine.
Love Pecans??? Check out these awesome recipes!
- Maple Spiced Pecans
- Maple Spiced Pecan Cookies
- Carrot Cake Cookies-Stuffed
- Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookie
Why I Love This Recipe
Flavor-The base of this cookie not only has brown butter, which has a rich toasted nutty flavor, it also includes a stick of regular unsalted butter. Combining these two styles of butter adds to the depth of buttery flavor, the brown butter adds toasty flavor while the unsalted butter adds creaminess to the cookie dough. The is the base flavor I am going for with this cookie, rich, toasty but creamy. I add toasted buttered pecans which are rich and nutty in flavor and have a dash of cinnamon to keep a rich warmth in the cookie. Graham cracker crumbs are also added to the dough to continue with the warm buttery flavor profile of this cookie.
The addition of the white chocolate cheesecake filling is big on sweet flavor. White chocolate, in my opinion, is a bit boring by itself but when used to add sweetness and creaminess at the same time, this ingredient delivers. It adds extra mouthfeel and makes the cheesecake filling much more luxurious without having to add sugar by itself to sweeten the filling. The cinnamon sugar used to roll the stuffed cookies in, have a small amount of cinnamon to continue with the warm flavor story I am trying to achieve. The cinnamon flavor is not pronounced in these cookies as I wanted a warm buttery cookie and not a cinnamon pecan cookie. The small amount of cinnamon in the sugar adds warmth without overwhelming the flavor of the butter and pecans.
Texture-There are two things I wanted to experience with this cookie: chewy edges and a soft cheesecake middle. This cookie combines the best textures of wrinkly, crisp, and chewy edges with a stuffed cookie middle. The reduction of the amount of flour in the recipe will cause these cookies to spread a bit more than my other stuffed cookie varieties. But this is a good thing! The spread on the edges creates the perfect deep brown Maillard reaction in the cookie dough creating a caramel, nutty, buttery, and crisp cookie edge. The faintest of wrinkled cookie edges form creating more texture with every bite. The pecans are toasted before adding to the cookie dough and they have a wonderful crunchy, chewy texture within the cookies. The middle of the cookies are soft and creamy with the white chocolate cheesecake filling. Truly, an addicting cookie to enjoy.
Mother’s Day-These cookies would be perfect for Mother’s Day! They can be made in advance and then baked from frozen so you can surprise mom with a fresh cookie.
I am a mom. I can confirm I would love this VERY much. I am also gifting these cookies to my own mother on Friday. I cannot wait to see her in a happy dance when she gets them.
Ingredients You Need:
White Chocolate Cheesecake Filling
This recipe will yield extra cheesecake filling after stuffing the cookies. I use the extra for french toast, waffles, and as a dip for strawberries.
- Cream Cheese-room temperature. This will make it easier to mix together with the powdered sugar.
- Powdered Sugar
- White Chocolate- I used Bakers brand white baking chocolate bar.
- Vanilla Extract
Butter Pecan Cookies
- Butter-browned and cooled. Refer to this post on Browned Butter.
- Butter-room temperature
- Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Salt
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Cinnamon
- Graham Cracker Crumbs-Pulse 3-4 graham cracker sheets in a blender until a fine crumb forms.
- Pecans-I used local Texas pecans from Swift River Pecans in Fentress, TX. Please use whatever is available to you but keep in mind local will have more flavor.
- Baking Soda
- Flour
- Cornstarch
This recipe is for extra-large cookies that can easily be cut into quarters for sharing.
White Chocolate Cheesecake Filling
I like to make the filling for the cookie first so that it can chill and firm up in the fridge while I prepare the cookie dough.
This is a super easy filling and takes less than 5 minutes to put together.
Combine room temperature cream cheese in a bowl with powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. I recommend using a hand mixer on high to make sure the cream cheese is smooth.
I break the white chocolate bar into pieces and place it in a microwave safe bowl. I microwave the white chocolate for 30 seconds then stir for one minute. I place the bowl back in the microwave for 20 seconds then stir the warm bowl and chocolate for 1 minute.
If there are pieces of white chocolate still not melted stir an additional minute. You may microwave for 10 second intervals until all the chocolate is melted but keep in mind if white chocolate gets too hot it will seize. I prevent this by taking my time stirring the white chocolate in the warm bowl for additional time to allow it to melt slowly.
Add the melted white chocolate to the cream cheese mixture and mix on high until it is smooth and creamy. It will look like it wants to separate at first but don’t fret, it will come together as you continue to mix.
Cover and place in the fridge while assembling cookie dough.
Toasting Pecans in Butter
The pecans need to be toasted before we can start making the cookies. I start by taking one tablespoon of butter and placing it in a small sauté pan to melt over medium low heat.
When the butter is melted, I add the pecans to the pan and turn the heat to low. Butter has a low burn point so I need to pay attention to not burn the butter while I toast the pecans, using medium low to low heat will help me bring out the nuttiness of the pecans while infusing them with a buttery flavor.
I stir the pecans and butter as they toast. This took roughly around 8-10 minutes. I know the pecans are ready when they have a strong sweet, nutty smell and the butter smells toasty.
Take the pecans off the heat and sprinkle in the cinnamon. The cinnamon will become fragrant from the heat of the pecans in the pan.
Next, I allow the pecans to cool before I give them a rough chop for the cookie dough. You can also use pecan pieces if you don’t want to bother with chopping. Pecan halves were all I had in my pantry.
Cookie Time
I begin the cookies by browning one stick plus one tablespoon of butter. Please refer to this post for BROWN BUTTER for details on how to brown butter easily in your own kitchen.
It’s important to let the brown butter cool in a large mixing bowl to room temperature before going to the next step. I want the room temperature butter to keep most of its creamy structure and not melt into the brown butter. This will help the cookies spread less when baking.
I add the room temperature butter to the bowl with the brown butter along with both types of sugar. Using a handheld mixer, I mix the butter and sugar together for a minute or two.
Next, add the eggs and vanilla extract. I mix this for a good minute or two because I want the egg to be fully mixed. The mixture will look silky and glossy with no traces of egg white or egg yolk remaining.
After the wet ingredients are mixed together, I add the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, graham cracker crumbs, and salt. Gently, I mix these together into a nice soft dough. The chopped pecans are added in last and folded into the dough until they are evenly incorporated.
The dough will be fragrant and soft and is now ready for scooping and filling. To confess, I took a few bites of the dough, and it was heavenly. Buttery, rich, and delicious, however sample raw cookie dough at your own risk!
Cookie Assembly
This recipe makes 8 extra-large stuffed cookies. If you do not have a 4-ounce cookie scoop, you can measure out the dough using a one cup measuring cup.
**Please visit: Instagram , Facebook , and Pinterest , if you want a visual aide on how I stuff the Butter Pecan Cheesecake cookie dough**
Prepare your cookie filling station with:
- Parchment lined baking sheet.
- White chocolate cheesecake spread.
- Teaspoon-to scoop filling into the cookies.
- Cinnamon sugar-mix ½ cup granulated sugar with ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon in a bowl.
Using a four-ounce scoop, scoop a heaping scoop of cookie dough. Make an indentation in the middle of the cookie dough that is still inside the cookie scoop. Take a full teaspoon of white chocolate cheesecake filling and place it in the well in the center of the cookie dough.
Pinch the dough shut over the filling and add extra dough to completely cover the bottom of the cookie. These cookies will spread slightly so I want to make sure there is plenty of dough on the bottom, so the filling doesn’t leak out.
Next, I take the stuffed cookies and roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Make sure to coat all sides of the cookie as the sugar will crisp the cookie edges and also create a barrier so they don’t spread too quickly while baking.
Another trick I used to keep the filling tucked inside is shaped the cookies taller with my hands after rolling in sugar. I gently squeezed and formed the dough into taller stacks rather than flatter prior to placing in the fridge.
Refrigerate the dough overnight. This will help the flavors of the cookie to develop while also hydrating the flour and graham cracker crumbs inside of the cookie dough. Trust me, you cannot skip this step.
The next day, transfer the cookies to a sealed bag or container and store in the freezer until ready to bake. Allow at least 30 minutes to freeze before baking. The cookies will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Freezing the dough prior to baking will ensure even baking and controlled spread. It will also keep the filling from getting too hot and spreading while baking.
Preheat oven to 375* and place 4 cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake cookies for 14-16 minutes. The edges and top will be a beautiful golden brown.
Allow the cookies to cool for 20 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
You can definitely enjoy these cookies warm but I prefer them at room temperature so the white chocolate cheesecake is firm and cool.
These butter pecan cheesecake cookies keep well in a tightly covered container and if you would like them to last longer than a few days, you can pop them into your fridge to maintain freshness.
Enjoy!
If you try this recipe and love it as much as I do, please tag, follow, and like @sunshinetxcookies on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok. New posts every Thursday so be sure to follow me for more delicious cookie recipes. Happy Baking!
Butter Pecan Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
Butter Pecans
- 1 tbsp Butter
- ¾ cup Pecans I used pecan halves. Can also use pecan pieces.
White Chocolate Cheesecake Filling
- 8 oz Cream Cheese Full fat, room temperature.
- ¼ cup Powdered Sugar
- 4 oz White Chocolate Bar I used Baker's brand white chocolate.
- ½ tspn Vanilla Extract
Butter Pecan Cookie Dough
- 2 sticks Butter unsalted, room temperature.
- 1 tbsp Butter unsalted, additional butter for browning.
- ⅔ cup Brown Sugar
- ⅔ cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Eggs room temperature.
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 tsp Cornstarch
- 2 cups Flour
- ½ cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
- 1 tsp Salt
- ¾ cup Buttered Pecans (recipe below) chopped roughly.
Sugar Cinnamon Coating
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon
Instructions
White Chocolate Cheesecake Filling
- In a bowl using a handheld mixer on medium high, combine room temperature cream cheese with powdered sugar and vanilla extract. The mixture will look very creamy and have no lumps.
- Break the white chocolate bar into pieces in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir.
- Microwave on high for 20 seconds. Stir for 2 minutes allowing the white chocolate to melt. If needed, microwave for an additional 10 seconds if not thoroughly melted.
- Add the melted white chocolate to the cream cheese mixture and mix on high until smooth and very creamy.
- Cover and place in fridge until ready to use for stuffing cookies.
Buttered Pecans
- Melt one tablespoon of butter in a sauté pan over medium low heat.
- Once the butter is melted add the pecans and lightly toast over low heat for 5-8 minutes. They will be done when they are slightly darker and very fragrant.
- Set aside to cool. Once cool roughly chop before adding to the cookie dough.
Butter Pecan Cookie Dough
- In a sauce pan, brown one stick plus one tablespoon of butter. Set aside to cool.
- Combine the cooled brown butter and the other stick of room temperature butter in a bowl with both types of sugar. I used a hand mixer on high for 2 minutes.
- Next, I add the 2 room temperature eggs and vanilla extract. I mix on high speed until the mixture is smooth and glossy with no streak of egg remaining.
- I sift the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda to the bowl of wet ingredients. I add the graham cracker crumbs to the bowl as well at this time and mix on low until a smooth dough forms.
- Next, add the chopped buttered pecans and mix into the dough until thoroughly combined.
- Using a 4 ounce cookie scoop, scoop a heaping scoop of cookie dough. Create a well in the center and place a heaping teaspoon of white chocolate cheesecake filling in the well.
- Press the cookie dough opening shut, using extra cookie dough to create a solid seal of cookie dough around the filling.
- Release the cookie dough into a bowl of cinnamon sugar and roll to coat all sides.
- Repeat with remaining cookie dough. I like to gently squeeze the cookie up to make them taller rather than flatter before I leave them in the fridge over night.
- The next day, place cookie dough in freezer until ready to bake (at least 30 minutes before baking. Can store in freezer for up to 3 months.)
- Bake cookies at 375*F for 14-16 minutes. The cookies will be a deep golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely for an hour on a wire rack.
- Any cookies not consumed the day they are made can be stored in a tightly covered container in the fridge.
- Enjoy!
