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Soft cookies with dark chocolate chips, walnuts, and bourbon are the cookie version of a classic Derby Pie.
I wanted to make some cookies recently, and I thought a dark chocolate chip cookie with bourbon would be a good choice. Derby Day was coming up, and then I remembered I made Derby Pie Bites a few years ago for a party. So why not try a derby pie cookie?
This recipe follows the general method of my Candy Bar Cookies and M&M Cookies to make soft cookies. The post for the Candy Bar Cookies explains some of the baking science behind a soft cookie. The only change I made for these is using a mix of brown sugar and white sugar. When I used the Candy Bar Cookie recipe as a base for chocolate chip cookies, they weren’t as soft, so I wanted to see what would happen with more white sugar. These cookies turned out soft and stayed that way for about a week (when they were all gone).
I made these several times and experimented with different oven temperatures using both conventional and convection. The sweet spot in my oven is definitely 375 degrees using convection. As much as this seems to be inconsistent with a typical baking temperature, the conventional oven baked these best at 390 degrees. I ran out of dough before I was able to test them at 400, so for now 390 is the temperature for conventional.
Derby Pie Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (1 cup is 2 sticks)
- 1¼ cups brown sugar lightly packed
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ cup bourbon
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 package dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° for convection and 390° for conventional.
- Microwave butter for 45 seconds (it will be partially melted).
- Cream together butter and sugar on medium speed until mixture gets light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Reduce mixer speed to low. Add eggs one at a time and mix until fully incorporated, about 1 minute.
- Mix in vanilla and bourbon.
- Mix in baking soda.
- Add flour a half cup at a time and mix until all flour is incorporated.
- Mix in walnuts and chocolate chips.
- Using a spoon or cookie scoop, form dough into balls and place onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for about 8 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.
- Immediately transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
Step-By-Step Photos & Recipe Notes
Preheat oven to 375° for convection and 390° for conventional. Microwave butter for 45 seconds (it will be partially melted). Cream together butter and sugar on medium speed until mixture gets light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Don’t skimp on this step because it’s what helps the cookies get so soft.
Reduce mixer speed to low. Add eggs one at a time and mix until fully incorporated, about 1 minute. Tip: Break eggs into a small bowl instead of directly into the cookie dough. It’s much easier to deal with an accidental shell piece that way!
Mix in bourbon and vanilla. Mix in baking soda.
Add flour a half cup at a time and mix until all flour is incorporated.
Mix in walnuts and chocolate chips.
Using a spoon or cookie scoop, form dough into balls and place onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. I use the smallest cookie scoop in this set.
Bake for about 8 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Immediately transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
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