Recipe > Baking
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Got the munchies? Hit 'em up style....

Want a change in texture? Remove half the chocolate weight and exchange this with crushed walnuts or almonds
Cooking at the lower heat of 160°C rather than the 180°C that many cook books suggest will produce softer, chewier cookies

Makes 24 to 36 cookies

Ingredients
225g / 8oz butter / margarine
285g / 10oz light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tsp vanilla essence
310g / 11oz plain flour
4 Tblsp cocoa powder
1 Tsp bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
400g / 14oz dark chocolate chips

Mise-en-Place:
Preheat the oven to 160°C / 310°F
Line a baking sheet with non-stick baking parchment
Weigh the ingredients
Cut the butter into a medium dice
Beat the eggs with the vanilla essence
Mix the flour, salt, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda together (dry ingredients)

Method:
With an electric whisk or in a mixer:
Beat the sugar and butter together until light and 'fluffy'
Add 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients to the butter
Slowly beat in the eggs and vanilla
Add the flour and beat until incorporated
Beat in the chocolate chips (and nuts if using)
Put the mix into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes (its easier to handle when chilled)
Remove from fridge and roll the mix into balls (you want big cookies-big balls! Smaller cookies....smaller balls, okay? ...don't snigger)
Place the cookies on the baking sheet, leaving room for them to spread / bloom as they bake
Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes
Remove and allow to cool for 20 minutes before moving
Serve

Where you went wrong:
Tough / dry cookies: wrong measurements / overcooked
Soft, doughy cookies: wrong measurements / not enough cooking time
Cookie breaks when handled: you moved the cookie before allowing enough cooling time
Cookie spread too far: not enough flour / too much butter or egg
Cookies merged: You didn't allow each cookie sufficient space to spread

Chef's Tip:
To stop these cookies from drying out due to prolonged exposure keep them sealed in an airtight container

Cowboy Trick:
If you find some of your cookies have merged into one another gently part them whilst they are still warm with a gentle knife cut, this will ensure that even after they have cooled they will separate
or
If you just have one huge mess of merged cookie use a circular cutter to cut individual cookies. Allow the mix to cool, then lift the seperate cookies free