This blog is mostly about computer programming, but I’m a fairly serious foodie, so I occasionally post a favorite recipe. I see that it’s been almost a year and a half since my last recipe, so I guess it’s about time!

I make these chocolate-chip cookies more often than I probably should, but everyone always raves about them :-) The recipe is basically the one from the back of the Nestle semi-sweet morsels package, but with a few tweaks and techniques.

I think that the major difference is the addition of finely-chopped walnuts, instead of “chopped” nuts - it gives the whole cookie a wonderful walnut flavor.

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups (1 12 oz. package) semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli, but Nestle is fine too).
  • 1 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preheat your oven. The Nestle recipe says 375° F, but this depends on your oven. I have a convection oven, so I wind up using 325° F

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.

Put the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract into the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat until creamy

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Gradually beat in the flour mixture until well mixed.

Put mixer on lowest setting, and gradually add the nuts and chocolate chips, mix through.

The next part can be done simply, but works best with some special equipment - a cookie scoop and air-insulated cookie sheets.

Using a cookie scoop (or a heaping teaspoon), drop 12 cookies onto each cookie sheet, and bake: This is where your mileage will vary somewhat - you’ll probably have to experiment a bit to get the timing and rack position right. In my convection oven, it takes about 12-14 minutes. If baking 2 sheets at a time, switch their positions halfway through.

Remove cookie sheets, and let cookies cool for 10 minutes or so, and then remove them from the cookie sheets, and put on a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!