Since you all have so fully embraced my salad jars from earlier this week, I assume you’ve been staying on track and enjoying your healthy lunches, therefore saving lots of extra calories for some weekend binge-baking. Or at least that’s how I roll. We’re all about balance around here.
There’s a million chocolate chip cookie recipes out in the world and we’ve shared several here on the blog. I love these Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Kate has shared her favorites as well. I even have one more that I love and haven’t ever shared here. I think it’s good to have a few because they’re all a little different, and this one is no exception. I probably wouldn’t have tried this recipe had I just stumbled upon it on the internet. I’m always leery of recipes that claim to be copycats because let’s face it- they’re never just like the original. However I somehow came upon photos of these cookies from another food blogger and I couldn’t stop staring. They looked amazing. So I made them. And they’re delicious. It’s been ages since I’ve stayed at a DoubleTree Hotel, so I honestly can’t say how they compare on that regard, I’m just sharing these because they’re darn good cookies. Now let me tell you- I wasn’t going to share these at first. I made the dough, but left out the nuts in the recipe because I wasn’t feelin’ them. I whipped up the dough and popped some in the oven right away. Of course they were good (what’s not to love about butter, sugar, flour, and chocolate?) but nothing to rave about. So I tucked the dough in the fridge to chill, like the recipe suggests. I also decided at that point to just mix in some toasted pecans. Eight hours later I came back and baked another batch and it was like night and day. They were awesome. Moral of the story: just follow the directions.
The dry ingredients are your normal cast of characters, with a little addition of cinnamon.
Another interesting ingredient are oats, but you’ll blend them up in a blender or food processor first (my Blendtec is amazing). It adds a really unique flavor and texture to the cookies. It’s not like an oatmeal cookie, it’s just a chocolate chip cookie with a little more oomph.
And also a large amount of mini chocolate chips. I love using mini chips in recipes because they become so well distributed.
Did you spy that lemon in the background? There’s even a tiny squeeze of lemon. I have no idea why, just do it.
Chill that dough before baking and then cook them up.
They’re lightly crisp around the edges, with soft, chewy centers.
You can see I don’t have giant chunks of nuts in there either, they’re finely chopped, so the combination of the nuts and the oats and the chocolate chips make an incredible texture combination.
These are the kind of cookies that beg for a glass of milk.
Enjoy them this weekend, and then you can go back to salad jars on Monday 😉
Copycat DoubleTree Hotel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 2-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 cup butter softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
- 2 eggs
- 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1-1/2 cup finely chopped pecans toasted (original recipe calls for walnuts, I say pecans)
Instructions
- Grind oats in a food processor or blender until fine. Combine the ground oats with the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
- Cream together the butter, sugars, vanilla, and lemon juice in another medium bowl with an electric mixer. Add the eggs and mix until smooth. Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture and blend well. Add the chocolate chips and nuts to the dough and mix until ingredients are well blended.
- For the best results, chill the dough in the refrigerator before baking the cookies for 6-8 hours or longer.
- Spoon rounded portions onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Place the scoops about 2 inches apart. Bake in a 350°F oven for 12-15 minutes or until cookies are light brown and soft in the middle. Store in a sealed container when cool to keep soft.
Questions & Reviews
Best cookie recipe ever!!!! Just made these last night!
I have used the same recipe for about 25 years to make my favorite chocolate chip cookies, BUT I made these yesterday! They are SO delicious. I doubled the recipe, used vanilla emulsion rather than extract and used mini m&m’s, about 1 cup mini choc chips and the rest was dark choc chips because that is what I had on hand. I chilled the dough for 3 hours, because that is all the time I had, then scooped them onto cookie sheets and put them back in the fridge until I was ready to bake them. I usually use a small cookie scooper, but I decided to make big cookies, so I used the larger scoop, ice cream scoop size. They took a little longer to bake, but oh so worth it! I think I will double the cinnamon next time because I love that little element, or add a little fresh nutmeg. Thank you for this recipe. This will be my go to recipe from now on.
I just wanted to throw this out there for the people who mentioned it’s difficult to scoop the cold dough… this particular dough can be brought back to room temp before baking. The refrigeration changes the composition of the flour and the flavor of the ingredients meld but unlike sugar cookie dough (which is chilled so it’s easy to work with) this one can be left on the counter for an hour or so until it is easy to scoop. Baking from cold vs baking after brought back to room temp don’t make any difference in the cookie.
I’ve made these several times now and decided after the first batch of working too hard to scoop frozen dough, to make them into balls BEFORE freezing them. I now make the dough, form all the dough into balls, then layer them in a 9×13 pan lined with parchment paper (parchment paper between the layers of dough too….I always double the batch). When it comes time to cook them, it’s so easy to plop them on the cookie sheet. Huge time saver.
The first time I made these, I didn’t have the pecans, and the cookies were great! I made them again yesterday and DID have pecans…game changer! The toasted pecans take the cookies to another whole level! I didn’t mention the nuts to my husband and daughters (who don’t have a nut allergy) because that may have been off-putting to them, and they loved them, too! I think chopping the nuts really small take away the texture issue that some people may have.
We have dessert once a week – on Sundays – and these cookies were today’s dessert choice. I made the dough yesterday and then baked them this afternoon. They turned out beautifully. I followed the directions precisely but questioned whether I should use semi-sweet choco chips as the recipe calls for or use milk chocolate chips – our favorite. I should have used milk chocolate chips! I think we would have enjoyed the cookies even more. Also, like another commenter suggested, I won’t use three cups next time. I like to be able to taste the cookie too and not be overwhelmed by the chocolate. The addition of ground oats and cinnamon was a nice change although I can’t figure out what the lemon juice does for the cookie. Maybe next time, with fewer chocolate chips, I’ll be able to tell!
I made these because I had a bunch of pecans I needed used up (and besides that i am a cookies lover), sent some to my husbands work and to a neighbor and have had 3 requests for the recipe. SO YUMMY! I may have to make them again just to eat the dough. SO GOOD.
Where did you get that cute plate? even cuter dressed up with chocolate chip cookies 🙂
Thanks SO MUCH for your recipes! I own both your cookbooks to date and the calendar you put out also (I’ve kept for recipes)! Huge fan!
Huge nut allergy here in our home!! Do you think almonds would suffice in place of the pecans in this recipe??
I didn’t follow directions and baked a batch straight from my kitchen-aid. They were okay, but like you said something magical happens after the dough chills. Holy moly the chilled dough made some fan-freakin-tastic cookies! So tasty and a perfect texture! #saraknowsbest
I made these this weekend. I made the dough Saturday night and let it chill until Sunday. These are my new favorite chocolate chip cookies. I loved the cinnamon added to it and the texture the ground oats gave it. The dough was just as good or better than the cookies, but these are a keeper!!
We made some tonight and I almost liked them better without chilling them. I chilled half the dough and they cooked quicker and almost burned. They were still yummy though! Good recipe!
Oh my goodness, these are scrumptious. I made them this morning and knew from nibbling the dough they would be fantastic. I chilled them and baked them up this afternoon, not exactly waiting the perfect time to chill, but enough. The only change I made was add only one 10 oz. package of mini chips. Three cups was way too much chocolate for us, and I like to taste the dough, too, so just did the one bag, which I found to be perfect. The nuts are definitely what makes it, and I used finely chopped walnuts, and toasted them, too. Thank you. PS, I am going to Doubletree in Burlington, VT next month so I will get to experience them first hand!!!
I have searched for many years for my “perfect” chocolate chip cookie. I really encourage you to try this one, which also requires chilling.
http://www.thesisterscafe.com/2011/03/secrets-to-the-perfect-chocolate-chip-cookie
And thanks again for this wonderful blog! I have told a lot of people about it and I’m always shocked when they don’t already know! You cook like I cook and so I know I will always be happy here.
Blended oats in cookies is always a winner for me! Can’t wait to try these! I’m also glad you’re all about embracing being able to balance healthy eating and giving yourself a treat now and then. You just gotta live!
I just noticed your measuring cup and immediately became obsessed with it! Where did you get it? Love the color and think it would be awesome to have a 1 and 1/2 cup measure included with the regular ones 🙂
I worked for a company that required frequent training trips to a nearby big city and they always housed us at the Doubletree Inn. We could always talk them out of a handful of cookies every night! It made all that training a little easier to bear. Can’t wait to bake up a batch of my old favorites.
Oh my word, I’ll have to try these…Doubletree definitely has some GOOD cookies!!!
Those look amazing! I recently made my favorite Everything Cookies with the addition of M & M’s for Valentine’s Day for the kids. They of course love all cookies!
http://www.homeecathome.com/the-home-economist/m-m-everything-cookies
Sounds delicious. I love the idea of using mini chocolate chips so they spread throughout the cookie. I’ll have to give it a try.
Do you have this in a printable?
Sorry about that- it’s printable now 🙂
Boy I had to laugh at the ‘staying on track with healthy lunches’ line while I’m here 15 minutes before lunchtime downing the strawberry cheesecake ice cream I made last night. Maybe I can still redeem my self during lunch? Chocolate chip cookies might go well with this ice cream…wait, no, resist!
My husband LOVES chocolate chip cookies that have a *few* chocolate chips in them. I don’t know what’s wrong with him 🙂 but I’m going to make these just as written and not skimp on the chocolate because those cookies look amazing. Thanks for sharing.
I started using this recipe before Christmas and it is now my go-to recipe. Best chocolate chip cookie ever. My son (who hates cookies with nuts) even eats them because I grind up the walnuts first. For Superbowl, I made these with the GIANT m&m’s and used 1/2 cup dough per cookie – big hit with my husband’s friends.
One thing I always do is scoop the dough before I chill it. I line a 1/4 sheet pan with wax paper, scoop the dough and then stick the whole thing in the freezer. Once frozen, I put the balls into a zip loc bag. I find that easier than trying to scoop cold, hard dough. Plus I always have balls of dough available to bake when the craving strikes! I can bake just one in the toaster oven if I want.
Great tip! Thanks!
I didn’t see a printable version?
Sorry- it’s printable now 🙂
My fave blended oatmeal cookie recipe is the Neiman Marcus. Try it out. DELISH!
These look delicious! I am always looking for another chocolate chip cookie recipe. The cinnamon and lemon juice additions are making this a must try.
LOVE the color of your Blendtec! I had no idea it came in that color.
Yum! There’s always room for another chocolate chip cookie recipe!