DoubleTree Cookie Recipe

Decent rates, comfortable beds, reliable cleanliness, and good locations in city centers or near airports have helped make DoubleTree a popular hotel choice for travelers. And up until last year, so were those famous DoubleTree chocolate chip cookies. So why aren't DoubleTree cookies a major selling point now? Because the cat is out of the bag: the once-secret recipe for a DoubleTree chocolate chip cookie was released to the public last spring.

Why did DoubleTree release their cookie recipe? Surely some self-serving marketing stunt, no? Actually ... no, it seems like they just felt it was the right thing to do at the time. In a statement released about a month into the initial COVID-19 lockdown in the spring of 2020, Shawn McAteer, senior vice president and global head, DoubleTree by Hilton said: "We know this is an anxious time for everyone. A warm chocolate chip cookie can't solve everything, but it can bring a moment of comfort and happiness."

Now, what's the right time for enjoying your own moment of comfort and happiness via cookie? Pretty much any time, of course. Chef and recipe developer Melissa Olivieri of The Olive Blogger says: "These are a great cookie for dipping in coffee or tea, I like to enjoy mine in the afternoon when I just need a little pick me up for the remainder of my day."

If you want to make as close a copy of a DoubleTree cookie as you can, then be precise in following this recipe. It calls for 1 cup of butter (which is 2 entire sticks, FYI), ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar, ¾ of a cup of packed light brown sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 and a ¼ teaspoons of vanilla extract, ¼ of a teaspoon of lemon juice, 2 and a ¼ cups of flour, a 1/2 cup of rolled oats, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of salt, ¼ of a teaspoon of cinnamon, 2 and 2/3 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips, and 1 and 3/4 cups of chopped walnuts. Not everyone likes walnuts in their cookies, so feel free to leave that ingredient out if that's the case. 

Start off by preheating your oven to 300°degrees Fahrenheit. Next, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar by putting them all in the bowl of a stand mixer and running it (with standard mixer attachment) on medium speed for about two minutes.

Now add the eggs, the vanilla extract, and the lemon juice and then mix on low speed for 30 seconds to combine everything, then run the mixer at medium speed for about two minutes, or until a light and fluffy (and sweet) mixture is the result.

And note that Olivieri says: "The only mistakes to avoid are really ensuring your butter is room temperature (softened and not hard) just to ensure a nice fluffy base for adding the dry ingredients."

Knowing how to use your kitchen mixer properly here is vital. So, with the mixer on its low speed, add in the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, mix until all the ingredients have just combined. Do not overmix here.

Now, using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts, making sure to mix these bits throughout the dough evenly. Resist the urge to use the mixer to do so, as it has a tendency to break the nuts up too much and won't allow you the hands-on control needed to ensure an even spread of the walnuts and chocolate.

Using a large cookie scoop (or anything that will let you grab about 3 tablespoons at a go), scoop out balls of the cookie dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Be sure to space each cookie dough ball at least 2 inches apart from the nearest on all sides to allow for spread as they flatten and grow during cooking.

Now pop the dough balls into the pre-heated oven and bake the cookies for 20 to 23 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown, but the center is still a little soft. Keep a close eye on them to make sure those DoubleTree chocolate chip cookies don't burn.

Once the cookies have baked sufficiently, remove them from the oven and cool them on a fresh baking sheet or a wire cooling rack for about an hour. Now enjoy them with a tall glass of cold milk!

"If you prefer your cookies to have a little more 'crunch' to them, you can gently press the dough balls with your hand [before baking," says Olivieri, as "this gives them a head start on the spreading process and leaves them thinner."

And once they are ready, she advises you to "transfer them to a well-sealed container and they will last one week on the counter before becoming 'stale' tasting. But you can also freeze them for up to three months and they are just as delish."