Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies (Small Batch)

⭐ Why You’ll Love This Recipe 

Hi, my name is Emily, and I’m obsessed with desserts! Me choosing to be a pastry chef was no accident; I’m a firm believer that the world is a better, sweeter place with delicious desserts! As it turns out, there’s usually some form of dessert lurking in the cookie jar or in the fridge at our house. But lately, I’ve been on a bread-baking kick so I haven’t had much in the way of a sweets fix.

Earlier this week, I had a strong hankering for something sweet after dinner, so I threw together these small-batch walnut chocolate chip cookies. And friends? They hit the spot. They’re super soft, nice and thick, and taste just like the cookies you’d get from your favorite bakery. One batch of these bad boys yields just 4 cookies, which gave us 2 days of dessert bliss. 

Even better than just being a small batch chocolate chip cookies recipe, these chocolate chip walnut cookies are made using melted butter, which means there’s no creaming in the recipe. No creaming means no mixer is needed! You’ll just need a mixing bowl and a sturdy spoon to whip up this small-batch recipe. You'll satisfy that sweet tooth in no time!

🍴Ingredients

This walnut chocolate chip cookies recipe uses mostly pantry staples. Here’s what you’ll need:

• All-Purpose Flour - If needed, you should be able to swap in a gluten-free AP flour mixture here with no problems.
• Kosher Salt - If you’re using a different type of salt, be sure to reference this conversion chart for proper measurement. 
• Baking Soda - Don’t try using baking powder instead.
• Unsalted Butter - Organic, grass-fed, and/or cultured butter always tastes better than conventional. 
• Granulated Sugar & Golden Brown Sugar - I like using both types of sugar in these chocolate walnut cookies. If you’re using just one, I suggest reaching for brown.
• Egg - Per usual, you’ll want to let your whole egg come to room temperature for easier mixing. 
• Vanilla Extract - A tablespoon might sound like a lot for just 4 cookies, but trust me. Amping up the vanilla flavor results in a bakery-style flavor that you’ll adore! Feel free to swap in vanilla powder or paste instead.
• Dark Chocolate Chips - I prefer either semi-sweet or dark chocolate chunks to play against the walnuts, but use your own favorite.
• Walnuts - If you can spare an extra minute or two, toasting the walnuts in a dry pan will improve their flavor!
• Flaky Sea Salt - For a little crunch and the perfect balance of salty-sweetness.

⏲️ Substitutions & Variations

This walnut chocolate cookies recipe is perfect for a quick dessert fix, but there are plenty of ways to customize it for your needs:

• Double the recipe, double the warm cookie fun. While I built this as a specifically small-batch cookie recipe, you can easily double it for a more shareable batch. 
• Swap out your mix-ins. Try using a different kind of nut like pecans, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, or pistachios. Swap in white chocolate or milk chocolate, add potato chips or use different types of baking chips. M&Ms or leftover Cadbury Eggs would also be great here!

📖 Step by Step Instructions

These small-batch chocolate chip cookies with walnuts come together in no time at all. Here’s how they’re made:

Step 1: Mix Dough. Mix together the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients and stir until everything is combined. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Step 2: Chill the dough for 30 minutes then separate the dough into 4 large cookies total - ball and flatten, top with extra chocolate chips and walnuts if desired. 

Step 4: Baking Prep. Prepare your baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the cookies about 4-inches apart on your baking sheets.

Step 5: Bake & Sprinkle. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until the edges of cookies are slightly golden - then remove the baked cookies from the oven and top with flaky sea salt while they cool. 

👩🏻‍🍳 Expert Tips

• Don’t skip the chilling step. Chilling your cookie dough helps prevent it from spreading while baking, which results in a softer, thicker, puffier cookie. If you’re feeling super impatient, you can speed up the process a little by using the freezer instead of the fridge.
• Use parchment paper for easy cleanup. Lining your baking tray with a piece of parchment will eliminate the need for scrubbing the pan. I’ll chalk that up as one for the good guys! PRO TIP: If your parchment paper keeps rolling up on itself or otherwise misbehaving, simply crumple it into a ball and then unfurl it. It should now do your bidding!
• Use high-quality chocolate. If you’re in the market for chocolate chips, brands like Valrhona and Ghiradelli are the best places to start. You can also give your chocolate walnut cookies some extra textural interest by using chopped bar chocolate or feves instead.

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