Cookies that are loaded with three types of chunky chocolate, and a bit of walnuts just for fun! It feels a bit like an indulgence that suits the holiday season, but it’s good for any time of the year!
First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I know that most people will probably be out celebrating with friends and family today instead of reading blogs but I wanted to greet you all anyway. 🙂 I also decided to share an easy recipe for Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies because I figured some of you might still be looking to add to your media noche table, and something sweet to cap off a feast is always welcome isn’t it?
You could say these cookies are in full-blown celebration mode compared to your typical chocolate chip cookie. More than that, it feels like a very appropriate type of cookie to illustrate how I am feeling at the end of 2016. These cookies are packed with three kinds of chocolate, plus walnuts, plus a sprinkling of sea salt. Meanwhile, I am filled with gratitude for the blessings I received and reflections I was able to come up with this year.
This year has been like most years– a roller coaster. Without going into too much detail, let’s just say there were a lot of 2016 goals I didn’t accomplish, but in place were surprises I never expected in the slightest. I wasn’t spending as much time in the kitchen as the previous years, but I realized that exploring other food-related facets outside will help the blog grow more.
I feel like I’ve been holding back on myself these past few years, but with the things that I learned and experienced this year, I am finally feeling brave enough to step out of my comfort zone. I was asking myself why I decided to change my Instagram handle to @thetummytrain only now, as though it took me so long to embrace my identity as The Tummy Train. I don’t have a clear answer, only that now I see there’s much more room to explore and I don’t have to be intimidated.
I love what I do here, on this space. I love all the other behind-the-scene things I do leading up to everything I share here too. No matter how exhausting it may be to be a one-woman team, I feel like I developed a real attachment to this blog beyond just calling it my hobby or my stress reliever. Through this blog I’ve learned so much not just about food or travel, but about myself too– about what I could be capable of. Nowadays I find myself asking: How can I still continue to evolve?
There’s always going to be that murky zone of uncertainty in everything we do, but we’ll never know if we will succeed in something if we don’t put on our boots and take the first step. We’ll never know how far we can go if we don’t keep moving our feet. We should always aim to reach that next level, and in a more shallow sense, that’s what these Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies are trying to do.
Recipe notes
As I mentioned, I like that there are a trio of different chocolates in these cookies. You get milk, semisweet, bittersweet in each cookie, which makes these a real crowd pleaser. Literally a chocolate for every preference in here, unless you don’t like chocolate, and that prompts me to question your humanity. Haha! 😀
The best part is, you have the freedom to adjust the quantity of each chocolate type to your liking. Personally, I don’t like milk chocolate all that much so I added more bittersweet in place. If you want equal amounts then just add 110 grams of each chocolate, cut into chunky pieces. The chunkier the better, methinks!
The dough for these cookies are not too soft, not too hard, but they require some refrigeration. In general, refrigerated cookies hold their shape better so I like to engage in that exercise even if I have to wait. But I do like to wait less so I popped the dough in the freezer instead of the fridge and cut down the chilling time by half. If you ever have problems with your cookies spreading too much, chilling the dough before baking should do the trick.
These cookies have good texture (chewy inside and crunchy on the edges depending how long you bake), structure (nice and fat!), and is not too sweet. The walnuts cut through the sweetness in a nice way, and the salt on top is highly recommended. It gives some caramel notes to the cookies!
Depending on your taste, the amount of salt I put on my cookies might seem like too much, but these cookies do spread out so this was my way of making sure most parts of my cookies are salted. Since discovering this little trick I’ve never forgotten to put salt on my cookies ever! And it works particularly well with chocolate chip cookies. Try it!
Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Makes 21 to 24 cookies
Ingredients
- 2-¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 130 grams 72% bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks*
- 100 grams semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into chunks
- 100 grams milk chocolate, chopped into chunks
- 1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
- Sea salt flakes or coarse sea salt, optional but recommended
Instructions
- 1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- 2. In a large bowl with a whisk or a hand mixer (or using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), mix together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until creamy.
- 3. Add in the eggs one at a time, making sure the first egg is well-incorporated into the mixture before adding the next. Add in vanilla and mix until combined.
- 4. Switch to a spatula at this point (or set the mixer on low speed), then add in flour mixture and mix until a few visible streaks of flour still remain. Add in chocolate chunks and walnuts, stirring just until they're distributed into the dough.
- 5. Using an ice scream scoop that's roughly 2 Tablespoons capacity, scoop out dough into balls. Place them onto a parchment-lined baking tray close to each other. Cover with plastic wrap and chill 1 hour in the fridge or 30 minutes in the freezer.
- 6. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) during the last 10 minutes of chilling. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment.
- 7. Once the dough is sufficiently chilled, transfer 5 to 6 pieces into a fresh parchment-lined baking sheet. Space them about 3 inches apart since the cookies do spread. Sprinkle the tops lightly with sea salt, if using. Keep the rest of the dough you are not yet baking inside the fridge or freezer.
- 8. Bake cookies about 11 to 12 minutes, or until the edges look golden and set but the middles look just a bit under-baked. They will set once they cool and have a chewy center with lightly crisp edges. Allow to cool on the baking sheet at least 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Meanwhile, use a fresh baking sheet to bake the next batch of cookies, repeating the process of sprinkling with sea salt before baking. Remember to keep the remaining balls of dough chilled! These are best baked right out of the fridge or freezer.
- 9. Cookies will stay fresh inside an airtight container for about 3 days, but honestly I don't think they will last that long.
Notes
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