Food Recipes Desserts Cookies Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies 5.0 (3,869) 8 Reviews Should a chocolate chip cookie be chewy or crispy? Studded with walnuts or pecans, this best-of-both-worlds recipe yields crisp, crinkly tops with chewy centers. By Grace Parisi Grace Parisi Grace Parisi a former senior test kitchen editor for Food & Wine, where she wrote several successful monthly columns: Food & Wine Handbook, Tasting & Testing, Flavor of the Month, Power Pantry, and Chefs Recipes Made Easy. Parisi has also been published in McCall’s, Redbook, and The New York Times, has written five hit cookbooks, and has appeared numerous times on national television. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on September 21, 2023 Save Rate PRINT Share Total Time: 45 mins Yield: about 3 1/2 dozen cookies Jump to recipe Frequently asked questions Should chocolate chip cookie dough be chilled before baking? As F&W contributor Nikki Miller-Ka points out, regardless of your chocolate chip cookie preferences, chilling the dough in the refrigerator after mixing is a pro move for two reasons. First, "it allows the flour to hydrate and gives the other ingredients time to blend, resulting in a richer, more well-rounded flavor profile," she says. And second? "Resting your cookie dough before baking also helps the cookies hold their shape in the oven, leading to more browning and caramelization of the dough itself and keeping the cookies from spreading out too thin." Even a short stint in the fridge or freezer is better than no rest period. Of course, if you're in a complete hurry and must bake off the dough right away, your cookies will still be tasty. Should you toast nuts before baking in cookies? Though toasting nuts for cookies is not requisite, it's definitely encouraged! Doing so will enhance and intensify their inherent flavor. For walnut and pecan halves, it should take about eight minutes in a 350°F oven; give them a stir halfway through. Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen There are few hard and fast rules when it comes to making chocolate chip cookies with nuts. Both pecans and walnuts are delicious options for this recipe. Though we like our walnut chocolate chip cookies to have crisp exteriors and be chewy within, we also give baking guidelines for anyone who demands a perfectly chewy or completely crisp version. And then there's the chocolate: Standard semisweet chocolate chips are the traditional choice, but if you'd like to chop up your favorite chocolate bar instead, all the better. When to Use Chocolate Chips, Baking Chocolate, or Cocoa Powder Make ahead The cookie dough can be refrigerated for a few days before being shaped and baked, though there's not any additional flavor or texture benefit from resting it more than 24 hours. For longer storage, the shaped dough can be frozen for up to two months; simply place the unbaked cookies on a baking sheet in the freezer until they're hard, then pop them in a ziplock bag. Once baked, store the chocolate chip walnut cookies in an airtight container between sheets of wax paper for up to two days. Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup (packed) light brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs, at room temperature 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups) 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans, lightly toasted (optional) Directions Preheat the oven to 350°F and position racks in the middle and lower thirds of the oven. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. At low speed, beat in the dry ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Arrange tablespoons of the cookie dough at least 1 1/2 inches apart on two large baking sheets and bake for about 11 minutes for soft and chewy cookies, about 13 minutes for chewy cookies, or about 16 minutes for crisp cookies. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes before transferring them to wire racks. © Fredrika Stjärne Originally appeared: September 2003 Rate It Print