Chocolate Chip Cookies once again…

Last week I got a very kind message from a friend about a large batch of cookies he made for 40 people. I never made such a big quantity all at once because thank goodness I never had to feed such a large group. (I admire anyone who is able to cook in this way without hitting the panic button.) I cannot believe that I wrote about this recipe almost two years ago today, on the 27th May to be exact! Nigella’s book Kitchen was only a few months old then. Must be a weird coincidence. Since then I made these chocolate chip beauties countless times and they are loved.

Recently I went ahead and bought a small ice-cream scoop which turns out to be very convenient for all kinds of cookies and muffins. Sometimes the right tools make the job easier, and an extra ice-cream scoop hasn’t done anyone any harm yet! (It was also a good excuse to run to the catering shop which is only a ten minute walk away from here. Happy days!) This quantity yielded me 24 smallish cookies.

• 150g unsalted butter, softened
• 125g soft light brown sugar
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, cold from the fridge
• 300g plain flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 300g dark chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 175 degrees C (fan) and line a couple of baking trays with baking greaseproof paper.

Melt the butter. The easier method is in the microwave using short blasts. Set aside to cool a little.

Put both sugars in a large bowl. Pour in the melted butter and whisk vigorously.

Then beat in the vanilla extract and the eggs until the mixture is light and creamy. Slowly mix in the plain flour and the baking powder and gently mix again.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Using a small ice-cream scoop, drop the cookie mixture down onto your lined baking trays. Make sure to keep them around 6 cm apart because they will expand while baking. Keep the cookie dough bown in the fridge to keep it cool in between the batches.

Bake for approximately 17 minutes, while keeping an eye on them. Take them out of the oven as soon as their edges turn a little golden. Leave them to cool for a while on the trays before turning them out on a wire rack. Remember you want a soft cookie on the inside so don’t overbake them.

At the risk of sounding boring, I do love making these. And there’s always some in my bag when I have a day full of errands! Enjoy! R xx

(Adapted from Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home by Nigella Lawson, Chatto & Windus, 2010.)

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Triple Chocolate Cookies

I should have included these babies right before Valentine’s Day, but believe me when I say that these cookies will taste great any time during the year. I have been wanting to try them for ages, as with all of the recipes in this blog, but this is totally special. It is adapted from Nigella’s Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies (click here for the Nigella’s recipe and here to watch her make them).

Now you really don’t need an electric mixer. They turn out great even if you mix everything by hand. I totally omitted the salt and in truth you can even leave out the bicarbonate of soda and use baking powder instead but I included it anyway. Also my adaptation calls for only (ehem..cough) 200g of chocolate, which is approximately 2 bars of chocolate broken up into chunks. (Do this by placing the chocolate into a sealed plastic bag and bashing them with a rolling pin.) That is more than you really need, so if you want to put in less you can. But hey a chocoholic like me won’t settle for less!

Makes around 12. For the cookies you need:

• 125g dark chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
• 150g plain flour
• 30g cocoa, sieved
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 125g butter, softened
• 75g light brown sugar
• 50g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• Two 100g bars of milk chocolate broken into chunks

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Put the flour, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl.
2. In a separate container cream the butter with the brown and caster sugars. Add the melted chocolate and mix. In this same bowl add the vanilla extract and beat in the egg.
3. Take the dry ingredients and tip them in with the wet ingredients. Stir the chocolate chunks in with the final mixture.
4. Using an ice-cream scoop (I find this easier) and a knife to level the mixture, spoon it onto a lined baking sheet. Make sure to leave a good gap in between scoops because they will grow (in fact, they will be huge).  You can also freeze half the cookies for later if you want to. Cook for 18 minutes. Leave to cool for a while and then move them onto a cooling rack.

   My favourite so far! Enjoy!

   Rob x