Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yummy, easy, quick and no special kit required! I always mix biscuits by hand because I think a machine overworks the dough. Equipment required : Large mixing bowl, small bowl, digital weighting scales, large baking sheet, a teaspoon, knife and a fork plus scissors (if making apricot and almond cookies)
Makes 15-16
Ingredients
150g Plain flour
¼ tsp baking powder
pinch salt
90g Butter at room temperature
90g Sugar (I used half caster and half soft brown)
1 egg yolk
½ tsp vanilla extract
100g Dark chocolate chips
Caster sugar to dust over the hot biscuits
Other flavour options in place of chocolate :
Cranberry and Orange (add 100g dried cranberries and finely grated zest of an orange)
Fruit and Nut (add 50g chopped (ready to eat) apricots, 1/2 tsp almond extract and 50g chopped almonds)
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees CelsiusIn a roomy mixing bowl pop the flour, baking powder and salt and give a stir around with a knife. Add then the room temperature butter and rub in with the fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir through the sugar and the chocolate chips then make a well in the centre and drop in the egg yolk.
Freeze the white to use in other recipes later !
Use a knife to mix the egg yolk into the mix, adding the vanilla too. Once fairly well distributed use the hand to mould the mix into a ball of dough. It may seem really dry to begin with but keep going and the dough will come together.
Take a baking sheet lightly greased with a little butter or lined with reusable baking parchment and cut off pieces of the dough, about 30g each and roll into a ball between the palms. Space out 12 onto the baking sheet then use the back of a teaspoon to flatten them slightly.
Bake for 8-10 minutes until just starting to colour though they will still feel quite soft to the touch.
Sprinkle over a light dusting of caster sugar whilst still hot then leave to cool and firm up on the tray.
Store in an airtight tin or box and they will keep for a week.