Timeless classic chocolate chip cookies studded with dark chocolate chunks and toasted walnut pieces. You’ll also find my favorite ways to riff on this dough including a brown butter version studded with chopped Baci chocolates.
During undergrad, while everyone else was cramming for finals and frantically writing papers, I was baking cookies. I survived every presentation, exam, and paper reports one dozen cookies at a time. And, that habit never really went away. These days, when life gets a little chaotic, I still reach for a mixing bowl. Cookie therapy is real!
This is my version of a classic chocolate chip cookie – a little crisp around the edges, yet soft and chewy in the middle. It’s packed with enough melted chocolate to ensure you get a piece with every bite. This is the base cookie dough recipe I return to frequently because it’s foolproof and endlessly adaptable.
Recipe Highlights
- Crisp edges, chewy center: the classic, ironic, irresistible texture
- Freezer-friendly dough: scoop, freeze, and bake straight from frozen
- Choose your size : giant 1/2 cup dough portions or opt for smaller snack size, or choose to scoop smaller sizes
- Dark chocolate chunks + toasted walnuts : chunks melt better than chips. swap in your choice of nuts or add more chocolate.
Ingredient Notes
- Chocolate: Use good-quality dark chocolate in the 60–72% range, chopped into chunks rather than store-bought chips. Chunks give you those irregular melty pockets throughout the cookie.
- Walnuts: Toasting raw walnuts first (350°F for 8–10 minutes) brings out a deeper, nuttier flavor than skipping this step. Let them cool completely before chopping and folding into the dough.
- Sea salt flakes: Maldon is my go-to for finishing. .
- Molasses: Just a tablespoon, but it adds depth and chew to the cookie. Don’t skip it even though it’s a small amount.
Cookie Variations
This cookie dough is a great base for experimenting. Here are my favorite ways to change it up:
Change the scoop size: The original recipe is written for giant, #8 scoop (1/2 cup) cookies. The same dough works beautifully smaller as well. Adjust bake time according:
- #8 scoop: 18-20 minutes
- #20 scoop (3 Tbsp): 14 minutes
- #40 scoop (1.5 Tbsp): 12 minutes
Brown the butter. Swap some or all of the butter in the recipe for brown butter to produce a deeper, nuttier, almost caramel-butterscotch like flavor. I like using a 3 to 1 ratio of brown butter and regular butter. This keeps some of the structure and moisture than an all-brown butter dough can lose. Let the brown butter cool and firm back to a soft, spreadable consistency before creaming with the sugars.
Change up the mix-ins: Swap out dark chocolate for milk chocolate or white chocolate. Use peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips.
- Brown Butter Baci Chocolate Cookies– use roughly chopped Baci chocolate in place of chocolate and walnuts. Baci is an Italian candy that layers semi-sweet chocolate, a whole toasted hazelnut, and gianduja (chocolate hazelnut) filling.
- Toffee Chocolate Cookies – mix in homemade toffee pieces.
- Oreo Peanut Butter Chip Cookies – swap out chocolate and walnuts for chopped Oreo cookies and Reese’s chips.
Storage
Keep cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Scooped, unbaked dough may be frozen up for to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding an additional 2 minutes to cooking time.
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, (226 g), softened
- 1 ¼ cup light brown sugar, (250 g), packed
- ¾ cup granulated sugar, (150 g)
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 Tablespoon molasses
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, (360 g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup lightly toasted walnuts, (113 g) roughly chopped
- 6 oz dark chocolate chunks, (170 g), or chocolate chips
- sea salt flakes, for sprinkling
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream together butter, brown sugar, sugar, and salt until smooth. Scrape down bowl as needed.
- Add egg and egg yolks one at a time mixing on low speed until fully incorporated. Add molasses and mix on medium speed for about 1 minute until batter is thick, fluffy, and smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add to mixing bowl and mix on low speed until combined. Fold in chopped walnuts and chocolate chunks. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Scoop cookie dough into ½ cup mounds using a #8 scoop or a measuring cup. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1 hour, or until solid.*see note for varied cooking times.
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Space frozen cookie mounds at least 3 inches apart from each other on a parchment lined baking sheet. (5 mounds will fit on a standard half sized baking sheet.) Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are set, but the center is still soft.
- From the oven, immediately sprinkle hot cookies with sea salt flakes. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet. It will take a few minutes for cookies to regain their structure. The warm cookies will be very soft and delicate. Allow cookies to cool before removing from pan.
Notes
- To toast whole walnuts: bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until nuts are light golden brown. Chop nuts once cooled. Cool to room temperature before adding to cookie dough.
- I use Maldon sea salt flakes for sprinkling.
- For brown butter version: use 3/4 cup brown butter + 1 cup regular butter.
- The listed cooking time above is for 1/2 cup (#8) sized cookie dough mounds. If you scoop smaller cookies, you will have to adjust the baking time.
- Size #20 scoop (3 Tbsp) = 14 minutes baking time, rotate midway
- Size #40 scoop (1.5 Tbsp) = 12 minutes baking time, rotate midway
- Store frozen cookie dough in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months. Baking times refer to frozen dough.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to three days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!Chocolate Chip Cookie Variations
- Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Olive Oil Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- White Chocolate Earl Grey Cookies
- Almond Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
How do you get the flatten look of the cookies? Or do they just naturally spread through baking?
The cookies will naturally spread on their own during baking based on the amount of butter and sugar in the recipe.
Is it ok 11/4 CUP of brown sugar?
Hi! Have you tried cutting down on the sugar?
Will definitely make this on thw weekend ??
Reducing the sugar with affect the texture and spread of the cookies. Less sugar will make your cookie hard and dense.