Grown-up Chocolate Chip Cookies – Chocolate chip cookies loaded with finely chopped pistachios, walnuts, and dried cherries. A sprinkle of sea salt on top gives them the perfect flavor balance.
It’s been a long time since I’ve shared a cookie recipe. I used to share at least once a month, but I’ve slowed that down a bit due to a lack of inventive, inspiring recipes.
Until now! These Grown-up Chocolate Chip Cookies won me over during a recent vacation and I just had to make a version to enjoy once I got home. At first sight, I wasn’t sure about these cookies. They looked a little dense and even rough. But I had heard rave reviews about these cookies so I just had to give them a try. And man, were they a pleasant surprise! Chewy, chocolatey, and full of complex, yet welcomed flavors like pistachio, walnuts, and dried cherries. And the sprinkle of sea salt brings it all together for the full “wow” effect.
Here are my Grown-up Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Tips & Tricks
- Chop nuts into fine pieces. You don’t want the crunch from the nuts to come through. Instead, we want a chewy texture in the cookies. In order to achieve that, the nuts need to be chopped finely. I used a food processor to get them chopped easily.
- Yes, some of the chocolate chips get ground up. I was a little confused by the step of grinding up the mini chocolate chips and tossing into the flour. But it really adds chocolate flavor in small bursts that are blended well into the cookie dough.
- The dough will be THICK. This is one of the thickest cookie doughs I’ve ever worked with. I had to push my mixer speed to medium to get it to move! If you don’t have a mixer, you can just mix the dough by hand to ensure an even mixture. Make sure to use a big bowl to make the process easier!
- No chilling required! One thing that shocked me by this recipe is that it requires no chilling before baking. This is because the dough is so thick that it does not spread quickly when heated. So don’t worry – those cookies will stay thicken even without chilling.
Grown-up Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon coarse sea salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 2¼ cup old-fashioned oats
- 2 cups mini chocolate chips divided
- 1 cup butter softened, unsalted
- 1¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup walnuts halves
- 6 ounces shelled pistachio lightly salted or unsalted
- 8 ounces dried cherries finely chopped
- sea salt flakes for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two baking sheets by lining with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
- Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl. Add oats and ¾ cup of mini chocolate chips to a food processor. Cover and pulse until the oats and chocolate chips are ground into smaller pieces but not as fine as powder. Add to the flour mixture and whisk together. Set aside.
- Add the softened butter, sugars, and molasses in the bowl of a stand mixer. With the paddle attachment, cream together until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat until combined. Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix together.
- In the food processor, add the pistachios and walnuts. Cover and pulse until finely chopped. Add to the dough mixture, along with the finely chopped cherries and the remaining mini chocolate chips. Mix on medium to combine all together. This will take some time. If your mixer cannot handle it all, you can use your hands to mix together.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop out the dough into perfect rounds and place on the cookie sheet about 2-3 inches apart. There should be no more than 12 cookies per baking sheet. Bake 1 baking sheet at a time in a preheat oven for about 15 minutes or until the edges start to brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before eating.
Notes
Pin for later:
More recipes you’ll love:
Sea Salt Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
This is a creamy lumpless mixture and the cookies will bake up properly if you do this. I’ve also learned to mix the dry ingredients together.
This is my kind of cookie, with all the chocolate chips and the nuts and all that goodness, omg, it’s so hard to stop eating them. The cherries are a nice touch.
These cookies look divine! They’re loaded with everything…I love the pistachios mixed in! Fabulous balance of flavors and textures…cannot wait to try!
Loved the addition of pistachios and dried cherries! So unexpected in chocolate chip cookies but so delicious! Definitely making a double batch next time!
This recipe is pure perfection. I felt like a chef in my own kitchen. The taste was out of this world, and I can’t wait to share these cookies with my other adult friends 😉
Your cookies were so moreish I’ve got to make another batch. We loved the oats and chocolate chips with the cranberries and the sea salt definitely made a difference, thank you.
haha I love the idea of ‘grown up’ chocolate chip cookies! Does this mean I don’t have to share theses awesome with my kids? !
The sea salt makes all the difference in the recipe. I love how it cuts down on the sweetness.
Loved your delicious recipe. The sea salt touch, yummy nuts and cherries, healthy oats. Combination of ingredients unique for a Chocolate chip cookie. Perfect gifting option.
I love these cookies. As soon as I saw the recipe, I made them right away! Great ingredients and so delicious!
Not gonna lie, I thought the “grown up” part of this chocolate chip cookie recipe included liquor, which means I need to have a chat with my therapist. No matter, the recipe came out perfect per your instructions. The added pistachios were my favorite.
Thank you very much, I liked your recipe very much.
Whipped up a batch of these this afternoon and they do not disappoint! Turned out light, sweet and delicious; the best way to cure my sweet tooth, indeed!
I am absolutely in love with these cookies! The addition of walnuts, pistachios, and dried cherries is pure perfection!
I can’t wait to try these! Love how there’s so much more than just chocolate chips happening here.
These cookies are incredible! So much flavor and texture from the fruit and nuts. Mmm!
Whoa!! These are just amazing! I will be making them this week and cannot wait – I love your recipes and these look like an amazing one. What’s better than somewhat chewy cookies loaded with all the good things (and flavor)!?