Now, I have a tried-and-tested secret (sorry) recipe for chocolate chip cookies. It isn’t anything special, but I will say that it involves oats and a particular ratio of white and brown sugar. But, the cookies I normally make are the flat, chewy sort of chocolate chip cookies and the other day I was craving the thick, soft style. Cue the chocolate chip cookie experiment!
I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought I would give it a go. The great thing about baking is that it is experimenting. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I would say this is a solid ‘A for effort’ recipe. It isn’t my favourite, and if I made it again I would omit the golden syrup because it gave them a funny taste. Also, I used milk chocolate chips and I definitely prefer semi-sweet.
These cookies tasted much better after they had cooled. Since they were thicker, the inside tasted almost raw when it was still warm, and the soft, chewiness only formed after 15 minutes of resting. The point of making cookies (for me) is that I want them immediately out of the oven because I’ve got a craving I need to satiate. So, I would give this recipe a miss if you want instant soft, but not gooey satisfaction.
Ingredients
1/2 cup half melted butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tbsp. golden syrup (I would skip this)
2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups flour
1/3 tsp. baking soda
1/3 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips
I also added a handful of raisins and a handful of chopped walnuts
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 175C. Microwave the butter until it is half melted.
Using a wooden spoon, combine the butter and sugars and beat until creamy and pale in colour. Add the vanilla and the egg (and syrup if desired), and beat until mixed through.
Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until combined. Add in your chocolate chips and any extras. The original recipe put chocolate chips on the top of the cookies, but I always find this too messy.
Roll the dough into around 18 balls and bake for 11 minutes. The cookies should be golden around the edges.
*The recipe said to allow them to cool for 30 minutes. This is a deal breaker. There is no such thing as waiting for chocolate chip cookies to cool!
All in all, when you want cookies, you will eat the cookies that are available. My partner really liked these, so much so that none were taken into work for colleagues to enjoy. I will persevere and try a new soft cookie recipe in the future. Please feel free to give me suggestions!
