These Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies are thick, chewy, buttery and full of toasted walnut flavor with melty milk chocolate & dark chocolate chips then dusted with flaky sea salt. Get these gooey center, bakery-style cookies in under an hour!
This cookie recipe is for cookie lovers who like a little crunch in their chewy cookies. And if crunch is your thing, Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cookies would be right up your alley!
A Quick Glance At The Recipe
- ✅Done in: 50 minutes, including chill time.
- 🛒Ingredients: 10, including baking staples.
- 🍽️Serves: A baker's dozen (13)
- 💪Difficulty: Easy - Get the kids in on the baking.
- 👩🍳Cook Method: Bake
- ⏰Make Ahead Friendly: Yes! Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies freeze wonderfully so you can get holiday baking done ahead.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Lots of crunch in this giant double chocolate chunky cookie. Choose your size and type of chocolate for the ultimate decadence.
- Extra flavor is added by browning the butter, a method used in many recipes including Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting.
- These Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies are thick, chewy & ready in 45 minutes.
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Recipe Ingredients
- Flour: Regular all-purpose here, a pantry staple.
- Sugar: Both brown and white are used for the ultimate soft cookie dough.
- Butter: We will use both regular butter and brown butter to add nutty notes. Brown butter is simply better in some applications. Try brown butter in Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies too!
- Nuts: Walnut pieces add a robust crunch and flavor.
- Chocolate: I use Callebaut dark chocolate chips along with Valrhona milk chocolate feves for Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies. These are two of my favorite brands, that being said, they're on the expensive side. Ghirardelli is my go-to for more affordable chocolate.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- Feel free to switch out the nuts. I also love pecans in my cookie like Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies, as they have a similar texture to the walnuts.
- Not all kids (or adults) like dark chocolate. Go full milk chocolate or replace the dark chocolate with semi sweet chocolate chips.
- Swap in dried cranberries for part of the chocolate! A combo of walnuts, white chocolate, and cranberries is divine.
- Swap all purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten free flour for gluten free bakery style chocolate chip walnut cookies.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
How To Make Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
Step 1: Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Step 2: Cream butter and both sugars, then add remaining wet ingredients.
Step 3: Combine wet with dry until no dry flour remains.
Step 4: Fold in the chocolate and nuts.
Step 5: Scoop 4 oz dough onto parchment lined sheet tray and press toppings into each one.
Step 6: Allow to chill while the oven preheats, then bake and enjoy.
Expert Baking Tips
- Be careful not to burn your brown butter. Cook it over low heat, and allow it to cool before using in the recipe.
- Always pack your brown sugar into the measuring cup!
- Set a few walnut chocolate chip cookie dough balls to the side in a freezer bag to bake for later! I always have a freezer stash of cookie dough. Just allow to sit out for 1 hour then bake as directed.
- Save a few pieces of chocolate and walnuts when mixing them into the dough. These can be placed on top of these chunky cookies before baking for a picture perfect bakery style look.
- Scoot the cookies as soon as they're out of the oven by circulating a biscuit cutter around each cookie. This gives a perfectly round look, like PB2 Cookies have.
Recipe FAQs
You are essentially cooking over the stove on low heat until the butter melts, foams, and then browns. Swirl your pot occasionally and once it starts to brown, give it a good whisk to scrape bits off the bottom of the pan. It's essential you keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn.
I'll let you in on a little secret that both bakeries and photographers use. Hold back some of the mix-ins or use them all but have more on hand. After you scoop and shape the cookie dough into balls, gently press toppings into each cookie. Not only does this look gorgeous, it easily shows what is inside the cookies! Use a biscuit cutter to swirl around each walnut chocolate chip cookie the moment they come out of the oven. This is called 'scooting' and will give you perfectly round cookies.
Chilling is essential for this Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie recipe, though we only need 15-30 minutes for this dough. This will help the cookies keep their shape and remain thick, rather than spreading out super thin, which could also cause them to burn on the edges.
Store these Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days. You can also freeze cookies, either in a double freezer bag or airtight container, for up to 2 months. This way you can get lots of holiday baking done ahead of time!
🧁Krista's Food Truck & Mom POV
Between running a food truck and chasing two girls, I love recipes that feel bakery level but fit real life! These Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies were born on a late night cookie binge, haha.
I've been having serious cookie cravings but also serious lack of energy. These are easy and ready in under an hour and freeze beautifully raw or cooked.
This classic cookie recipe helps me bridge both worlds of bakery-style/restaurant approved and mom-approved food!
More Cookie Recipes You'll Love
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📖Recipe
Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer or electric hand mixer
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2¾ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Wet Ingredients
- 1 stick brown butter cooled, unsalted
- 1 stick unsalted butter room temp
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla extract pure
Mix-Ins
- 4 oz walnuts
- 8 oz milk chocolate chips feves or chopped chocolate works too
- 6 oz dark chocolate chips chopped chocolate works too
Instructions
Dry Ingredients
- Whisk all dry ingredients together in a bowl
Wet Ingredients
- Brown butter then immediately pour into a heat proof bowl and set in the fridge to cool
- Once cooled, mix brown butter, room temp butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy
- Mix in eggs and vanilla
- Add dry ingredients and mix just until fully incorporated
- Add mix-ins to the bowl and briefly mix to incorporate
Baking Cookies
- Line a sheet tray with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350°F
- Scoop 4 oz cookie dough balls then flatten the tops while keeping the round shape. Place dough on sheet tray then chill for 15 minutes
- Arrange cookies 3 inches apart on sheet tray and bake for 18 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the tray for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack
Cheryl
Sooo good! Glad I found this recipe before the holidays!
Krista Stechman
Glad you love them!
Krista
My go-to when I want a thick and chewy cookie packed with chunks of chocolate and walnut. Easy, minimal 15-minute chilling, perfect cookies every time.