MAKES 12 LARGE COOKIES

Something about the richness and varied flavor of these cookies seems to make them work best when they're made big, but the recipe works fine for smaller cookies, too.

1 2⁄3 cups all-purpose flour
3⁄4 tsp. baking soda
3⁄4 tsp. fine sea salt
2 vanilla beans
1⁄2 cup butter, at room temperature
1⁄2 cup firmly packed muscovado or dark brown sugar
1⁄4 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
1 large egg
8 oz. dark chocolate, broken or chopped into bite-sized pieces
4 oz. walnut halves and pieces, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

3. Split the vanilla beans lengthwise with a small, sharp knife. With the tip of a small spoon, scrape out the seeds into a large bowl (reserve the pods for another use). Add the butter and mix together. Stir in the sugars and egg until creamy. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until thoroughly combined, then stir in the chocolate pieces and nuts. Chill the dough for 10 minutes in the refrigerator.

4. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. For each cookie, form 1⁄4 cup of the dough into a ball, then press out on the cookie sheet into a 3 1⁄2" round, about 1/4" thick. Place the rounds of cookie dough about 1 1⁄2" apart.

5. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 7–10 minutes, or until cookies are golden brown and baked through. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to a rack.

6. Serve hot or cool and store up to 2 weeks, although to keep them that long you may have to hide them as well.