If you love a crispy cookie on the outside but go weak in the knees for gooey-decadent cookie middles THIS is the answer to ALL of your cookie cravings. These chocolate chip cookies are EVERYTHING…and I am officially obsessed.
I have two people to thank…
for bringing this deliciousness to my attention. The first is Melissa Stadler at Modern Honey for developing her recipe for Chocolate Chip Crush Cookies. It’s a copycat recipe for the famous Levain Bakery cookies in New York and as much as I’d love to take credit for how incredible these cookies are, I can only take credit for bringing them to your attention (you’re welcome). I made a few tiny tweaks when I baked them that I think add a little extra something to the final product but they are absolutely perfect either way you make them.
Just make them.
The second thank you goes to my cookie loving husband who not only texted me this recipe while I was at the grocery store, but who also was kind enough to leave a printed copy on the kitchen counter waiting for me when I got home. A not so subtle hint-hint and I was more than happy to oblige.
Because chocolate.
What makes this recipe different?
As someone who bakes A LOT there were four things that stood out to me when I read this recipe the first time-
- You use COLD butter and COLD eggs
- You’ll combine cake flour and all purpose flour plus cornstarch
- The dough balls are HUGE and round
- You’ll bake at a high temperature for a relatively short time
There’s a good reason for all of these things and as much as my internal baker was resisting (especially the cold butter) I followed the directions and they turned out exactly as described. Trust the recipe, people, these are going to be the best cookies you’ve ever eaten!
Tips for success
Cube and chill the butter ahead. I know, I was skeptical at first, too. We’ve always been taught to bring butter to room temperature before starting to make cookies. But cubing the butter ahead and chilling is actually the KEY to the crispy-outside gooey-inside result you’re going for here. Trust me.
If you don’t have cake flour, you can make a close substitute by first measuring 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch into a measuring cup and then adding regular flour to measure 1 cup total. I actually don’t buy cake flour anymore, I make a big batch like this and keep it in my pantry. Assuming you might not have cake flour I’ve included the homemade cake flour substitute measurements in the recipe notes.
Toasting the walnuts, using 2 kinds of chocolate chips and sprinkling with a little flakey salt amps up the yumm factor! Of course, you can skip the toasting and use one kind of chocolate and they’ll still be awesome 🙂
Make them big and resist the urge to flatten them. We’re not practicing self control here. These cookies are huge and you’ll think you’re doing something wrong when you see them on the baking sheet. The big, round shape and high heat is KEY to the crispy outside and gooey middle end result!
Wait 10-15 minutes before eating. They aren’t done when you take them out of the oven, they need that additional time to finish setting up.
There are two kinds of cookie lovers
Cookie lovers generally fall into two camps- those who love their cookies still warm from the oven and those who like them cold (maybe even frozen). I usually fall into the cold cookie camp.
You might be judging my cold cookie love right now and that’s ok. I love to freeze chocolate chip cookies and let them partially thaw before eating them. I’m not the only one, either, people like me may not want to make their affinity for chilled cookies public because there might be just a little bit of shame attached to it…but we’re here, walking among the warm from the oven cookie people.
But these cookies are different. Eat them warm.
These cookies also keep really well! Wrap them individually for maximum freshness if keeping for more than a couple days.You can also double wrap and freeze them to keep longer.
I reheated one the day after I baked it and found that 30 seconds in the microwave brought them back to a perfect fresh from the oven state of gooey-middle.
I’m so excited for you to try these life changing chocolate chip walnut cookies!!!!
Tag me on instagram with a picture @breathingandcooking if you try them!
Lifechanging Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
Crispy & golden outside with gooey-cookie centers and packed with chocolate and nuts these are going to be your new favorite cookie!
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks), cubed and chilled
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour (*see notes)
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp Diamond kosher salt (if using table salt use 1/2 tsp)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, cold
- 2 cups chocolate chips (I used a combination of semi sweet and dark chocolate)
- 2 cups walnuts (measured before chopping), toasted and chopped (*see notes)
- Flakey sea salt (such as Maldon) for sprinkling
Instructions
*Toasting the walnuts is optional but adds a great flavor and really nice texture to the final cookies.
Get Everything Ready
- If toasting walnuts do this first so that they're no longer warm when you start the cookie dough.
- Preheat oven to 410 degrees and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats.
- Cut cold butter into small cubes (about 1/2 inch square) and chill until ready to use.
- Measure both flours, cornstarch, baking soda and salt into medium bowl , whisk to combine and set aside
Make Dough
- In large mixing bowl cream cold butter and both sugars with electric mixer until smooth and creamy. This will take between 2 and 4 minutes, depending on your mixer
- Add vanilla and cold eggs, one at a time, beating to thoroughly mix after each egg. Scrape bowl.
- Add flour mixture and beat on low just until combined. You don't want to overmix. You'll need to scrape the bowl a couple of times to make sure all the flour is incorporated.
- Add the chocolate chips and walnuts and mix just until distributed evenly.
- Divide dough into 8 large balls (if using a scale they'll each be about 7 ounces) and place 4 on each lined baking sheet. DO NOT FLATTEN!
- Sprinkle the top of each with a little flakey salt.
- Bake in a 410 degree oven 9-12 minutes. They won't flatten out during baking and will look underdone but be golden on the tops. Don't overbake.
- Let them rest ON THE WARM BAKING SHEETS for 10 minutes to set before eating.
Enjoy!!!!
Notes
- If you don't have cake flour substitute 1 and 1/4 cups plus 1 Tablespoon of all purpose flour sifted with 3 Tablespoons of cornstarch
- To toast walnuts, spread walnut halves and pieces out on a baking sheet in a single layer. Place in a preheated 350 oven for 8 minutes. Move onto a cutting board and chop. Make sure they are completely cooled before adding to the cookie dough.
These are AMAZING!!! I thought it was a bit crazy to make them so big but they taste delicious! Thanks for this great recipe that Rob and I absolutely love!
Breka,
They ARE crazy big and I’m glad you guys are enjoying the recipe! It’s become a requirement in our house that there’s always a bag of them in the chest freezer now…which is kind of dangerous, but really convenient when the craving strikes 😉