These chocolate chip pecan cookies are wonderfully rich and filled with chocolate chips (or chunks), pecans, and orange zest. Ready in 30 minutes, they're very easy to prepare and make a delightful vegan Christmas cookie. They're perfect for gifting and sharing at holiday parties and easily made gluten-free.
Why You'll Love Them
During the holiday season it's always nice to have a few dependable, crowd-pleasing cookie recipes in your back pocket. And these vegan chocolate chip pecan cookies are exactly that!
Made with semi-sweet chocolate, nutty pecans, and aromatic orange zest and extract, they're wonderfully rich and perfectly crisp on the outside.
All you need are 11 ingredients and 25 minutes to make a batch.
Bonus! You can switch up the additions for endless variety. Try them with dried cranberries, orange zest, and walnuts, or add holiday spices... whatever your heart desires!
Ingredient Notes
- flour - regular all-purpose or a gluten-free flour blend such as King Arthur's 1:1
- sugar - in the U.S. buying organic sugar is the easiest way to make sure it is vegan and hasn't been processed with bone char.
- coconut oil - look for oil labeled "refined" or "deodorized." It doesn't smell or taste like coconut, unlike raw/virgin coconut oil. The higher saturated fat content of coconut oil is perfect for that classic cookie texture.
- raw pecan halves
- chocolate - to keep the recipe vegan, look for dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks. Alternatively, use a bar of chocolate and chop into chunks.
Like most cookie recipes, prep is super simple. So even if you're not an experienced baker, you can do this!
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Instructions
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. And combine the wet ingredients in a small bowl. Stir the two together to form a dough.
- Fold in the pecans and chocolate. Use about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie. Roll to form a ball, then gently flatten the dough between your palms so it's more of a cookie shape.
- Bake in a fully preheated 375 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly golden on the bottom.
Tip: the cookies don't spread much during baking, so you will likely be able to fit them all on one cookie sheet.
Substitutions
- flour - a gluten-free baking blend may be used instead of all-purpose flour
- pecans - walnuts are also delicious and the perfect texture in these cookies.
Top Tip
The cookies will be very soft right out of the oven. To check for doneness, use a spatula to carefully peek at the underside, which should be lightly golden. After about 5 minutes the cookies will be firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack.
More Holiday Sweet Treats
I hope you enjoy these rich orange pecan cookies! If you try the recipe be sure to give it a star rating and leave a comment below to let us know!
Recipe
Chocolate Chip Orange Pecan Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅓ cup refined coconut oil, softened
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated orange zest, packed
- ¼ teaspoon orange extract, optional
- 2 to 3 tablespoons non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup raw pecan halves, chopped
- ⅓ cup non-dairy chocolate chunks, roughly chopped - or chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup cane sugar, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Measure the coconut oil, then soften it in a mug in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove. It doesn't need to be fully melted. To the oil add the vanilla, orange zest, orange extract, 2 tablespoons of milk, and apple cider vinegar. Whisk to combine.⅓ cup refined coconut oil, softened, 2 to 3 tablespoons non-dairy milk, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon orange extract, optional, ½ teaspoon freshly grated orange zest, packed, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir just until there is no visible dry flour. If the dough seems dry add another tablespoon of milk.
- Fold in the pecans and chocolate. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of dough into your hand and roll it between your palms to compact it and form a ball. Now, press it between your palms to flatten the cookie. Place on the prepared pan. They don't spread much during baking, so one cookie sheet should be enough.½ cup raw pecan halves, chopped, ⅓ cup non-dairy chocolate chunks, roughly chopped
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly golden. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks and cool completely.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and ingredients used.
Shelly says
Hi Lori, I live in Asheville and realized we were neighbors after Helene. I am in the process of making these cookies as I type so I can't comment on how they turn out yet but I wanted to give 5 stars for the genius idea of putting the amounts of each item again under the wet and dry ingredients. Genius! It saves so much time scrolling up and down to keep checking when trying a new recipe. Please continue for future recipes. Enjoying your website and recipes. Thanks for healthy versions of everything!
Roberta ribeiro says
HI, Would this work well for ice cream sandwiches? Thank you!! you are the best!
Lori says
Hi Roberta,
Yes, these would be great for ice cream sandwiches. Also, you could try my peanut butter cookies, sunbutter cookies, and the spiced tahini cookies, too.
Cheryl says
Wow, these are just fabulous! Will be making them again and again! (I made them with coconut sugar and white whole wheat flour).
Camilla says
Wonderful cookie!
Sheila says
I am laughing at myself! I made this recipe but I didn’t know I had used 60% cacao chips! Didn’t pay attention to the bag, just saw “dark chocolate” and grabbed it up! They are good, though. Lol
Carol says
I usually don't cook vegan, but I was looking for a pecan orange cookie recipe and this came up. Holy cow, is it delish! Love it!
Melina says
Delicious!!!!!! I think I overcooked them though, as they seemed too soft at 10 minutes. Then they became rock hard. Next time I will take them out at ten minutes, I think they continue to cook in the five minutes we leave them on the baking sheet.
I can't believe how delicious they are.
Lori says
Glad you liked them, Melina! Yes, you're right. Cookies are soft when you first take them out of the oven but firm up as they cool.
Melina says
Yes, Now that I know that I am making them again immediately 😀 I'm not much of a baker, especially not of cookies. Thanks so much.
Lori says
You're very welcome! 😀