Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Originally when I took these cookies out of the oven I complained that they weren’t good enough. I thought them ungainly and rather unsightly. (This is probably why I went OTT with the ribbon and straw photo set up. It looks a little odd, no?)  Nevertheless as I began to munch my way through this particular batch and share them about, I became a fan of them.

I quickly developed a fondness for the rough and readiness of these cookies. Not one cookie is a perfect round and they still have handprints from where I squished them into shape. Oversized chocolate chunks emerge from the cookie crust at jaunty angles. They are ungainly and a bit of pain to eat. Yet when dunked in warm milk, or heated up so they just start to melt in the microwave, they manage to redeem themselves and turn into a comfort food winner.  

I bake weekly, and more often than not, as you can tell by the massive gap between blog posts, they never make it on here. I often think the bakes aren’t blog worthy, but I guess they actually are. Everybody appreciates a simple bake. Once that can be rustled up in an hour, boxed up for people at work or something sweet to serve with a cuppa.  Maybe I should be less of a perfectionist. Stop seeking the fancy and just get posting…

The main thing to remember when making these is to use good quality MILK chocolate. The first batch I made with dark chocolate tasted frightfully bitter, chocolate cookies should be definitely sweet, indulgent and ultimately little ugly.

You will need:

50g unsalted butter

450g good milk chocolate, roughly chopped. (Milk chocolate is essential)

2 eggs

170g soft light brown sugar or light muscovado sugar

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

85g plain flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

Method:

• Firstly line 2 baking trays (cookie sheets preferably) with greaseproof paper
• Preheat the oven to 170 ˚C (325˚F) Gas 3.
• Place butter and half the chocolate in a heat proof  bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the base of the bowl touch the water). Leave until melted and smooth.
• Put the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl and beat until well mixed with a freestanding electric mixer with paddle attachment or a handheld electric mixer.
• Pour in the chocolate mixture beating on a slow speed until everything is well combined.
• Sift flour, salt and baking powder into a separate bowl, stir into the chocolate mixture in 3 additions, mixing well after each addition (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula).
• Finally, stir in the remaining chocolate chunks until evenly dispersed.
• Arrange 6 equal amounts of cookie dough on each prepared tray. A heaped tablespoonful should be adequate. Leave plenty space between each cookie (about 4cm) as they spread like crazy.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 5-10 minutes, checking regularly after 10 minutes
• They are ready when the tops start to crack and look glossy.
• Leave the cookies to cool slightly on the trays before turning out onto a wire cooling racks.
  Childishly dunk in warm milk and enjoy!