Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

These Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies are easy to make with simple ingredients, resulting in big, chubby quarter-pound cookies that are crisp outside and also chewy and gooey inside with pools of melty chocolate. Soooo delish!

Have you ever tried the FAMOUS Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies from New York?

Well, ours are inspired by them – with some minor changes!

Each cookie weighs about 4.5 ounces – which makes them slightly smaller than the Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies (6-ounce each).

Both contain walnuts –although ours are toasted!

Also, you can choose to add chopped chocolate instead of chocolate chips that are in the Levain Bakery ones. We find chopped chocolate to be a plus because it makes pools of melted chocolate and that is something we really appreciate it!

But ours and theirs are crisp and golden brown outside and chewy and gooey inside. Delish, right?

I hope you make these thick cookies and enjoy them as a snack on the go or as an afternoon treat that you can pair with coffee or milk.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie Recipe

Here are a few things to know about these nutty baked goodies:

• Flavor: They are mildly sweet and nutty!
• Size: These are still BIG cookies! Each weighs a little more than a quarter-pound and is about 1-inch thick.
• Texture: They have crispy edges with a chewy center! Oh… and contain soft puddles of melted chocolate in the cookie dough. Yummm!
• Easy to make: They require no special skills! Just mix the ingredients, weigh, freeze, and bake the cookies.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Unsalted butter: It must be chilled and cut into small chunks. Because I am using semi-sweet chocolate and slat in the recipe, I prefer to not use salted butter. The amount of salt in butter may vary according to the brand and you want to have full control of the flavor. Also, choose good-quality butter such as Irish butter which has more dairy than water compared to American butter.
• Light brown sugar: It will add a molasses or caramel-like flavor to the cookies.
• Granulated sugar: It will sweeten these chocolate chip walnut cookies!
• Eggs: Use large eggs that are chilled!
• Pure vanilla extract: You may omit it but it will add extra flavor to our goodies.
• Bread flour: It won’t change the flavor of these cookies but it will impact their texture. Bread flour is a high-protein flour and contains more gluten, making them chewy and lighter. We didn’t use all-purpose flour, wheat flour, or cake flour that produces soft cookies.
• Baking powder: It is one of the leavening agents and will make the cookies rise!
• Baking soda: It is alkaline and will neutralize the acidic ingredient, brown sugar.
• Salt: If using kosher salt, use double the amount of sea salt called in the recipe.
• Chocolate chips: You can use either dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or chopped chocolate. The chopped dark chocolate will make large pools of melted chocolate after the cookies are baked. Good-quality chocolate, like Valhrona, is key for the chocolate to stay melted longer! If you prefer, use milk chocolate.
• Walnuts:  Toast them first and then coarsely chop them before incorporating them into our chocolate chips walnut cookie recipe.

 

How to Make Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Follow the easy 5 steps below:

STEP 1: Combine the dry ingredients

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Reserve!

STEP 2: Combine the wet ingredients

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cold butter on medium speed for about 1 minute or until softened slightly. Add the sugars, mixing well until combined. SEE PICS. 1 & 2
• Then, add eggs and vanilla, beating at medium-low speed until the wet mixture separates. SEE PIC. 3
• Turn the mixer off, add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until the dough just comes together. Using a tuber spatula, fold the chocolate chips and walnuts into the dough. SEE PICS. 4 & 5

STEP 3: Make cookies mounds and freeze

• Form balls that are even-size and weight each on a kitchen scale. Each must be about 4.5 ounces each or 127.5 g each. SEE PIC. 6
• Place cookie mounds on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper and freeze the cookie dough mounds for 1 hour. They’ll firm up and won't spread as much when baking. SEE PIC. 7

NOTE: If you prefer, you can freeze the cookie dough at this point for baking another day (make ahead).

STEP 4: Bake

• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190° C). 
• Bake the cookie dough mounds straight from the freezer for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown along the edges and the tops start to brown. SEE PIC. 8 The center will be slightly under-baked, making it moist and chewy inside! 

STEP 5: Let cool and enjoy!

Allow our easy chocolate chip walnut cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Then gently transfer them to a cooling rack to set and cool more. You can have them slightly warm if you want!

Pro Tips

• Use chilled butter and eggs.
• Measure well the bread flour before adding it to the dough.
• Use good-quality chocolate chips, like Valhrona, so they will stay melted for longer.
• Use a kitchen scale to weigh the cookie mounds so they will have even weight/size and bake evenly. Each must weigh about 4.5 ounces.
• Do not flatten the tops of the cookie dough balls!
• Freeze the cookie dough mounds before baking so they won’t spread much under heat in the oven and also will relax the gluten in the flour. These chewy cookies are thick and chubby.
• For getting crisp edges, don’t smooth the cookie balls when forming them.
• Make sure to preheat the oven for at least 15 minutes before baking the cookies.
• Use gloves to form the cookie balls because they may be sticky.
• The baking time may vary depending on your oven.
• Divide the walnut chocolate chip cookies between two large baking sheets. They are big and will need to be baked far apart, with enough room to expand.
• Let these Levain Bakery cookies look-alike come to room temperature before handling. They must be golden brown and crisp outside with chewy, gooey centers.

Can I freeze the raw cookie dough?

Yes, you can. In fact, you can make ahead a large batch of cookies and freeze them raw for up to 3 months to bake them later straight from the freezer. But remember you may have to add about a couple of minutes to the baking time.

To freeze them, portion out the raw dough, and weight, and place them on a lined sheet pan in a single layer. Transfer the sheet pan to the freezer until the dough is frozen, then transfer the dough balls into large plastic bags.

How to Toast Walnuts

1. Heat a medium no-stick skillet over medium heat, add the walnuts, and heat them until golden brown and fragrant, stirring now and then (about 2 to 4 minutes).
2. Remove from skillet and let cool just enough to handle. Chop them coarsely to add to our chocolate chips walnut cookies before baking.

How to Store Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Store these baked and cool chocolate chip walnut cookies in a Ziploc bag or airtight container for about 2-3 days. Make sure to remove as much air as possible form the bag.

You can freeze them. But be aware after thawing, they won’t have crisp edges anymore yet they will still be moist.

To defrost these baked cookies faster, wrap each cookie in a paper towel and microwave for about 15-18 seconds.

Other chocolate chip cookie recipes to enjoy

• Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Gluten-Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
•  Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

More cookie recipes to try

• Easy No-Chill Walnut Cookies
• Brownie Cookies
• Nutella Cookies (with Creamy Centers)

PIN AND ENJOY!