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!
What sets my recipe apart:
Try these and try a few more gluten free cookie recipes too.
Allergen Information:
These homemade cookies are gluten-free, soy-free, and oat-free. Make them nut-free by omitting the pecans. Make them dairy-free by swapping plant butter for regular butter.
If you prefer a classic cookie recipe, you will want to make these Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies too!
Flour Blends Tested:
1. King Arthur Measure for Measure—This blend works really well in muffin recipes. I don’t have to let the flour blend rest in the batter.
2. Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Blend—This blend also works well, but this flour blend does benefit from resting the batter for 15 minutes before baking the muffins. The rest allows the rice flour in this blend to soften, so you don’t have gritty muffins.
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – 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 which caramel brands are gluten-free. 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 there are more caramel cookies.
Step-By-Step Photos and Directions:
Step 1: Add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk to blend. Pour the pecans in and mix well so they are evenly dispersed.
Step 2: Add the wet ingredients, including the softened butter, to a smaller bowl and whisk to blend. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients, mixing well.
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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.
📢 Sandi says: Every gluten-free flour blend has a different starch-to-grain ratio. The brand of gluten-free flour you use will affect the moisture of the batter. If your cake batter is too runny, add more flour, and if it is too thick, add more liquids.
Read Why Gluten-Free Flour Blends Vary to learn more about this.
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!)
Cookie Troubleshooting:
Why are my cookies flat, aka spread too much?
This is one of the most common questions I get from my readers. There are several reasons for flat cookies, including:
- Check to see how long you chilled your cookie dough. If you use partially melted or softened butter, you must chill it to prevent spreading.
- How did you measure your flour? Measuring your flour accurately is important. I don’t often weigh my ingredients because every flour blend has a different weight, and my readers all use different gluten-free flour blends. I recommend using either the Spoon Method by using a spoon to add flour to the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour. Leveling Method: Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill it with flour. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour.
Why do my gluten-free cookies taste gritty?
This grit you experience is from the rice flour in the gluten-free flour blend. Not all companies mill their flour extra fine. To eliminate the grit, I recommend letting the cookie dough rest for 15 minutes. This extra time will allow the rice flour to soften, eliminating the grit.
How do you make cookies the same size?
The best way to ensure your cookies are the same size and look uniform is to use a
For more cookie troubleshooting, read my Gluten-Free Cookie Troubleshooting Guide.
Frequently Asked Questions:
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 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 fresh for up to 4 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
More 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
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Gluten Free Butter Pecan Caramel Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum-free
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted toasted pecans unsalted
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons butter melted
- ¼ cup cane sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup Kraft caramel bits
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Place a sheet of parchment paper onto a cookie sheet.
- In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 cup cane sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Wisk to blend.
- Add 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons butter (partially melted), 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, 1/2 cup unsalted toasted pecans, and 2 large eggs. Add in mix-ins like 1/2 cup Kraft caramel bits.
- Mix well into a soft cookie dough.
- Use a cookie scoop to drop cookie balls onto a baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes until they are done. Remove the cookies from the oven. Slide the parchment paper with the baked cookies onto 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 3/4 teaspoon.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter.
- These cookies will keep fresh for up to 4 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer. To freeze the cookies, place cooled cookies into a freezer-safe zipper bag.
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, my rule of thumb is to add more flour if your dough or batter is wet and add more liquid if the dough or batter is too dry!
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.
(*Note this post was updated from an older March 2015 post. Here is the old photo below
Hello Sandi, thank you so much for sending and being able to save/ print your recipe/s, I wish other contributors would also do the same . I find it difficult to print things of that I love on Pinterest.
Regards
Kay
Thank you so much Kay. I am so glad you are able to print out my recipes and that you find it easy. I really want my readers to have the best experience, so your feedback tells me I am on the right path.
Hi Sandi. I am getting ready to try this recipe and wondered about the butter. The printed recipe says melted, but above with the pictures, it says softened. Which is correct? Or does it matter, since we will chill the dough?
Hi Mary, I mostly melt the butter and then chill the dough. If you partially melt it is okay too, but easier to mix with an electric or stand mixer.
Hi Sandi, the cookies were delicious! But I need to figure out why the texture is not the same as your pics. Mine were almost smooth on top. I really love the way yours look ‘rough’, which reminds me of a shortbread cookie. I did use your flour blend and will probably retry them with BRM 1:1 next time, to see if that’s the issue. (I have been using your blend without any issue so far.) Do you think this could be affected by organic butter? I really prefer using this butter, but I know it feels differently in texture. BTW, is it true that with GF flour, we don’t need to worry about over-mixing, the way we are warned with wheat based flours?
Hi Mary, I am so glad you loved the cookies. I am wondering if the rough tops are because I didn’t clean my cookie scoop as I was scooping, so it got rougher? A tiny bit more flour will probably help with this. I only use organic butter. As for your question, cookies I don’t worry about over-mixing. I never over-mix cake, cupcake, or muffin batters. Those I mix until just barely mixed. For biscuits, scones, and pie crust you want to be careful more because you don’t want to melt the butter in the dough…overmixing can do that.
We are GF for the most part, however, I choose to bake with Organic Wheat flour. Could That be substituted, in this recipe?
Hi Melanie, I haven’t used wheat flour in 16+ years so I really have no idea how it would perform in my recipes.
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) ?
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 🙂
Can a gluten free flour be substituted, if so how much? These look wonderful!
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