Chocolate Chip Biscuits

My all time favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe is from The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle.

I like to bake using ingredient weights, so I've added them in. Remember I am a chemist. Plus baking needs more accuracy, so I think weighing ingredients is the way to go.

Soft Baked Chocolate Chunk Cookies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (302g)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 baking soda
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted (170g)
1 cup of firmly packed light brown sugar (217g)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/4 inch pieces (275 g)
2/3 cup walnuts, chopped (optional) (I usually use about 100g nuts if I use them and I prefer pecans)

Preheat the oven to 350deg. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda.

In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter and sugar. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Whisk in the vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the dry ingredients until combined. Stir in the chocolate and walnuts (if using).

Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes (but check them after 9 to 12 minutes), until the cookies are just brown around the edges. The centre of the cookies should be soft and slightly puffy. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheets or a wire rack.

MY NOTES

• I love these biscuits. I have made them so much that I bought a ice cream scoop that is 1/4 cup sized. I love scooping out my perfect portions of dough.
• The melted butter makes this recipe easy to quick to make. No worrying about if the butter is soft enough to cream.
• It is quite adaptable. I've added in shredded coconut and/or dried sour cherries to vary the cookie.
• It freezes well. These cookies taste best freshly baked. I scoop the dough on a cookie sheet and freeze them until solid. Then pop them in a ziplock back. All I do is add a couple of minutes to their baking time. The other thing you can do is pop the dough onto the tray while the oven preheats, so it defrosts while waiting.

Lesley made the Chocolate Fudge Cookies with Toffee and Dried Cherries from The Clean Plate Club. I wanted to make these cookies, but didn't have quite enough butter in the fridge, so I decided to adapt my fave recipe to be similar.

So I used
250g cups all-purpose flour
50g dutch process cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 baking soda
170g unsalted butter, melted
217g light brown sugar
100g granulated sugar (100g)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
250g dark chocolate bits (I use Callebaut Dark callets)
125 chopped dried tart cherries (I buy these from the US, but I've seen them in some grocery stores or fruit shops in Australia)
2 x 100g bags of Daim bit pieces. (Daim can be found at Ikea! It's a super yummy chocolate covered toffee. It makes a great substitute for Heath or Skor bar/bits that some American recipes call for.)

I followed the basic directions for the soft baked cookies. Sift the cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt together. Follow the other directions and fold in the pieces (choc bits, Daim pieces and cherries) at the end. Scoop and bake.

They were divine! I was going to take a photo, but oooops we at them before I could take a photo.