Back in 2018 I wrote what I now believe to be a really cringe blog post about cookies. Four years later, I’m back with a modified and improved recipe, and hopefully a less cringey writing style. Let’s get right into it!

Home bakers who put effort into being patient and precise will be rewarded with excellent cookies when using this recipe. They will come out with lovely structure, shape, taste, and texture: chewy in the middle, crunchy on the outside. This recipe is fun to make, and something I really enjoy doing with it is making half-baked cookie dough, which is an elite dessert when served with ice cream and sliced strawberries or raspberries. 

I trust this cookie recipe, which I originally found on Reddit, and it has absolutely become my go to. Have a look at how I make my favourite chocolate chunk cookies:

INGREDIENTS

• 170g unsalted butter
• 240g plain flour 
• 8tsp baking powder
• 2 medium eggs
• 75g white granulated sugar
• 125g light brown sugar
• A pinch of salt
• Vanilla extract
• 100g each milk chocolate and dark chocolate, chopped roughly into chunks

METHOD

1. In a saucepan, start melting 170g of butter and heat until the butter browns. Keep an eye on the heat, and don’t just leave this; browning butter is zero to one hundred. Nothing will happen for ages, and at the first sign of neglect, your butter will burn. Heat until your butter is fully dissolved and takes on a deep caramel colour. Once browned, pour you butter from the saucepan into another container like a measuring jug, and allow to cool fully to room temperature. 
2. In a bowl, combine 240g flour, 8tsp baking powder, a pinch of salt, 75g white sugar and 125g brown sugar. Combine with a spatula as this ensures you won’t overwork the mix. 
3. Stir in 2 medium eggs and vanilla extract. I normally go buckwild on vanilla extract, just add as much as you like! 
4. Once your butter is fully cooled, pour into your bowl and mix. Your butter has to be room temperature or you’ll cook the eggs, which will be gross. Don’t cook your eggs like this. 
5. Add in your chocolate chunks. Fully mix.
6. Keep your dough in the bowl or unload it onto some cling film, then fling it into the fridge to chill for at least three hours, ideally overnight. Firming the dough will ensure it cooks well and maintains a good shape. 
7. Once your dough has chilled, weigh it out to see how much you have. I separate my dough into balls weighing between 35 and 36 grams, because I find this to yield a good cookie size. If you want bigger cookies, go for 40 grams.
8. This is where precision comes into play. Pre-heat your oven to 190 degrees and pick out your first four dough balls; when you’re happy with their rough spherical shape, throw them in the freezer to firm up while the oven heats. Put the rest of your dough, pre-balled, into the oven. When your balling the dough in your hands, you’ll warm and soften it, so another little stint in a freezer or fridge will help again when it comes to cooking. Crumple some parchment paper and line a baking sheet, and when the oven is hot, lay your first four balls on it, making sure your balls have plenty of room to spread. Since I cook in batches, at this point I’ll put my next four dough balls into the freezer for some extra firming. Bake your cookies for 8 minutes. They’ll come out soft, but cookies continue to cook after baking. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for around 8 minutes, while your next batch cools, and then transfer to a wire rack to continue to cool. Your cookies should come out as thick as your finger width. 
9. Repeat the process until you are out of dough, and allow your cookies to fully cool. Enjoy your chewy, crunchy treats! 
   

Tip: I used to be team choc chip, but now am fully on board with chopping chocolate bars into rough chunks for your cookies. This means you’ll have a variety of chocolate amounts, like larger pieces, and little freckles of chocolate throughout the cookie.

Tip: for a gooey and delicious dessert, pop some cookie dough (no need to measure, just as much as feels right) into a ramekin and bake four 4-6 minutes. Serve right away with ice cream and strawberries! (Happy Valentine’s Day 😉 )

Tip: add whichever mix ins you want!I recommend white chocolate and macadamia nuts, or M&Ms! 

I’ve been making cookies for years and have never really been happy with how they’ve come out. Since I started using this recipe, exactly how I’ve written it out, I’ve been really happy with what I’ve baked – they look and taste gorgeous. Seriously, the key here is just be patient with them. Don’t overwork the dough, don’t take your butter from the heat before its browned, don’t add it to your mix while it’s still hot, and don’t go without chilling your dough. Weighing your dough before baking will yield bakery perfect, uniform cookies that will look amazing on the gram, too. 

Speaking of gram, follow my foodstagram by clicking this link!