I’ve been copping a bit a flack from Georgia and Claudia for the chocolate chip and walnut cookies that I have previously posted. According to them, they should be called chocolate chip and walnut shortbread biscuits because they are more like shortbread with chocolate and nuts in them rather than the crunchy choc chip cookies they were craving when they decided to bake cookies yesterday. The allegation was that I got the recipe wrong, but the reality is the recipe they wanted to bake, is in fact a different one to that posted. So to rectify the situation, the recipe that follows is for crunchy choc chip cookies, or as they prefer to call them, real choc chip cookies.
And here’s the thing about choc chip cookies…there are so many varieties of the same thing, you really do need to know whether you like them crunchy on the outside and gooey in the middle, or those that are softer inside and out. These tend to be the former, and the longer they stay in the oven the crunchier they become. So if you prefer them on the softer side, take them out of the oven when they are lightly golden brown. Cooking time varies from oven to oven, so it’s best to judge based on colour rather than time.
This offering has considerably more sugar in them, which is probably another reason they are preferred, and a dash of vanilla extract and milk. One other thing…baking in hot humid weather means the crunchiness doesn’t last. So you have a choice: accept that they won’t be as crunchy the next day, or eat them all in one sitting.
Whichever you choose to make, they are both delicious. Better still, make both and let me know which you prefer. Enjoy!
- 125 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
- 185 grams soft brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 215 grams plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 250 grams dark choc chips
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl using electric beaters. Add the vanilla extract and gradually add the egg, beating well. Stir in the milk.
- Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl then fold into the butter and egg mixture. Stir in the choc bits.
- Drop level tablespoons of the cookie mixture onto the baking tray, leaving about 4cm between each one. Lightly press each one with a fork.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
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