Preheat your oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt—set aside. This step only takes a minute but it prevents lumps in your dough and helps everything bake evenly throughout.

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter with both sugars until creamy and light, about 2-3 minutes. You'll notice it gets pale and fluffy—that's exactly what you want. Add the egg and mix for another 30 seconds until everything's combined.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, stirring just until combined. Don't overmix or your cookies get tough (trust me, I learned this the hard way by overbeating for five minutes once). Fold in the chopped peeps, chocolate chips, and walnuts until spread throughout the dough.

Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto your prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. I use a cookie scoop because it keeps me from overthinking portion sizes. These cookies spread a little, so don't crowd the pan—stick with 12 per sheet maximum.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are lightly golden but the centers still look slightly underdone. Seriously, don't panic if they look soft in the middle—that's where the magic happens. The residual heat keeps cooking them even after you pull them out.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They'll firm up as they cool, so patience here saves you from crumbly broken cookies. Your kitchen smells amazing during this step.

Once completely cooled, your Easter peeps treats recipe is ready to serve or store. These taste even better the next day when the peeps have fully melted into the dough, creating pockets of chewy sweetness. Make these ahead and watch them disappear from your Easter basket treats lineup.