Chocolate Chip Cookies

By Emma Hawkins | November 19, 2017 | Comments 0 Comment

Can anything truly top a good chocolate chip cookie? Especially when they’re warm from the oven and the chocolate is just melted when you bite into them. It’s always hard with classics like these to know which recipes will work and which won’t. The expanse of the internet means that there’s thousands of variations out there, and unfortunately too many of them result in burnt, tasteless disappointments. After some research, though, I think I’ve found the perfect combination which’ll, fingers crossed, work without fail.

I do have a couple of top tips though to make sure that they end up the best they can be. Firstly, it’s important to make sure the dough is as cold as possible before going into the oven. Why I hear you ask? Well this means that they’ll keep their shape more in the oven, which will stop them from spreading too thinly. This makes it easier to get a soft, chewy bake, rather than a crisp, burnt one. It’s also kinda obvious, but when buying your ingredients make sure you buy chocolate you like the taste of. Sometimes it can be tempting to buy super cheap chocolate to bake with, but when you have chunks of chocolate, like in this, you can really taste it. My general rule is go for a chocolate you’d be happy to eat on it’s own, that way your cookies will be super delicious.

Recipe

Makes 20

Time 25 minutes, plus time for chilling

Ingredients

220g Unsalted butter, softened
170g Light brown sugar
150g Caster sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 Large eggs
330g Plain flour
3/4 tsp Baking powder
Pinch of Salt
100g White chocolate, roughly chopped into chunks
100g Milk chocolate, roughly chopped into chunks
1 tsp Sea salt to top (it’s really worth it)

Method

In a bowl put the butter, sugars and vanilla, and beat together until pale and fluffy. Using an electric mixer can help with this.
Add the eggs, one at a time, to the mix and whisk together after each addition to combine.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the main bowl and stir to combine.
Stir the chocolate chunks into the mix so that they’re evenly distributed.
Turn the dough out onto some clingfilm, wrap it up and then put it into the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours. (If you’re short on time or just can’t wait put it into the freezer for 30 minutes).
20 minutes before the dough finishes chilling, pre-heat the oven to 170˚C.
Line 4 baking trays with baking paper.
Roll the dough out between two sheets of clingfilm (I find this easier than using a floured surface). You want the dough to be the thickness of about 2 pound coins.
Using a round cookie cutter, cut out circles of the dough. Put the circles onto the baking sheets, making sure they’re well spaced out as they will spread. I put about 5-6 on each of mine. Put them back into the fridge for 30 minutes to re-chill.
Take the baking trays out of the fridge and sprinkle the dough circles with the sea salt. You only want a little on each cookie, but it works wonders in bringing out the flavour.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until just starting to brown at the edges and puffed up. They will feel fairly soft, but they’ll firm up some more once they’ve cooled down. Eat as soon as you can!