The official recipe for the DoubleTree Signature Chocolate Chip Cookies was released by Hilton during the pandemic so families could bake at home together.  In a statement from the company they said:  “A warm chocolate chip cookie can’t solve everything, but it can bring a moment of comfort and happiness.  We hope families enjoy the fun of baking together during their time at home, and we look forward to welcoming all our guests with a warm DoubleTree cookie when travel resumes.”

I really admired DoubleTree for sharing this recipe – a lot of companies “shared” recipes, but many of them were in fact a “home version” of the recipe – not the actual recipe they use.  Doubletree have long been known for the decadent Chocolate Chip cookies that they have at their check-in desks which include oats and a generous serving of walnuts and chocolate chips.  My kids raved about them after coming home from an out of state trip, and after making these beauties, I can absolutely see why.

A couple of tips for making this recipe:

• Don’t stray from the original recipe – use real butter and real lemon juice.  The recipe didn’t specify salted or unsalted butter but I used salted and they were DIVINE.
• Measure ingredients carefully!  Any time you are baking, the ingredients have to be measured properly to get a good result.  Loosen your flour with a fork before spooning the flour in to your measuring cups!
• Line your baking sheets with parchment paper before baking, not silicone mats.  Silicone mats can make some cookie recipes spread too much.  Parchment works better for these.
• Use a large (3 Tbsp) cookie scoop to get equal size cookies every time!
• You can reheat a cookie in the microwave for 20 seconds or so to help it get that “just out of the oven” taste back!

Ingredients:

• 8oz butter, softened (2 sticks)
• 3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp white sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2-1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• Pinch of cinnamon
• 1-3/4 cups chopped walnuts
• 2-2/3 cups Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper
2. Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes
3. Add the eggs, vanilla and lemon juice and mix on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium for 2 minutes
4. In a smaller bowl whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon
5. Add the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed for 45 seconds or so.  (Don’t overmix.)
6. Stir in the chopped walnuts and the chocolate chips
7. Use a large (3 Tbsp) cookie scoop to portion out the dough, placing cookies about 2 inches apart
8. Bake at 300 for 20-23 minutes until the edges are brown but the center is still soft
9. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for one hour before serving