Secrets for Baking Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies - Every Time!

Not Just Your Average Chocolate Chip Cookie

More than just chocolate chips, our recipe for Dark Chocolate Chip & Walnut Cookies is a twist on the tried and true American classic - made with dark chocolate, nuts, and oats.

This recipe is also great with other chocolates like milk or white. And you can opt for another type of nut or no nuts, that's great too. It's your choice!

Watch the full Dark Chocolate Chip and Walnut Cookie Lesson below!

Understanding the Basics of Cookie Dough

There's a really good reason why we use the creaming method for this recipe, and it all starts with room temperature ingredients. Ingredients at room temperature make a well-emulsified batter - and this is key! Cream the butter, salt, and vanilla using a paddle. You don't want to use a whisk here. Why you ask? The job of a whisk is to incorporate air - and it's great at it. But for a creamed batter, we want to combine the ingredients without adding too much air. So, for this recipe, a paddle works best.

After the butter, salt, and vanilla is combined, add the sugar and incorporate. You may also notice in this recipe we use lemon juice. It's maybe hard to recognize a lemony taste, but we guarantee the acidity brings flavor balance and zing. Gradually add the eggs so that the batter can easily incorporate the liquid.

We also sift the dry ingredients, including the baking soda, to aerate the flour and evenly distribute the leavener. This is good to know because you want all your cookies to rise, not just a few.

Achieving a Perfectly Round Cookie

These types of cookies are called "drop cookies." Drop cookies simply mean that we make a batter and "drop" them onto a baking tray using a spoon or scoop. We use a scoop - sometimes called a disher, so the cookies are all the same size, we always have the same thickness and an even bake.

It's also helpful to evenly press on the cookies before baking. Our trick is to use a baking tray and firmly press with both hands. It's an efficient tip as all of the cookies are flattened at the same time and to the same thickness.

Sometimes it's hard, we know, to let them cool before taking a bite! Removing them from the baking tray stops them from baking and prevents the bottom from getting too dark. We like to place them on a wire rack to help them cool.

The chocolate chip cookie is a great one to freeze after baking. First, freeze them on a baking tray then transfer them to a bag or container. Now you can take out what you need, when you need it. Simply thaw them at room temperature and enjoy!

If you don't have time to bake the batter right away, scoop them on a baking tray and freeze. Then transfer the raw cookies to a bag or container and bake when you can!

Your Most Commonly Asked Chocolate Chip Cookie Questions, Answered!

"Wait! My cookies don't look like that!"

Yes, some things can go wrong in the kitchen, even when making a chocolate chip cookie - too flat, too puffy, too crispy. Well, let's see if we can fix that for next time.

"Why is my cookie so flat?"

If your cookie is too flat, the butter may have been too soft, and using melted butter simply doesn't work for this recipe. Room temperature, soft butter works best. And don't substitute butter with margarine - butter reigns supreme! Additionally, if you are making substitutes for any of the fillings, be sure to replace it with the same weight of something else. So, if you take out the nuts, add more chocolate chips. Too much sugar also makes for a flat cookie. We've made this recipe with just the right amount of sugar; if you add more, there may be an undesirable taste or appearance.

"Why is my cookie so fluffy?

Too fluffy? Sometimes we're so excited to get them into the oven, we forget to evenly press the scooped cookies before baking - try not to! Always double-check that the ingredients are scaled or measured correctly. We only use a digital scale and weigh all of our ingredients -it's much easier and accurate than using cups and spoons.

"My cookie is too crispy. What happened?"

If your chocolate chip cookies are too crispy, you've likely used too much flour, or you only used white granulated sugar. Brown sugar has more moisture and reacts differently to baking soda than white sugar. This is why we add a combination of brown and white sugars in this recipe. The texture of our cookie is crunchy but not too hard or soft.

Have additional questions about how to achieve the perfect chocolate chip cookie every time? Then be sure to ask in the comments below!

Happy Baking!