Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies with Sea Salt

These cookies were inspired by a visit to my dad's cousin's restaurant in Berkeley, The Elmwood Cafe. It's a beautiful place, right next to a bookshop, and the food is beautiful too!

That little heart card is a ballot to vote for the charity you want half of Elmwood Cafe's profits to go to. They have boxes up on the wall and you can slip the card into one of them to cast your vote.

There are so many windows, and the decor is homey, with tables outside, lots of mason jars, and a huge wooden sidebar.

Those glasses in the picture above? Yeah...that's homemade soda. I had ginger soda (SO not like Schwepps Ginger Ale, but delicious all the same) and my dad had rosemary. There are a whole bunch to choose from, plus cappuccinos, teas (see above), and all the usual culprits.

The food is really, really fresh. Their menu changes seasonally, and they buy a lot of local, organic produce.
My sandwich was a croque monsieur with pear and whole grain mustard. Yum!!

And, of course, what would lunch be without dessert? Her chocolate chip cookie with sea salt is what inspired this post, but also on this plate are a chocolate croissant half and a bit of coffeecake!

My goodness, did we leave feeling nurtured :)

So, on to these cookies. Last time I posted a chocolate chip cookie recipe, it was for crunchy ones. And don't get me wrong, I love them, but this here is the chocolate chip cookie recipe I have made so many times that I have the double batch measurements written into the margin. It's the one I bring to school to impress people.

It is chewy.
It is delicious.

And this time, I added walnuts and sea salt. Walnuts because I like 'em and my mom's out of town (she's not a fan), but also because I have a very vivid memory of giving my English teacher a cookie with walnuts last year and he remarked on how they made the cookie special. Since these were to thank my teachers for writing me college recs, I really wanted to include walnuts.

(people, I promise this isn't creepy. It's just a weird thing I remembered)

Oh plus, I used good chocolate. Always a good investment. Apparently Costco carries big bags of Callebaut chocolate now, which makes me Oh So Happy.

Just look at dem walnuts.

Make these cookies...and spread the love!

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies with Sea Salt
Yield: about 30 cookies, depending on how big you make them!

Ingredients:
2 cups 2 tablespoons AP Flour (10 5/8 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed (7 ounces) brown sugar--light or brown is fine
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted and chopped
sea salt, to top

Method:

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips and walnuts.
4. Roll a scant ¼ cup of the dough into a ball. Break it apart and try and mash the halves back together so the craggy broken surface is on top (see this website for illustrations...and by the way this is basically the same recipe). Place on baking sheets 2 inches apart and sprinkle with the sea salt.
5. Bake until cookies are just starting to turn golden at the edges, with still soft and puffy centers, about 15-18 minutes, rotating top/bottom and front/back midway through baking. Cool on the sheets.

Impress people! Thanks Kara for the inspiration!

Recipe from Baking Illustrated.