Dark chocolate chip cookies with orange, oatmeal, walnuts

Dark chocolate chip cookies with orange came from our great love of chocolate orange candy. I love orange with chocolate (Tootsie Rolls, chocolate dipped candied orange peel) and when I discovered this treat in dark chocolate this year, I started thinking about changing my recipe for chocolate chip cookies.

You will need electric mixer, large mixing bowl, immersion blender with chopper attachment, 2 cookie pans, silicone baking mats, medium cookie scoop (2 tbsp), spatula, wire cooling rack.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie pans with silicone mat (or use parchment paper).

Use immersion blender with chopper attachment or food processor to chop oatmeal into chunky flour. Place oat flour in small mixing bowl.

Use immersion blender with chopper attachment to chop walnuts into small chunks. If you like more chunky nuts, coarse chop with a knife. Set aside.

Take the dark chocolate orange and hit on the counter. When you open the foil, the orange slice pieces should come apart. Coarsely chop and set aside with the walnuts (they can be in the same bowl). Add 1 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips.

Soften the butter in the microwave for 10 to 20 seconds.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In the large mixing bowl for your mixer, add butter, coconut sugar, white sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice. Cream until smooth (5 or 6 on a 10-speed mixer.) Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides.

Lower the speed to mix (3 or 4) and add one egg at a time. Mix until smooth. Remove bowl from mixer.

To the mixing bowl with the oat flour, add flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Use a big whisk to mix and get out the lumps.

Add a small amount of dry ingredients to the wet (about ½ cup) and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon. Keep adding dry ingredients and stir until wetted.

Add the chocolate and nuts into the batter and fold in. If the dough feels soft, you may want to refrigerate it at this point.

Use a 2-tbsp scoop to scoop dough onto baking sheet lined with silicone baking mat or parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches between cookies. Bake for about 15 minutes. The edges should be crispy while the center will still be soft.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt. I use Hawaiian sea salt that is a lovely reddish color. 1 pinch of salt should be enough for about 6 cookies.

Let cool on the pan for 1 minute or more. Use a spatula to move cookies to the cooling rack. Cool for 10 or more minutes. Makes 48 cookies.

I store mine in gallon reclosable plastic bags with sheets of parchment paper between each layer of cookies. I keep them in the freezer (they will keep for several months). They taste great frozen, or let them warm up at room temperature for about 5 minutes.