From the Kitchen: DoubleTree Hotel Copycat Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

My sister swears up and down that these are the best chocolate chip cookies out there, so I had to make them!  I don't know that I've ever stayed at a DoubleTree hotel, but they're supposedly the same (or at least similar) to the cookies they serve to guests there.  Regardless, they are fabulous!  The ground oats and walnuts add a great texture to these cookies!

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, ground to a fine texture in a food processor (I used a Magic Bullet)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used 1 cup mini chocolate chips and 1 1/2 cups regular chocolate chips)
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Directions:

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice.  Add the eggs and mix until smooth.  Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.  Add the chocolate chips and walnuts and mix by hand until the ingredients are well blended.

Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.  THIS IS CRITICAL TO THE TEXTURE OF THE COOKIES!!!!

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Use a cookie scoop to spoon the cookie dough (approximately 1.5 tablespoon portions) onto a Silpat-lined cookie sheet.  Make sure to put the rest of the dough back in the refrigerator between batches!! Bake for approximately 8 minutes* (the cookies will still look slightly underbaked but will continue to bake on the cookie sheet). 

Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet before placing on a wire baking rack.

*8 minutes was perfect in my oven, but all ovens are different; start checking around 7 minutes and continue to bake in 30-second increment until you reach the right level of doneness!