Deluxe Chocolate Chunk Walnut Cookies

Two kinds of chocolate in one cookie. Semi-sweet chocolate chunks and milk chocolate morsels mean you get both deep, bittersweet hits and sweeter, creamier melted pockets in every bite. Combined with a full cup of walnuts, these are seriously loaded cookies.

The butter-and-shortening combination in the dough is deliberate. Butter brings the flavor, while shortening keeps the cookies thick and chewy instead of spreading thin and crispy. All-butter cookies flatten more in the oven. The blend gives you the best of both.

All brown sugar (no white) deepens the caramel flavor and adds moisture that keeps the centers soft. These cookies should be chewy in the middle with just a hint of crisp at the edges.

Pro Tips

• Use real chocolate chunks cut from a bar, not chips. Chips are designed to hold their shape and don’t melt into those gooey, irregular puddles that make a bakery cookie special.
• Press the dough balls down slightly before baking as directed. This ensures even spreading and a uniform thickness.
• Pull the cookies when the edges are browned but the centers still look slightly underdone. They firm up on the sheet as they cool.

Variations

• Swap walnuts for pecans for a sweeter, more buttery nut flavor.
• Add a pinch of flaky sea salt on top of each cookie before baking for a sweet-salty contrast.
• Use all dark chocolate chunks for a more intense, less sweet cookie.