Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today we’re living the high life.

These Woodford Reserve Double Oaked chocolate chip cookies are soft and chewy and totally indulgent…and contain a (somewhat) expensive whiskey that is totally worth it.  I was first introduced to them at a holiday team get-together (full disclosure: I work for the company that owns Woodford Reserve), and fell in love with the sweet, mellow flavor with a hint of booziness and little surprises of sea salt.

Full credit for the recipe goes to Elizabeth McCall, the Assistant Master Distiller at Woodford.  Not only is she a fun, cool lady who’s blazing a trail in a generally male-dominated business, but she makes a mean chocolate chip cookie.  I adapted it slightly, subbing in some white whole wheat flour to up the nutty flavor and texture, and using dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet, which I’m partial to and really works with the flavor combination here.

I’ve noted it below in the recipe as well, but I don’t think this is a case of being able to just sub in any other whiskey or bourbon if you don’t have Double Oaked.  That’s not just my bias, because I work with several other whiskey brands that I love deeply, but I wouldn’t sub them in here.

It’s Double Oaked’s particular flavor profile and rich sweetness that you need, because it’s replacing the vanilla in the recipe.  I brought them in for a birthday celebration on my team recently, and you should have seen the look on their faces when they learned that a $40-60 bourbon was used in the cookies—priceless!

In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, beat the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain.

Whisk in the egg, then the egg yolk.  Then, stir in the whiskey.  Add a cup of the flour with the baking soda, cornstarch, and salt.  Stir to incorporate, then add the rest of the flour.  The dough should be very soft, but thick.  Stir or fold in the chocolate for just a second—you don’t want to overmix the dough.

Don’t have this bourbon?  Try these Salted Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies instead!

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or up to 4 days.  Overnight is ideal.  You could freeze the dough to make just a few cookies at a time as well.

When you’re ready to bake them, take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow to slightly soften at room temp for 10 minutes.  Go ahead and preheat your oven to 325 F.  Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Roll the dough into balls about 3 tbsp of dough each.  I had to use this small ice cream scoop (the dough is hard!).  Make the dough balls taller rather than wider, as this will help keep the thickness of the cookies.

Bake for 12-13 minutes.  They should look very soft and unbaked when you take them out.  They will continue to bake on the cookie sheet, so let them sit for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.  Sprinkle the kosher salt on as soon as you take them out of the oven.

I promise these will be a hit no matter where you take them.  I made mine mini so I wouldn’t feel bad eating several 🙂

Other bourbon-based indulgences:

• Bourbon Cherry Crisp with Brown Butter Streusel
• Bourbon Pear Crumble Pie
• Bourbon Banana Pancakes
• Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie
• Vanilla Bourbon Banana Bread with Candied Walnuts

Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Chocolate Chip Cookies

This made 40 small cookies for me

Yes, this particular bourbon is different from others, so I don’t know that I would just substitute any other whiskey (and I say that as someone who works on many other delicious whiskeys).  The WRDO has such amazing sweet notes to it (vanilla, caramel, butterscotch, etc.) that it completely stands in for vanilla in the recipe and adds an extra depth.  The white whole wheat flour and dark chocolate keep the cookies from being too sweet.

• 1 or 1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour (start with 1 cup then add more if the dough needs it)
• 1 cup of white whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 3/4 cup of unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 3/4 cup of packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• 4 tablespoons of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked bourbon
• 1 cup of dark chocolate chips
• Kosher or sea salt for sprinkling

1. In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, beat the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain.
2. Whisk in the egg, then the egg yolk.  Then, stir in the whiskey.
3. Add a cup of the flour with the baking soda, cornstarch, and salt.  Stir to incorporate, then add the rest of the flour.  The dough should be very soft, but thick.
4. Stir or fold in the chocolate for just a second—you don’t want to overmix the dough.
5. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or up to 4 days.  Overnight is ideal.  You could freeze the dough to make just a few cookies at a time as well.
6. When you’re ready to bake them, take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow to slightly soften at room temp for 10 minutes.  Go ahead and preheat your oven to 325 F.  Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
7. Roll the dough into balls about 3 tbsp of dough each.  I had to use this small ice cream scoop (the dough is hard!).  Make the dough balls taller rather than wider, as this will help keep the thickness of the cookies.
8. Bake for 12-13 minutes.  They should look very soft and unbaked when you take them out.  They will continue to bake on the cookie sheet, so let them sit for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.  Sprinkle the kosher salt on as soon as you take them out of the oven.

I’ve adapted this slightly from Elizabeth McCall’s recipe.  She’s the Assistant Master Distiller at Woodford Reserve, and you can learn more about her here if you’re interested—she’s a pretty cool lady!

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