Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pecans - These Old Cookbooks (2024)

April 29, 2017January 15, 2024

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When you need a new go-to cookie recipe, try these Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies which are chock-full of lots of chocolate chips and pecans. If you like a bakery-style chocolate chip cookie that has a lot of texture, then this is the cookie for you. It is legit the best chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

These chocolate chip cookies with pecans are a throwback to Barbara’s high school days. A friend’s mom used to make them and 15 years later, Barbara still thinks about them. So she asked for the recipe and Nan (the friend’s mom) was sweet enough to share it.

Imagine a big, thick, bakery-style chocolate chip cookie. These chocolate chip cookies are soft and chewy and amazing. When Barbara made them for the first time herself, she was transported right back to her high school days…except for the kids begging her to share!

Barbara’s comments after tasting the first batch, “OMG these were awesome. Amazing how a bite of a recipe can take you back to a different time in your life.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Nuts Ingredients:

• All purpose Flour
• Salt
• Baking Soda
• Granulated Sugar
• Light Brown Sugar
• Vanilla Extract
• Large Eggs
• Margarine, cold
• Chocolate Chips
• Pecans, chopped

Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

The recipe is very similar to the one Barbara usually uses (her husband LOVES chocolate chip cookies) with the exception of substituting margarine for the Crisco (shortening) and the method in which these are made.

Minor changes make a huge difference. Stick to the instructions to get a big, thick, bakery-style chocolate chip cookie.

Recipe Tips

• Tip #1: Do not over mix or handle the dough in any step. That is the secret to this old fashioned chocolate chip cookie recipe.
• Tip #2: Do NOT use a mixer. Mix everything by hand. Be sure to pull out your pastry blender if you have one. If not, use a fork to incorporate the margarine in with the sugars or even your clean hands.
• Tip #3: When everything is mixed, there should be visible pea-sized pieces of margarine in the dough.
• Tip #4: Remove chocolate chip cookies with pecans from the pan immediately after they come out of the oven. Place on a cooling rack.

How to Make Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Step by Step Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients — flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, mix white sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
3. With a fork, shave cold margarine into the dry ingredients.
4. Add wet ingredients to the margarine mixture and lightly combine.
5. Gently stir in chocolate chips and chopped pecans.
6. Roll dough into golf ball sized cookies (use a large cookie scoop) and place on cookie sheet. Do not overcrowd cookie sheet.
7. Bake on a baking sheet for 13-17 minutes in preheated oven. Remove from pan immediately after taking out of oven.

For the full ingredient list and amounts for chocolate chip pecan cookies, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Recipe FAQs

• These are a bakery-style chocolate chip cookie. They are larger, thicker and have a nice soft texture.
• The key to this entire recipe is to not use a mixer and do not over-mix in any step of the recipe.
• Use a fork, knife, your hands or a pastry blender to shave the COLD margarine into the dry ingredients.
• When everything is added, there should be pea-sized bits of margarine all throughout the dough.
• Roll the pecan chocolate chip cookie dough into golf-ball sized dough balls.
• Remove the cookies from the pan IMMEDIATLY after they come out of the oven onto a cooling rack.

Recipe Variations

• Use chopped walnuts instead of pecans.
• Replace semi sweet chocolate chips with milk chocolate chips, mini chocolate chips, butterscotch chips or a combination.
• Use chocolate chunks!

Why are my chocolate chip cookies crunchy and not chewy?

One reason could be the way you are mixing the dough. Be gentle, and do not overmix the dough. Overmixing can develop gluten, resulting in a tougher texture. Mix the ingredients until just combined; this will help create a more tender cookie.

Our Favorite Old Fashioned Cookie Recipes

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