Chocolate Walnut Cookies

Whenever we do our weekly grocery, I would make it a point to buy Mrs. Fields' milk chocolate chip cookie. I just love how soft and tasty the cookie can get whenever you take a bite from it. It's not your usual chocolate chip cookie; there's something unforgettable about it--something (which i cannot point out obviously) that sets it apart from other cookies.

So, in my attempt to replicate Mrs Fields' cookies while of course, putting my personal touch to it, I decided to purchase cookie sheets later this afternoon. I bought them in different sizes so that I can use each depending on the number of cookies I want to make. Upon arriving home, I hurriedly looked for a recipe for chocolate cookies in the internet. Joyofbaking.com gave a pretty easy one, which involves white chocolate chunks. Since I did not have white chocolates to fold into the chocolate cookie mixture, I used walnuts instead.

The whole process went pretty smoothly except for the baking part. I should have just baked the cookies for around 8 to 10 minutes, but I extended it longer for fear that they might come out undercooked. Unfortunately, my first batch came out a little burnt. They still tasted chocolate-y, but I wasn't able to achieve the texture I was aiming for. After learning from my first batch's mistakes, I baked my second batch feeling a little more confident than what I felt with the previous ones. They were, of course, a lot better.

I dusted the cookies with confectioner's sugar. It added a hint of sweetness to my chocolate walnut cookies.

Here's the original recipe which I got from JoyofBaking.com:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (110 grams) light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) white granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup (140 grams) all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (30 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups (260 grams) white chocolate chips or chunks (In my case, I used chopped walnuts)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. First sift together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt and then add to the butter and egg mixture. Mix just until incorporated. Fold in the the chocolate chips.
• Using a small ice cream scoop or two spoons, place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter on the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
• Bake for approximately 8 minutes or until the the cookies are still soft in the center but are firm around the edges. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Additional: Using a strainer, dust your cookies with confectioner's sugar.

Kei's chocolate walnut cookies dusted with confectioner's sugar

Yummy!

Kei