Is it someone’s birthday? Are you wondering what to give them? Thinking on the lines of something personal? What better than tasty cookies made by yours truly! Yeah, you could always buy them, but isn’t it more special when you make them yourself? Or maybe you just have some free time on your hands? Why not make a batch and keep it in a pretty cookie jar next to your bed for midnight cravings or last minute submission stress.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup softened unsalted butter
½ cup caster sugar and ½ cup brown sugar OR 1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup chocolate chips/a large chocolate bar
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cornflour (optional if you like your cookies chewy)
4 tablespoons milk
Sea salt (optional)
Equipment:
Spatula/ hand mixer
2 Mixing bowls
Baking tray
Silicon mat/ parchment paper/ foil
Method:
1. Put the softened butter in a bowl and cream with your spatula or hand whisk, then add the caster sugar (and brown sugar if using) and mix, making sure the mixture is smooth and not crumbly. If the butter isn’t soft enough, it won’t work!
2. Add the vanilla essence
3. In a separate bowl, add the dry ingredients (flour and baking powder) and mix. Add cornflour if you want the cookies to be chewy.
4. Combine your dry and wet ingredients in one bowl, mixing carefully with a spoon.
5. Add the milk and continue mixing. This will act as the binding agent.
6. Chop the chocolate into chunks and add them to the mixture. This is your cookie dough!
7. Let the dough chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
8. Preheat the oven to 180°C
9. Line your baking tray with a silicon mat, parchment paper or foil.
10. Make small balls of the cookie dough, gently pressing them on the tray.
11. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the edges become golden brown.
12. Once cooked, leave your cookies to cool on the baking tray for another 10 minutes.
13. Sprinkle sea salt.
Crisp from the outside and gooey from the inside. Enjoy the cookies with a glass of milk or hot chocolate! I have been baking this recipe ever since I was a child and it is one of the fondest memories I have with my parents and younger brother.