Tag: chocolate chip cookies

Recipe: The ABSOLUTE best chocolate chip cookies!

Published on by Hanna6 Comments

I made these at the beginning of the first lockdown, and although my largest bowl was barely large enough to hold the full batch, they gave me so much joy those few weeks in solitude.

The recipe calls for a whole 36 hours of rest in the fridge, which was really difficult for this impatient cook to adhere to, so I made sure to bake the dough after a few hours of rest, after 24 hours and finally after 36 hours. All in the name of research, of course. And this highly scientific empirical study showed that the dough that had rested the longest in the fridge indeed made the best cookie. So have patience, my friends!

Typical lockdown activity, attempting a self portrait with the cookies one just baked 🙈

Also in the name of research, I made sure to microwave a few balls of cookie dough until gooey and heavenly and ate with vanilla ice cream. Highly recommend!

Please note that the recipe below has been halved, to easier fit our medium sized mixing bowls. Just double it if you want the full batch. I would recommend making two smaller batches though – easier on the arms (when mixing) and on the tummy, as these are really difficult to resist!

A final tip; instead of baking them all immediately, I froze a few dough balls and kept in my freezer for when I wanted still warm cookies (is there anything better than those bits of melted chocolate?!) straight from the oven, which I have to admit was quite often…

The ABSOLUTE best chocolate chip cookies, makes about 20 cookies

Adapted from David Leite’s (phenomenal) recipe.

410 ml plain flour

3/5 tsp bicarbonate of soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

140 g unsalted butter, softened

145 ml light brown sugar

130 ml caster sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

280 g chocolate, minimum 60% cocoa, chopped

sea salt

Mix flour, bicarb, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.

In another bowl, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add the egg and mix well. Stir in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients bit by bit while stirring. Add the chocolate and mix well. Press cling film against the dough and refrigerate for 24-36 hours.

To bake, pre-heat the oven to 175C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop dough onto the baking sheet, pressing down on chocolate pieces sticking up. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18-20 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Sundae of homemade icecream and chocolate sauce

Published on by Hanna3 Comments

In my new flat we have the luxury of a regular three-drawer freezer, and since my flatmate and I have one drawer each it is perfect to use the third drawer for say, icecream.

I brought over my mother’s old icecream maker and used it to make frozen yoghurt at work in the summer, but now I keep it in my flat so I can make icecream instead.

Since I haven’t made my own icecream since I lived in Sweden (almost four years ago now) because of major freezer issues (in every flat) I had to start the icecream making with something as simple as vanilla.

Simple yes, but it is made with whole milk, double cream, free range egg yolks and a proper vanilla pod, so still very good. Served with an old fashioned chocolate sauce and chocolate chip cookies, this is a very simple, yet always fulfilling dessert.

I promise you, there will be more icecream recipes from now on. I am just getting started!

Homemade vanilla icecream, serves 3-4

Translated from Charlotta’s recipe.

4 egg yolks
100 ml caster sugar
300 ml double cream
100 ml whole milk
1 vanilla pod
a pinch of salt

Beat the yolks and sugar with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Cut the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds. Place this in a sauce pan with the cream and the salt. Bring to the boil, then remove from heat and leave to cool. Pour it over the egg mixture and mix well. Place the bowl in a bain marie and stir with a whisk until the mixture is 85C (should take about 10 minutes). Place the bowl in a tub of ice water to cool down then pour it into the icecream maker.

Mother’s chocolate sauce, serves 3-4

50 ml cocoa

50 ml caster sugar

50 ml water

Pour all the ingredients into a saucepan, stir occasionally and bring to the boil. Let it thicken for a few minutes. Serve warm with icecream.

Chewy chocolate chip cookies

Published on by Hanna1 Comment

I was totally up for baking cookies on Sunday, I just had to decide which recipe to go for. And then I saw Anne’s latest post, clicked on the recipe and realised it was from the blog Smitten Kitchen which I adore (and I have loved every single recipe I have tried from it), so of course I was going to make these chewy chocolate chip cookies.

The cookies were easy to make, and they were exactly they way I had pictured them; chewy in the middle, crisp on the outside, the perfect taste of earthy cookie combines with both sweet and bitter chocolate. That was the only change I made to the recipe, substituting some of the dark chocolate for white. Yum, is all I have to say to that!

Chewy chocolate chip cookies, makes 25

170 g  butter

300 g flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

210 g brown sugar

100 g sugar

1 egg yolk

1 egg

1 tbsp vanilla extract

100 g white chocolate, chopped

70 g dark chocolate, chopped

Melt the butter. Mix flour with bicarb and salt in a bowl. Stir together both sugars with the melted butter. Beat in the egg, the egg yolk and the vanilla extract, until the mixture turns light and fluffy. Stir in the flour mixture, and finally the chocolate.

Scoop cookies onto a lined baking sheet, and leave plenty of space for them to spread out (I baked 6 cookies at the time.) Bake at 165°C for 12 minutes.