Cafe Lula

So guess what. Before this recipe, I’d never made chocolate chip cookies. I know. Mental. But I really hadn’t. Ever. When I realised this, I wondered why I hadn’t. But now I know: I was waiting for this recipe to come along, so that my first attempt would be AWESOME.

These cookies are crunchy at the edges and chewy in the middle, which is exactly how I like them. It’s also a ridiculously easy recipe, so you have no excuse not to try it! Anyway, I am now a cookie convert and I definitely plan on trying more recipes. So, what’s your favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe?

Chocolate chip cookies

Adapted from Nigella Kitchen by Nigella Lawson

Makes 15 – 20

Ingredients:

150g soft butter (the recipe specifies unsalted, I used Lurpak lightly salted)

125g light brown sugar

100g caster sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg, fridge-cold

1 egg yolk, fridge-cold

300g plain (all-purpose) flour

0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda

300g milk chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 170C (340F)/ 160C (320F) fan oven and line a baking sheet with baking paper.

In a large pan, melt the butter over a low heat. Remove from the heat and allow to cool briefly, then add the sugars and beat well.

Beat in the vanilla, egg and egg yolk until well combined, then slowly stir in the flour and bicarb. When just blended, fold in the chocolate chips.

Put the mixture in the fridge for 10 minutes, then remove from the fridge and use a spoon to scoop up chunks of mixture and roll them into golf-ball sized balls. place them on the baking sheet about 8cm apart. You might have to cook them in two batches. Keep the cookie dough in the fridge between batches.

Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes (mine took 16 minutes in a 160C fan oven) until the edges are golden. Cool on the sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.