Makes Eighteen 3 inch cookies
Oven Temperature: 325°F/160°C for the walnuts; 375°F/190°C for the cookies
Baking Time: 7 minutes for the walnuts; 8 to 12 minutes for the cookies for each of two batches
Baking Equipment: Two 15 by 12 inch cookie sheets, no preparation needed, or lined with parchment
If you like your cookies crisp, crunchy, and chewy, these are the cookies for you. They maintain their texture on storage but become slightly softer in the middle.
Makes 755 grams dough
| unsalted butter | 113 grams | 8 tablespoons (1 stick) |
| 1 large egg | 50 grams | 3 tablespoons plus ½ teaspoon (47.5 ml) |
| walnut halves | 50 grams | ½ cup |
| bleached all-purpose flour | 151 grams | 1¼ cups (lightly spooned into the cup and leveled off) |
| baking powder | 2.2 grams | ½ teaspoon |
| baking soda | 2.7 grams | ½ teaspoon |
| fine sea salt | 3 grams | ½ teaspoon |
| raisins | 108 grams | ¾ cup |
| old-fashioned rolled oats | 92 grams | 1¼ cups |
| dark chocolate chips, 55% to 63% cacao (see Make This Recipe Your Own) | 85 grams | ½ cup (3 ounces) |
| pure vanilla extract | . | 1 teaspoon (5 ml) |
| light Muscovado or dark brown sugar | 108 grams | ½ cup, firmly packed |
Preheat the Oven
▪ Twenty minutes or longer before toasting the walnuts, set an oven rack at the middle level. Set the oven at 325ºF/160ºC.
Mise en Place
▪ About 1 hour ahead, set the butter and egg on the counter at room temperature (65º to 75ºF/19º to 24ºC).
▪ Toast and chop the walnuts: Spread the walnuts evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for about 7 minutes. Stir once or twice to ensure even toasting and prevent overbrowning. Turn the walnuts onto a dish towel and roll and rub them around to loosen the skins. Discard any loose skin and let the nuts cool completely. Chop into coarse pieces.
▪ In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
▪ In another medium bowl, toss together the walnuts, raisins, oats, and chocolate chips.
▪ Into a 1 cup measure with a spout, weigh or measure the egg. Add the vanilla and cover with plastic wrap.
Make the Dough
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the sugar and butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
2. With the mixer on medium speed, add the egg mixture and beat for 30 seconds, or until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until all the flour disappears.
4. Add the nut mixture and beat on low speed just until incorporated.
5. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes, up to 24 hours.
Preheat the Oven
▪ Thirty minutes or longer before baking, set an oven rack at the middle level. Set the oven at 375ºF/190ºC.
Roll the Dough into Balls
6. Divide the dough in half (about 375 grams each). Rewrap one of the pieces in the plastic wrap and refrigerate it while shaping the other piece.
7. Scoop out 9 pieces of dough (2 level tablespoons/41 grams each). Roll each piece between the palms of your hands into a 1¾ inch ball.
8. Set the dough balls a minimum of 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet and press them down to about 2½ inches wide.
Bake the Cookies
9. Bake the cookies for 6 minutes. For even baking, rotate the cookie sheet halfway around. Continue baking for 2 to 6 minutes. The cookies should just begin to brown lightly on the tops, and still feel soft when gently pressed with a fingertip.
Cool the Cookies
10. Set the cookie sheet on a wire rack and let the cookies cool for 1 minute. Use a thin pancake turner to lift the cookies onto another wire rack to finish cooling. They will firm up as they cool and are most delicious when eaten slightly warm.
11. Shape, bake, and cool the second batch.
Store Airtight: room temperature, 2 weeks; refrigerated 1 month; frozen, 3 months.
Baking Pearl
The dough must rest for a minimum of 30 minutes after mixing for the oats to soften and the moisture to be distributed evenly. Without this resting period, the oats would be harder and the moisture in the dough would cause it to spread more.
Make This Recipe Your Own
Use your favorite nuts and/or chocolate. Recommendations: Valrhona dark chocolate chips 52% or 60%, Ghirardelli bittersweet chips 60%, Scharffen Berger bittersweet chunks 61%. You can also replace the nuts with an equal volume of extra raisins or chocolate.