The Great TPG Bakeoff: We tested out Hilton DoubleTree's chocolate chip cookie recipe
Anyone who has stayed at a Hilton DoubleTree knows that the chocolate chip cookies are amazing. It's a signature of the hotel collection, and many travelers (including almost everyone at TPG) look forward to getting that freshly-baked cookie whenever we check in.
Though it may be a while before we find ourselves checking into our favorite Hilton DoubleTree again, you can still enjoy those freshly-baked cookies at home. For the first time, Hilton released a bake-at-home recipe for those famous cookies. To put it mildly, we all got very excited at TPG.
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"We know this is an anxious time for everyone," said Shawn McAteer, senior vice president and global head at DoubleTree by Hilton, in a press release on Hilton's website. "A warm chocolate chip cookie can't solve everything, but it can bring a moment of comfort and happiness."
With travel currently on hold to help stop the spread of COVID-19, we've all been looking at ways to bring some much-needed travel inspiration into our homes. What better way to bring a little bit of our travels home with us than to test out the recipe ourselves?
DoubleTree Signature Cookie Recipe
Here are the ingredients you'll need:
- 1/2 pound butter, softened (2 sticks)
- 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Pinch of cinnamon
- 2 2/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 3/4 cups chopped walnuts
You'll also want a large mixing bowl, standing mixer (a hand mixer will also work), parchment paper, baking sheet, baking spatula and a spoon or scoop. And don't forget to wash your hands before and after baking!
Directions
Preheat oven to 300°F.
First, cream the butter, sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for about two minutes.
Then add the eggs, vanilla and lemon juice. Blend with the mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium speed for about two minutes (or until light and fluffy).
With the mixer on low speed, add flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Blend for about 45 seconds — don't overmix.
Remove the bowl from the mixer and add in your chocolate chips and walnuts.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and scoop out cookies (about 3 tablespoons each) about two inches apart.
Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the center is still soft.
According to Hilton, you can freeze the cookie dough and bake them later without needing to thaw. You can find the full, original recipe on Hilton's website.
The great TPG bake off
Four fearless TPGers decided to try baking these cookies ourselves this past weekend. We each made small adjustments to the official recipe (none of us put walnuts in our batches, for example), but they still turned out great!
Liz Hund, TPG writer
Liz's mom actually works at Hilton, so it's no surprise that her cookies turned out picture-perfect.
Liz and her family followed the recipe to the letter, save for the walnuts. I'm personally jealous of how absolutely amazing they look!
"We were so excited to make the famous Double Tree cookies and we were surprised with how good they turned out. We used all of the ingredients the recipe called for minus the walnuts and wow, they were dangerously delicious. I know that DoubleTree cookies are meant to be enjoyed fresh out of the oven, but I'd argue that they were even better the next day."
According to Liz, this recipe might actually be her family's new go-to.
Caitlin Riddell, Organic Social Media Lead
Caitlin enlisted the help of her niece for her batch. They only used 1/2 a cup of brown sugar, left out the walnuts and used half semisweet and half milk chocolate chips.
"Verdict: The cookies are really delicious and they definitely remind me of DoubleTree's, I think it's the rolled oats. I give them an 8/10. Think the extra brown sugar would've made them a bit sweeter but they're still very yummy!"
Jack Witty, Director of Business Analytics
Big shoutout to Jack for giving us the tip on bringing your cold ingredients to room temperature!
Liz asking the important questions in our group Slack:
"The verdict is in! The smell especially reminded me of Hilton and the taste was right there too. We didn't have any walnuts, but otherwise we stuck to the recipe."
Madison Blancaflor, TPG credit cards writer
I'll be the first to admit I am not a professional baker. But even still, I think these turned out pretty good! Like Caitlin, I used a hand mixer. I also swapped out the semisweet chocolate chips for dark chocolate (my favorite), and left out the walnuts.
Mine were definitely not as insta-worthy as Liz's, but they still tasted great! Next time around, I'll definitely add in a little more flour (I may have mis-measured, because they weren't as thick as everyone else's).
Bottom line
All in all, I'd call our foray into baking a success! As someone who is far from a professional baker, I can confirm that anyone can follow the recipe with good results. We all miss getting to travel to our favorite destinations and stay at our favorite hotels, but the DoubleTree releasing its cookie recipe definitely brought a smile to our faces.
"We hope families enjoy the fun of baking together during their time at home, and we look forward to welcoming all our guests with a warm DoubleTree cookie when travel resumes," said McAteer.
Don't forget that you can earn points while making these yummy cookies! Check out our best credit cards for grocery store purchases to maximize your next ingredients run.
Plan on testing out the recipe yourself? Tag us with your verdict on Instagram @thepointsguy!
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