If you love butter pecan, give my gluten free butter pecan cookie recipe a try. They are full of incredible buttery pecan flavor. They are easy to make in about 20 minutes!
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Butter pecan is one of my favorite ice cream flavors. Do you have a favorite flavor of ice cream that would be fun to create a cookie around?
If you love caramel as much as my kids, this gluten free caramel apple cake and these gluten free caramel cupcakes are definitely worth trying too!
I have learned my kids will devour any cookies with melted caramel bits...I may need to find a way to hide more veggies in my cookies. Caramel camouflage may just be the sneaky way to achieve this (insert evil grin.)
Try these and try a few more gluten free cookie recipes too.
Why Make These:
- There is something about the creamy goodness mixed in with that butter, and the nutty pecan flavor makes me love this recipe.
- The caramel sauce takes the flavor over the top!
- You can freeze these easily so that you can have them anytime!
- I used Kraft caramel bits to get the caramel flavor into the cookies.
If you prefer a classic cookie recipe, you will want to make these Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies too!
Ingredient Notes:
- Gluten Free Flour Blend - I tested this recipe with both Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Blend and King Arthur Measure for Measure. That doesn't mean others will not work. I just have not tested other flours.
- Xanthan Gum - If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- Pure Vanilla Extract - I do not recommend using imitation vanilla.
- Butter - Use unsalted butter. Use vegan butter if you want these cookies to be dairy-free.
- Caramel - I used caramel that is gluten free. You can read more about what caramel is gluten free. Caramel can also be fun stuffed in these cookies.. Check my gluten free caramel list.
- Pecans - This recipe features pecans, but any nut is fine if you can't find them at the store. You can omit the nuts to make this recipe nut-free, but then they are more caramel cookies.
Recipe Step-By-Step Directions:
Step 1: Add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk to blend. Pour the pecans in and mix well, so the pecans are evenly dispersed.
Step 2: In a smaller bowl, add the wet ingredients, including the softened butter, and whisk to blend. Pour the wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients. Mix well.
Step 3: The gluten free butter pecan cookie dough is a little more firm than other cookies I have made. Let the dough sit for 5 minutes to absorb the liquid. I like to chill my cookie dough for 30-45 minutes, but this is optional.
Step 4: Use a cookie scoop to drop the dough balls onto a
Step 5: Bake the cookies for 10 minutes at 350º F. Remove them from the oven and move them to a cooling rack. Be careful and use a spatula, so you don't get burned by the hot caramel.
(*Note to be careful when you take these out of the oven. The melted caramel is HOT!)
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ:
You can make these cookies nut-free by skipping the pecans.
You can make these cookies dairy-free by using vegan butter. I haven't found dairy-free caramel chips, so you would need to substitute them with something like Enjoy Life dairy-free chocolate chips.
Yes!! We often make a double batch to freeze some of the cookies! Just let the cookies fully cool, then add them to a freezer bag. Zip the bag closed, squeezing as much air out as possible.
These cookies will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
This recipe was updated from an older February 2020 post with more detailed directions.
Gluten Free Cookies:
- Crisp, Delicious Gluten Free Butter Cookies are the star of any bake sale!
- If you love sprinkles, these Gluten Free Funfetti Sugar Cookies are a wonderful treat.
- My take on the classic cookie with some shredded coconut! Gluten Free Coconut Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Butter Pecan Caramel Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup toasted pecans unsalted
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons butter melted
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup Kraft caramel bits
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Spray coconut oil onto a cookie sheet.
- In a large bowl, add dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
- Add all wet ingredients, pecans, and caramel bits.
- Mix well.
- Use a cookie scoop to drop cookie balls onto a baking sheet.
- Bake 10 minutes until done.
- Cool on a cooling rack.
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend. That doesn't mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter.
- These cookies will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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(*Note this post was updated from an older March 2015 post. Here is the old photo below
Melanie J Graffius
We are GF for the most part, however, I choose to bake with Organic Wheat flour. Could That be substituted, in this recipe?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Melanie, I haven't used wheat flour in 16+ years so I really have no idea how it would perform in my recipes.
Nicole
Sandi, these cookies look amazing! And all those new photos....I just wanna grab1 through the screen.
Sandi Gaertner
LOL thank you so much Nicole, glad you like the new photos :-).
jenna
I've been on a huge pecan kick lately!! Can't wait to give these a try using your dairy-free suggestions. I think I saw some vegan caramel chips on amazon the other day. I'll have to check them out 🙂
Sandi Gaertner
We are pecan fanatics as well 🙂
Cinnamon Flowers
If you want to use a premade flour such as Mama's Gluten free almond flour or cup for cup, would you use 3 cups plus the Xanthan gum (if the mix doesn't have it) ?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi, you definitely want to add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum if your gluten free flour blend doesn't have it already. Cup4Cup has dry milk in it. This will work for this recipe, but it doesn't work for any of my baked recipes with lemon juice...just an fyi. Thank you for taking the time to write 🙂
Julie
Can a gluten free flour be substituted, if so how much? These look wonderful!
Sandi Gaertner
This is a gluten free recipe. Are you asking if you can use a different gluten free flour Julie? I used Authentic Foods Gluten Free Flour Blend, I assume other blends will work as long as they don't contain bean flour. Also check if you use a different blend that it has xanthan gum. If it doesn't you will want to add a teaspoon. Good luck. Sandi
Linda
These look so good! I love the combination of butter pecan and caramel. If only I could eat dairy! Thanks for sharing at Gluten-Free Wednesdays. I'll be highlighting these cookies this week.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Linda, Thank you so much. I wonder if you could use this dairy free caramel for the cookies? http://www.adventuresofaglutenfreemom.com/2010/11/handcrafted-dairycasein-free-chewy-caramels/
Cassidy @ Cassidy's Craveable Creations
O My Goodness, these look amazing! I'm going to feature them this week at Gluten Free Wednesdays 🙂
Sandi Gaertner
Wow, thank you so much Cassidy 🙂
Healing Tomato
Those cookies look delightful. I love Butter Pecan Cookies. Butter Pecan Ice Cream is my favorite, followed closely by Pralines and Cream. I am so glad to see a gluten free recipe for Butter Pecan Cookies. You did an amazing job with the recipe.
Sandi Gaertner
Wow, thank you so much Rini 🙂