These Butterscotch-Pecan Cookies Are Irresistible, Thanks to This Unexpected Ingredient

I used to be snobby about butterscotch. Sure, I liked it in theory. But in practice, I judged its flat, intense sweetness—an endorphin rush of sugar that seemed to ask for nothing in return. 

I’ve grown up a bit since (and mostly stopped applying my lapsed-Catholic guilt to baked goods). But I’ve also learned that the best way to tame the high-key sweetness of butterscotch isn’t by cutting back but rather by leaning hard into other intense flavors that can bring out its deep caramel bass notes.

Consider this cookie recipe, then, both an apology to butterscotch and an ode to maximalism. My working title for this recipe was “A Mouthful of Modifiers,” figuratively and literally: “Brown Butter Toasted Sugar Miso Spelt Butterscotch Chip Toasted Pecan.” After the first batch, my husband gave up and just started calling them “Liz Cook-ies.”

The Big Flavors Needed for the Ultimate Maximalist Cookies

As a compromise, I’m naming them after their most assertive ingredients: miso, butterscotch, and pecan. The spelt, brown butter, and lightly toasted sugar are the duck legs paddling furiously beneath, lending depth without distraction. The result is a rich, chewy cookie with complex butterscotch notes and micro-pockets of savoriness and sweetness in each bite.

Both miso and brown butter have become unwitting victims of the recipe hype cycle, but they’re popular for good reason. Browning butter amps up the butterscotch flavor while adding a tempering nuttiness. By cooling the brown butter to 62°F before proceeding, you can cream the butter and sugar together, yielding the light, fluffy, well aerated mixture needed for perfectly chewy cookies.

 Early in testing, I tried ditching the miso in favor of extra salt. But I found that white miso has both textural and flavor benefits in baked goods. I missed the deeper savory notes and subtle tang of the cookies made with miso, but I missed their fudgy centers even more. I don’t recommend substituting yellow or red miso for white. Both yellow and red miso have a more intense flavor that would overpower the cookie in a one-to-one substitution for red; and reducing the amount to compensate would lead to a crumblier cookie. 

The Best Flour Type for a Balanced Cookie Flavor

I also strongly recommend going the extra mile to source spelt flour to use alongside standard all-purpose flour in this dough. Spelt flour has a nuttier, sweeter flavor than either all-purpose or whole wheat flour, providing a wholesome-tasting, nutty, almost toasted backbone to all that sweet butterscotch. I experimented with different proportions of spelt to AP, but a simple 50/50 split was the winner, offering a notable flavor boost without sacrificing tenderness and chew. 

To Rest or Not to Rest the Dough

Many cookie doughs benefit from an overnight rest in the fridge—doing so hydrates the flour and thickens the dough, which helps limit oven spread while improving the dough’s flavor, as former Serious Eats editor and culinary wiz Kenji explains in his chocolate chip cookie recipe. If you have the time, go for it. But with so many nutty flavor boosters in this recipe, I’ve found only minor flavor improvements from chilling overnight. An hour in the fridge is enough to prevent unwanted spreading.

How to Give the Cookies a Photo Finish

If you’ve maxed out your fuss-budget by this point, you can just measure out your two-ounce portions of (chilled) cookie dough and chuck the baking sheets straight into the oven. But maximalist cookies deserve maximalist aesthetics, so I like to press two to three butterscotch chips into the top of each cookie and then give them a light shower of flaky sea salt before they bake. 

After they come out of the oven, I like to rapidly swirl an upside-down deli container over each cookie while it’s still warm—the goal is a “wax on,” Karate Kid–style movement that will gently bump the soft edges of the warm cookies against the round wall of the container. 

Is it necessary? No. But strictly speaking, neither is dessert. Every now and then, it’s OK to pull out all the stops (and use all the modifiers).

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