Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Everyone loves a freshly baked chocolate chip walnut cookie. Learn how to make the perfect walnut chocolate chip cookies recipe.

These cookies are your classic, old-school style cookie with a new twist. They are perfectly thick but not too thick, they've got great edges but chewy centers and stay delicious for a few days. We brown the majority of the butter to create a delicious caramel undertone in the cookie. Once you've baked with brown butter you won't want to go back. Browning butter is not hard, I have a whole tutorial on how to brown butter.

I highly suggest that you use roasted or toasted pecans. You can buy pre-roasted walnuts or you can toast them yourself in the oven on a sheet tray for about 5-8 minutes at 350F. This really helps the nuts have the best flavor. Trust me, don't skip it.

Ingredients

For this cookie recipe you will need:

• Salted Butter. The butter is divided so that you can brown some of the butter then you add the remaining butter to the brown butter to help bring the temperature down.  
• Granulated Sugar.
• Light Brown Sugar. You could use dark brown sugar for a slight hint of molasses in flavor.
• Large Eggs. You will need one whole egg and one additional egg yolk, this helps create a chewy cookie. Your eggs should be at room temperature.
• Pure Vanilla Extract. 
• All-Purpose Flour/ Plain Flour. 
• Baking Soda.
• Baking Powder.
• Salt.
• Chocolate Chips or Chunks. Use good quality chocolate, it really makes or breaks the cookie. I purchase the Calleabut Chocolate Callets either on Amazon or my local restaurant supply store. Or I use the Trader Joe's Pound Plus bars and chop them up into small pieces. I also like to use a combination of milk chocolate and dark chocolate. Because of the high-quality chocolate, I end up with melty chocolate since they are not standard chocolate chips that just stay in their chip shape.
• Toasted Walnuts. You can toast them yourself or buy roasted walnuts. Just make sure to roughly chop the walnuts, I like some larger and smaller pieces.

You can most certainly swap the walnuts out for your other favorite nut; macadamia nuts, pistachios, pecans, or even peanuts! Check out my pistachio cookie recipe too!

For ingredient quantities please reference the recipe card below. On the recipe card there is a button for US or M (Metric) measurements.

Instructions

To brown, the butter cook 6oz (12 tablespoons) of the butter over low to medium heat. Swirl it every so often. The process will take around 5 minutes, depending on the size of your pan. For a detailed process check out this post on how to brown butter. 

Continue cooking the butter until you get a nutty aroma. The scent is nutty yet caramel-y. Pour the brown butter into the bowl of an electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a heatproof bowl. Mix in the last 4 tablespoons of butter diced into small pieces. Mix until completely dissolved in the brown butter.

Add in the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Mix until fully combined. Add in the whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until combined for about 30 seconds. At this point, you will have a pretty dark brown color. Let the batter rest for 30 seconds then mix for another minute and a half to two minutes on medium speed until you achieve a much lighter color. You will end up with a much lighter and thicker wet ingredients batter. 

In a separate large bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together and set aside. 

Mix in the flour mixture until fully combined. Fold in chocolate chips and chopped walnuts.

Scoop the dough into balls, I like to use a medium size cookie scoop for about 2 ½ tablespoons of dough per cookie, and place them on a piece of parchment paper or Silpat liner then cover in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. When ready to bake turn the oven on to 375F/1 C and place 6 cookies spread apart on a silicone-lined or parchment paper baking sheet. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown but still look a bit undercooked. Then let cool on the tray for 5 minutes sitting on top of a wire rack then transfer the cookies directly onto the wire rack to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.

How to freeze

Allow the cookies to cool before arranging them in an airtight container. Store the cookies in the freezer for up to 3 months. When it comes time to enjoy them, remove however many cookies you want from the container from the freezer and allow the cookies to thaw at room temperature.

You can also freeze the cookie dough before baking. Simply complete the recipe up to the point of chilling the dough. Instead of placing the well-wrapped dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours, place it in the freezer for up to 1 month. When you are ready for freshly baked cookies, transfer the cookie dough balls straight to the baking tray and bake. You will probably need to bake the cookies another minute or two- if they do not spread well by minute 9 I would lightly bang the pan on the counter and return it to the oven. This will nudge the cookies to spread.

More walnut recipes

This walnut pesto recipe is absolutely scrumptious.

One of the most classic baked goods is walnut banana bread!

Adding walnuts to this easy Carrot Cake provides that perfect crunch.

★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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