Crumbl Pecan Pie Cookies Recipe: A Copycat for Thanksgiving Dessert

Crumbl Pecan Pie Cookies (Better Than Bakery Copycat Recipe)

If you have ever stood in line at Crumbl during the week the pecan pie cookie lands on the menu, you know the feeling.

One bite tastes like a slice of Thanksgiving pecan pie tucked inside a cookie, and then the menu rotates and the cookie disappears until next fall. These Crumbl pecan pie cookies fix that problem.

This copycat recipe lets you bake the same idea at home whenever the craving hits, whether that is a crisp September afternoon, the week of Thanksgiving, or a random Tuesday when you want something warm and spiced.

The cookie has two parts, and both of them matter. Underneath is a soft, buttery sugar cookie base that stays tender instead of turning crisp.

On top is a gooey brown sugar pecan filling, spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg and finished with heavy cream, so it tastes caramelized and rich the way real pecan pie does.

Together they look like something from a bakery case, and nobody at your table has to know how quickly they come together.

The first time I brought a tray of these to a church potluck, I set them down beside a pumpkin roll and a pan of brownies, and they were the first thing to disappear.

Someone asked which bakery I had ordered them from, and I happily took the credit. Now they are my default fall dessert when I want something that looks impressive but does not eat up an entire afternoon.

This version is also built for real life. You can shape the dough, press the wells, and freeze the balls ahead of time, then bake them straight from the freezer on a busy holiday morning with 1 to 2 extra minutes in the oven.

The recipe has been refreshed with new tips, answers to common questions, and troubleshooting notes for the small things that go wrong, such as a filling that slides off or cookies that spread too thin.

There is also a guide for making smaller, catering sized cookies, which is exactly what you want for a dessert table or a cookie tray you plan to give away.

If you are feeding a crowd, the smaller size stretches one batch further and still delivers the same flavor. Serve them for Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, a fall bake sale, or any gathering where you want people hovering near the dessert plate.

These taste like pecan pie and look like a bakery splurge, yet the whole batch starts with pantry staples and about 25 minutes of prep.

Why you need to make this recipe!

If you love pecan pie but not the fuss of rolling out dough and waiting hours for a pie to set, this one is right up your alley. Here is what makes these crowd pleasing cookies worth your oven time:

• They are quick. The dough comes together in about 25 minutes of hands on prep, and the cookies bake in 8 to 9 minutes.
• They are make ahead friendly. The filling thickens as it sits, and the dough freezes beautifully for Thanksgiving week.
• They use easy pantry ingredients. Butter, oil, sugars, flour, an egg, vanilla, pecans, and cream. Nothing exotic.
• They look bakery style. The pressed wells and glossy pecan topping give them that polished, straight from the shop look.
• They travel well. Once the filling sets, the cookies stack neatly in a container for potlucks and cookie swaps.

Ingredients You’ll Need for Crumbl Pecan Pie Cookies and Why They Matter

Every ingredient here earns its spot. Nothing is decorative, and once you know what each one does, you can adjust with confidence instead of guessing. Butter brings richness and that soft, melt in your mouth texture.

Vegetable or canola oil keeps the cookies tender and a little chewy. Granulated sugar and powdered sugar work as a team to sweeten the base, and the powdered sugar is part of why the texture stays so soft.

Brown sugar is the heart of the filling, giving it that deep caramel flavor. The egg binds everything together, and vanilla shows up twice, once in the cookie and once in the filling, so the flavor carries all the way through.

All purpose flour gives the cookies their structure. Measure it by spooning it into the cup and leveling it off, or use a kitchen scale, because packed flour is the fastest way to dry, crumbly cookies.

Salt balances the sweetness, and fresh baking powder provides the lift. If your baking powder has been sitting in the cabinet for a couple of years, replace it before you bake. Pecans are essential in the filling.

Buy them whole and chop them yourself, or use chopped pecans to save a step. Heavy cream turns the butter and sugar mixture into a true pecan pie filling, and cinnamon with nutmeg adds the warm spice that makes these taste like fall.

Do not skip the spices. They are what separate a great cookie from one that just tastes like plain caramel.

Cookie base

Pecan pie filling

Need a swap? Here are the options that work well:

• Nut swap: Walnuts or toasted almonds can replace the pecans and still give you crunch against the caramelized filling.
• Nut free version: Toasted sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds, also called pepitas, deliver texture without any allergens.
• Gluten free version: Use a 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour blend such as Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur. The blend needs xanthan gum for structure, so if yours does not contain it, add 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum for every cup of flour. The result is slightly softer, so chilling the dough before baking helps keep the cookies from spreading too much.

One finished cookie from a batch of 9 comes to about 570 calories, with 58 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of protein, 37 grams of fat, 31 grams of sugar, 2 grams of fiber, 274 milligrams of sodium, and 62 milligrams of cholesterol per serving.

How to Make Crumbl Pecan Pie Cookies Step by Step

Before you start, preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Parchment gives you the cleanest bottoms and the easiest cleanup. Then work through the steps below.

1. Cream the base. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, oil, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar until the mixture looks creamy and no sugar granules remain.
2. Add the egg and vanilla. Beat them in until everything is smooth and evenly combined.
3. Mix in the dry ingredients. Add the flour, salt, and baking powder and mix just until the flour disappears. Stop there, because overmixing makes tough cookies.
4. Shape the cookies and press the wells. Using a large cookie scoop, scoop 9 equally sized dough balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Gently flatten each one to about 1 inch in thickness, then press the center with a 1/4 cup measuring cup to make room for the filling.
5. Bake. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, then let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They finish setting as they sit.

Full detailed instructions, including every measurement, are in the recipe card below. The filling comes together on the stovetop while the cookies bake, so the timing lines up nicely.

Make the pecan pie filling

This is the part that makes the whole cookie taste like pecan pie, and it takes only a few minutes at the stove.

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Stir from time to time so every pecan gets coated in the buttery sugar mixture, and let it bubble for 1 to 2 minutes until the butter and sugar dissolve.
2. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, heavy cream, and vanilla, then whisk to combine.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and spoon the filling into the wells of the warm cookies. Let the assembled cookies cool for 20 to 30 minutes so the filling sets before you serve them.

Expert Tips

• Make the filling a few hours ahead. It thickens as it cools, which makes it easier to spoon neatly into the wells.
• Bake on parchment paper. It gives you the cleanest cookie bottoms and saves a round of scrubbing.
• Toast the pecans. A few minutes in a dry skillet deepens the flavor and makes the filling taste even more like pie.
• Chill the dough if your kitchen is warm. Fifteen to twenty minutes in the refrigerator helps prevent excess spreading.

Quick Troubleshooting

Even a simple cookie can have an off day. Here are the fixes for the four issues bakers run into most often.

• Cookies spread too much. Your butter was probably too soft, or the dough got warm. Chill the dough for 15 to 20 minutes before baking, and keep the baking sheet cool between batches.
• The filling ran off the cookies. It was too hot when it went on. Let it sit off the heat until it looks thick and glossy, about 10 minutes, then spoon it into the wells.
• The filling looks grainy. The sugar overheated or did not fully dissolve. Stir constantly over medium heat next time, and if it crystallizes, stir in a splash of cream until it smooths out.
• The cookies are dry or crumbly. That usually means too much flour or a few extra minutes in the oven. Spoon and level the flour or weigh it on a kitchen scale, and pull the cookies out while the centers still look slightly soft.

FAQs

Crumbl pecan pie cookies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Crumbl Pecan Pie Cookies (Better Than Bakery Copycat Recipe) If you have ever stood in line at Crumbl during the week the pecan pie cookie lands on the menu, you know the feeling. One bite tastes like a slice of Thanksgiving pecan pie tucked inside a cookie, and then the menu rotates and the cookie disappears until next fall.

• Total Time: 33 min
• Yield: 9 cookies 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Cookie base
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup oil, vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 & 1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder

Pecan pie filling
5 tbsp butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 & 1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch salt

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Cookies
1-Preheat the oven to 350F then line: Preheat the oven to 350F then line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2-Cream the butter, oil, sugar, and powdered: Cream the butter, oil, sugar, and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer.
3-Add the egg, and vanilla extract, and: Add the egg, and vanilla extract, and mix until combined.
4-Add the flour, salt, and baking powder: Add the flour, salt, and baking powder and mix until combined, using a large cookie scooper, scoop out 9 equally sized cookie balls, place them on the prepared baking sheet, gently flatten them to about 1 inch in thickness, then using a 1/4 measuring cup, press down the center of the cookie to make room for the pecan pie filling.
5-Bake for 8-9 minutes then cool on: Bake for 8-9 minutes then cool on the baking sheet.

Pecan pie filling
6-In a medium saucepan over medium heat,: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix the butter, brown sugar, and pecans until the butter and sugar are dissolved. Make sure to stir from time to time to get all the pecan coated in the buttery sugar mixture. You want the mixture to bubble for 1-2 minutes.
7-Add in the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, heavy: Add in the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, heavy cream, and vanilla, and whisk to combine.
8-Remove from heat, and top the cookies: Remove from heat, and top the cookies with the pecan pie mixture. Let it cool down for 20-30 minutes then enjoy!

Last Step:

Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.

• Prep Time: 25 min
• Cook Time: 8 min
• Method: bake

Nutrition

• Calories: 570
• Sugar: 31g
• Sodium: 274mg
• Fat: 37g
• Saturated Fat: 12g
• Carbohydrates: 58g
• Fiber: 2g
• Protein: 6g
• Cholesterol: 62mg