Growing up my mother would often make the Toll House Cookie recipe. This was always a treat, as homemade cookies are superior to the Chips Ahoy! that often landed in my lunch box.
I feel like everyone’s toll Toll House Cookies turn out different somehow despite the fact that it’s all the same recipe. My Mom’s were flat and chewy. Sometimes they had M&Ms as well… and sometimes walnuts, but I despised that!
Since then, my taste in cookies has grown up, and walnuts (or any other nuts) tend to be a more than welcome addition to the mix, while M&Ms (read: “cheap chocolate”) have lost their novelty.
My taste in cookie recipes has also expanded beyond the back of the Toll House. About a month ago while browsing food blogs, I stumbled upon this recipe from Sugar Plum. I’ve seen a lot of seemingly ordinary recipes claiming to make the “ultimate” chocolate chip cookie, but this recipe’s unique ingredients actually got me interested. With a combination of flavorful browned butter and coconut oil plus the unusual addition of yeast, I decided to give it a try.
But I’m hardly one for following recipes to the word, so I added my own twists: maple syrup instead of white sugar for more flavor and whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour for a nuttier crumb.
And I go for the high end dark chocolate bars for these cookies. No lame chocolate chips, just coarsely chopped, fair-trade, single-origin dark chocolate, free of modified soy and milk fat.
Adding dried cherries and walnuts to the mix results in a cookie with a perfect balance of flavors: sweet, bitter, tart, and nutty.
Small, thick, slightly soft, and slightly crumbly, these are nothing like my Mother’s thin and chewy cookies… they’re better! In fact, they are possibly some of the best cookies I’ve had. They’re concentrated with lots of good bits, snuggled about an amazingly flavorful crumb. Just a couple will leave you wonderfully satisfied.
Ultimate Chocolate Cherry Walnut Cookies
Makes About Three Dozen
- 2 ½ Cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
- ¾ tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Dry Active Yeast
- ½ cup Organic Cultured Butter
- ¼ cup Virgin Unrefined Coconut Oil
- ¾ cup Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Maple Syrup
- 1 tbs Vanilla Extract
- 1 Organic Free-Range Egg
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 cup Chopped Dark Chocolate
- ½ cup Dried Cherries
- ½ cup Chopped Walnuts
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Sift together the flour, baking soda and yeast, set aside.
- Start by browning the butter. In a saucepan over medium high heat, melt the butter, stirring constantly. When the butter starts to boil, stop stirring for a minute. Brown bits will start to form. The butter will suddenly give off a wonderful nutty fragrance. Start stirring again for one more minute until the butter is a light golden brown color. Remove from heat and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the coconut oil, brown sugar, maple syrup and salt to the butter. Mix well. Add the vanilla and egg and mix. In three batches, stir in the flour mixture until no dry is visible.
- Add in the chocolate, cherries and walnuts and mix until well incorporated. Cover and move to the refrigerator to chill for 20–30 minutes.
- Make two tablespoon sized balls and place on parchment paper on a baking sheet. one inch apart. Flatten slightly. Bake at 350° F for about 15 minutes; when the bottom edge is lightly browned. Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Once cool, store in an airtight container or freeze.
Those look amazing!
you have the most beautiful blog. wonderful photos and recipes.
I appreciate this more “grown up” version. I like how they bake a bit thicker.