Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Well, it’s the holiday season yet again, which means my mom’s going to be spending the next couple of days baking up all of my family’s favorite sweet treats.  She really does it all, from fresh fudge to cavity-inducing toffee, but the most beloved, nay coveted offering has to be the many varieties of delicious cookies.  Eventually, I would like to give you fine folks the recipes for every single one, but today I thought it would be best to share my personal favorite, chocolate chip walnut cookies.  Now I must confess that I love chocolate chip cookies (like that’s really a sin or anything), and it is safe to say that I have eaten my fair share of them over the years. And, out of all of the chocolate chip cookies I have been offered in my lifetime, these are hands down the best that I have ever tasted.  

For starters, this recipe always produces cookies with that perfectly chewy texture that you look for in any great cookie, not too dry, nor too moist, and not too hard, nor too soft, just perfect.  Secondly, as the name of these cookies suggests, these aren’t your average run of the mill chocolate chip cookies, these are chocolate chip WALNUT cookies. In my opinion, the walnuts are a great addition to this classic recipe as they not only help in balancing out the richness of the chocolate chips, but also provide a nice textural component due to their crunch.  The last thing that sets these cookies apart from all the rest is the not so secret ingredient, oatmeal. That’s right, oatmeal. In fact, oatmeal is such an important component of these cookies that they technically could be called chocolate chip walnut oatmeal cookies, but I mean come on, that would just be silly. But what’s not silly is the fact that the oatmeal really helps in providing a great depth of flavor to these cookies.

Tips, Tricks & Suggestions

• If either you or someone you know has a nut allergy, then, by all means, feel free to omit the walnuts.  Even though I think they are an important aspect of these cookies, it’s not like they will be completely ruined by their absence.
• I need to warn you that this recipe will produce a large number of cookies.  How many cookies do you ask? Well let’s just say that it is more than I would like to count, but in general, it is somewhere in the 100+ range. So if you don’t really want that many cookies then all you need to do is simply half all of the measurements for the ingredients that I have listed below.  That, or you can simply use the method my mother uses, which is to freeze all of the dough. Then whenever you want some cookies, all you have to do is defrost some of the cookie dough and bake up a smaller batch. Either way, the choice is yours.
• If you liked this recipe then check out our recipe for oatmeal cranberry cookies!

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie Recipe

Prep time: 15 -20 minutes

Cook time: 6 minutes for each batch

Servings: 100+ cookies

Ingredients

4 Cups of all purpose flour

5 Cups of oatmeal (blended into a powder)

24 Oz. bag of semisweet chocolate chips

8 Oz. Hershey chocolate bar

2 Cups of chopped walnuts

2 Cups of butter

2 Cups of granulated sugar

2 Cups of brown sugar

4 Eggs

2 Teaspoons of vanilla extract

2 Teaspoons of baking powder

2 Teaspoons of baking soda

1 Teaspoon of salt

Instructions

1. Cream the butter:  Get out a stand mixer (or a large bowl and a hand mixer), and add both the 2 cups of butter and both types of sugar.  Mix all of this up for about two minutes, and then add in the eggs, and vanilla extract. Keep mixing all of this together for another 3 minutes or until all of the ingredients are smooth and shows no visible chunks.   These are our wet ingredients, set them aside to be used later in the recipe.

2. Blend the oatmeal and Hershey bar:  Get out either a blender or a food processor, and begin by blending up the Hershey’s chocolate bar until it forms small crumbs.  Set that aside to be used in the following step.  Next blend up the oatmeal in batches so that it forms a chunky powder.  Again set that aside to be used in the following step.

3. Mix together the dry ingredients:  Get out another large bowl and place a mesh bottom sieve over it.  Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the sieve, and sift all of the ingredients through it and into the large bowl.  Next, add both the blended Hershey bar and blended oatmeal to these ingredients and mix them all together using either your hands or a large spoon.

4. Make the cookie dough:  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in batches, making sure that they are properly mixed together.  If you are using a stand mixer then simply turn the mixer on low, and add about a cup of the dry ingredients every 20 seconds, until you have incorporated all of the dry and wet ingredients together.  After you have incorporated the wet and dry ingredients together, the last step is to add both the chocolate chips and walnuts. Simply toss both ingredients into your bowl and lightly mix them in so that they are well dispersed throughout the cookie dough.

5. Let sit:  Separate the dough into large brick sized pieces, and wrap each piece in aluminum foil.  Then place these either into your refrigerator for a day or into your freezer if you plan on baking these cookies at a later date.  However, if you do place the cookie dough in the freezer, make sure to place it into your fridge for a day in order for the dough to defrost before using it.

6. Bake: Take the cookie dough out of your refrigerator, and preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Next, get out a large cookie sheet, and start separating the cookie dough into balls about half the size of a golf ball.  One easy way to do this is to use a melon baller, however, if you have thought of another easy way to do this, then by all means do it that way.  Next place these balls of cookie dough out on your cookie sheet, making sure that they are placed at least 2 inches apart from each other. Then either take the palm of your hand, or a spatula, and slightly flatten out the balls of cookie dough, but make sure to not flatten them out completely.  Once you have filled up a cookie sheet in this manner, then stick it in your oven, and let it bake for 6 to 8 minutes.  After the cookies have been baked let them sit out on your kitchen counter for about 2 minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet.

7. Serve & enjoy

Print Recipe

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time6 minutes mins

Total Time21 minutes mins

Servings: 110 cookies

Ingredients

• 4 Cups of all purpose flour
• 5 Cups of oatmeal blended into a powder
• 24 Oz. bag of semisweet chocolate chips
• 8 Oz. Hershey chocolate bar
• 2 Cups of chopped walnuts
• 2 Cups of butter
• 2 Cups of granulated sugar
• 2 Cups of brown sugar
• 4 Eggs
• 2 Teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 2 Teaspoons of baking powder
• 2 Teaspoons of baking soda
• 1 Teaspoon of salt

Instructions

• Cream the butter: Get out a stand mixer (or a large bowl and a hand mixer), and add both the 2 cups of butter, and both types of sugar. Mix all of this up for about two minutes, and then add in the eggs, and vanilla extract. Keep mixing all of this together for another 3 minutes or until all of the ingredients are smooth and shows no visible chunks. These are our wet ingredients, set them aside to be used later in the recipe.
• Blend the oatmeal and Hershey bar: Get out either a blender or a food processor, and begin by blending up the Hershey's chocolate bar until it forms small crumbs. Set that aside to be used in the following step. Next blend up the oatmeal in batches so that it forms a chunky powder. Again set that aside to be used in the following step.
• Mix together the dry ingredients: Get out another large bowl and place a mesh bottom sieve over it. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the sieve, and sift all of the ingredients through it and into the large bowl. Next add both the blended hershey bar, and blended oatmeal to these ingredients and mix them all together using either your hands or a large spoon.
• Make the cookie dough: Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in batches, making sure that they are properly mixed together. If you are using a stand mixer then simply turn the mixer on low, and add about a cup of the dry ingredients every 20 seconds, until you have incorporated all of the dry and wet ingredients together. After you have incorporated the wet and dry ingredients together, the last step is to add both the chocolate chips, and walnuts. Simply toss both ingredients into your bowl and lightly mix them in so that they are well dispersed throughout the cookie dough.
• Let sit: Separate the dough into large brick sized pieces, and wrap each piece in aluminum foil. Then place these either into your refrigerator for a day, or into your freezer if you plan on baking these cookies at a later date. However if you do place the cookie dough in the freezer, make sure to place it into your fridge for a day in order for the dough to defrost before using.
• Bake: Take the cookie dough out of your refrigerator, and preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Next get out a large cookie sheet, and start separating the cookie dough into balls about half the size of a golf ball. One easy way to do this is to use a melon baller, however if you have thought of another easy way to do this, then by all means do it that way. Next place these balls of cookie dough out on your cookie sheet, making sure that they are placed at least 2 inches apart from each other. Then either take the palm of your hand, or a spatula, and slightly flatten out the balls of cookie dough, but make sure to not flatten them out completely. Once you have filled up a cookie sheet in this manner, then stick it in your oven, and let it bake for 6 to 8 minutes. After the cookies have been baked let them sit out on your kitchen counter for about 2 minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet.

Inspiration from other blogs

From Joy Food Sunshine

From Modern Honey