Soft and Indulgent Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dec 21, 20203 min read

The perfect cookie do not exi...

After years of experimenting with cookie recipes, I've finally done it. I've created the worlds best soft cookie. They're soft in the middle. They're crisp on the outside. They're filled with two different types of indulgent chocolate. And in less than half an hour you can be back watching Netflix with a cookie in hand.

I've made these cookies for so so many people, and the response always goes a little something like, "wow these are delicious" followed by "please never make these for me again, I've eaten the whole batch in 6 hours." So if you are going to make this recipe, be warned that these cookies are dangerous. In fact you probably shouldn't make them unless you're prepared to eat three in a row. But, hey, we're all adults here and let's be honest that is what we really want from a cookie.

Tricks I've learnt from making a ridiculous quantity of cookies

These are a couple things I've learnt from making cookies for clients every week for seven months both at high altitude in a chalet and on turbulent seas on a yacht:

Your butter temperature is important. If you want a soft, creamy bake every time, make sure your butter is room temperature. A good trick for testing your butter is to gently poke it with your finger. In room temperature butter you should be able to leave a finger indentation with only some resistance. If your finger pushes all the way through with no resistance then it's too soft and your cookies will spread too thin in the oven. And if you can't leave a deep finger indent easily on the surface then it's too cold, which will affect the creaming process.
Use your favourite type of chocolate - I use equal parts milk and white chocolate, but feel free to use any type of chocolate as long as the total amount adds up to 300 grams.
When you're ready to form your cookies into balls, don't pat them down. You want your cookies to be round when you put them in the oven to create that soft middle.
Don't be clingy, give your cookies some space! In the oven these cookies have a life of their own so make sure to leave plenty of space between each one (I only put 3 cookies on each tray!)
My last tip is a difficult one, but no matter how hard it is to resist that warm cookie smell or how many people you have to bat away, you must leave the cookies to cool for at least 15 minutes or they'll fall apart.

Soft and Indulgent Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 16 large cookies - Preheat oven to 200°C

What you'll need:

200g unsalted butter, room temperature

150g soft light brown sugar

150g caster sugar

2 small eggs

335g self-raising flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

A pinch of salt

A dash of milk

150g milk chocolate, chopped into chunks

150g white chocolate, chopped into chunks

Method:

Start by preheating your oven to 200°C, weighing out all your ingredients and lining 2 baking trays with tin foil.
In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugars together until well combined. The butter should have lightened in colour.
Next, add the eggs and mix well.
Then, slowly add the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Once combined add a dash of milk to loosen up the mixture.
Stir in the chocolate chunks, until just combined. Be careful not to over mix at this stage as the mixture is already ready.
Now it's time to roll the batter into balls! I recommend using an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon to divide up the mixture equally.
Place the balls on the lined baking trays with plenty of space in between (I only put 3 cookies on each tray) and bake them in the oven for 10 minutes, turning the trays around half way through.
When you take the cookies out the oven they will be very soft. Allow them to cool on the tinfoil for 15 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack and continuing with the other batches.