DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookies
INGREDIENTS
Makes 20-26 cookies
1/2 pound butter, softened (2 sticks)
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs (room temperature)
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup rolled oats*
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch cinnamon
2 2/3 cups Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 3/4 cups chopped walnuts
*I saw a copycat recipe that called for grinding the oats into a coarse powder in a spice grinder. I did the same here as I think it adds more body to the cookie but feel free to use it as is.
PREPARATION
Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
Add eggs, vanilla and lemon juice, blending with mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl.
With mixer on low speed, add flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, blending for about 45 seconds. Don’t overmix.
Remove bowl from mixer and stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
Portion dough with a scoop (about 3 tablespoons) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart.
Preheat oven to 300°F. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and center is still soft.
Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for about 1 hour.
Cook’s note: You can freeze the unbaked cookies, and there’s no need to thaw. Preheat oven to 300°F and place frozen cookies on parchment paper-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden brown and center is still soft.
RECIPE NOTES
For over a decade, my Aunt Anita worked at the DoubleTree hotel in Monterey (the original location of the first TED talks BTW) which meant I had a regular pipeline to the hotel’s legendary chocolate chip cookies. The hotel desk staff would keep the cookies in a warming drawer behind the desk and guests were presented one upon check-in. My aunt was friendly with the concierge team and she would ask them to slide me a cookie or two whenever I visited her. You’ll find a plethora of copycat recipes on the internet but the DoubleTree hotel released the official recipe in April 2020. Maybe it’s the lemon juice or the pinch of cinnamon but this will now be my go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies. You simply can’t screw them up! I will suggest that even if you don’t like walnuts to not skip them, unless, of course, you have a nut allergy. I’m not a fan of walnuts either but I’ll excuse them in this recipe as they add a lovely nutty flavor. Trust me when I tell you the cookies won’t be the same without them. I always measure my flour and sugar using scale to ensure maximum accuracy and I suggest you do the same. Another tip would be to let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, this will limit the spreading in your cookies.