These Chocolate Chunk Walnut Cookies hit all the right notes: chewy centers, crispy edges, gooey chocolate chunks, and just enough nutty crunch to make you pretend they’re healthy. (Walnuts are brain food, right? So technically, these are smart cookies.)

Stack of chocolate chip walnut cookies on a white plate.

Let’s be honest: the best part about baking cookies isn’t the smell filling your kitchen or even the warm bite of melty chocolate. It’s the fact that you now have an excuse to eat multiple cookies without judgment—because, hello, “taste-testing.”

If cookies are your love language, don’t stop here – you’ll want to try my Toasted Pecan Cookies and Sweet and Spicy Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Here’s what goes into these little rounds of happiness:

Vegetable shortening + unsalted butter – a dynamic duo that keeps cookies soft in the middle and just crisp enough on the edges.
Granulated + brown sugar – because one kind of sugar is never enough.
Eggs + vanilla – the glue that makes everything taste better.
Flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt – aka the boring-but-essential building blocks.
Chocolate chips + chopped dark chocolate bar – chips give you reliability, chunks give you those glorious melty pockets.
Chopped walnuts – a nutty crunch that balances out all that chocolate (or at least tricks you into thinking it does).

How To Make Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Cream it up – Beat together shortening, butter, and sugars until light and fluffy. (This is where the magic starts.)

Egg-cellent addition – Mix in the eggs and vanilla.

Flour Power – Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Don’t skimp on mixing—nobody likes flour bombs.
Chunk it up – Fold in chocolate chips, chopped chocolate, and walnuts. Try not to eat the dough straight out of the bowl… unless you’re living dangerously.

FAQs

Because butter tastes amazing but spreads like gossip. Shortening reins it in and gives you that chewy middle with crispy edges. Together, they’re basically the cookie dream team.

Yes. Toasting amps up flavor and crunch, and takes less time than your last attempt at a gym membership.

Store them in an airtight container with a slice of bread. The bread goes stale, the cookies stay sfot. Science and magin, all rolled into one. Mic drop!

A few culprits: butter too soft, not enough flour, or your oven’s running hotter than you think. Try chilling the dough first, and make sure you measure flour with the “spoon and level” method instead of digging straight in with the measuring cup. (We’ve all been guilty.)

Nope! If walnuts aren’t your thing, try pecans, hazelnuts, or skip nuts altogether and go all-in on the chocolate. Just don’t swap them for raisins unless you really want to lose friends.

Chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, and walnuts on top of cookie dough.

Scoop & drop – Use a cookie scoop for perfect twinsies. If you’re winging it, at least pretend you’re measuring evenly.

Walnut chocolate chip cookie dough on a baking sheet.

Bake – Pop them in a 375°F oven for about 12 minutes, or until golden.
Cool (sort of) – Let them rest on a wire rack. Or don’t. I’m not here to judge if you burn your tongue on molten chocolate.

Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies are chewy, chocolate-loaded, and just nutty enough to keep you coming back for “one more.” Perfect for milk dunking, sneaky midnight snacking, or hoarding in the freezer.

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 12

Total Time: 27

Servings: cookies

Calories: 284kcal

Author: Lynda – Southern Kissed

Ingredients

½ cup vegetable shortening
½ cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar packed
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
3 ounces dark chocolate bar chopped
1 cup walnuts chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat® baking mat. Set aside.
Cream shortening and butter with granulated and brown sugars in a large mixing bowl. Mix in eggs and vanilla extract until well blended.
Add in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix to combine.
Fold in chocolate chips, chopped chocolate and walnuts until thoroughly combined.
Use a large cookie dough scoop to make 24 balls of dough. Place 6 balls of dough on the prepared baking sheet with 1-2 inches in between each ball. Flatten dough with the bottom of a glass.
Place in pre-heated oven and bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!

Nutrition

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Tips for Better Cookies

Chill out – Refrigerating the dough makes thicker, chewier cookies. Worth the wait.
Nut swap – Not a walnut fan? Swap in pecans, almonds, or go rogue with macadamias.
Go big or go home – Oversized cookies = fewer trips to the cookie jar. (Efficiency matters.)
Mix your chocolate – Sweet tooth? Use milk chocolate. Feeling moody? Stick with dark.

Storage & Freezing

Freezer life: Up to 3 months. Future-you will thank present-you for stashing some away.

Counter life: Airtight container, up to 5 days. (Spoiler: they won’t last that long.)

So… are you Team Walnuts or do you swap them out for something else? Drop your vote in the comments—I promise I won’t judge (unless you say raisins). And don’t forget to pin this recipe to your cookie board so you’ve got backup when the chocolate craving hits.

Chocolate Chunk Walnut Cookies

Ingredients You’ll Need

How To Make Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

FAQs