Jubilee cookies?

How did you spend your extended Jubilee weekend? Family activities? Maybe a street party? Or even just sitting on the sofa watching a whole host of telly? Bet you didn't spend two days making cookies, because that's what I did. Obviously.

Ever since I read about "the best cookie ever", I've been waiting for an opportunity to make them. Given that the recipe requires an extensive resting period for the dough, the very long weekend finally gave me that chance.

I have to say that the cookies were great and that's not just my opinion but all of those at work who had one said that too. The cookies did have the textures I was looking for: a crunchy rim, chewy soft centre and the delightful torus of transition between the two. The flavour was great - buttery and sweet. The salt gave an extra sophisticated dimension taking the cookies to the next level.

I used slightly less chocolate than in the recipe but reckon the cookies could take more. The cookies I made were smaller than that recommended even though these bad boys were huge: a good 4" across. Any bigger would be just too much, I think...

The most difficult part was getting the baking time right. Too long and the cookies were just that little bit too crunchy, which is what happened with the very first batch. Not a disaster by any means, but just not quite chewy perfection. The key is to take them out of the oven just as the edges start to turn golden. The centre will still be molten. DON'T WORRY. As they cool all will become well. That molten centre is a necessity to get the wonderfully soft core.

The only disappointment was the recipe only made 12!

Chocolate chip cookies Makes 12 cookies

Ingredients:
4.25oz plain flour
3.75oz strong flour
2/3tsp baking powder
2/3tsp bicarbonate of soda
2/3tsp table salt
5oz butter
5oz soft light brown sugar (muscavado)
4oz granulated sugar
1 large egg
1tsp vanilla extract
200g dark chocolate chip (~30-50% cocoa content)
A few pinches of sea salt crystals

Method:
1. Sift the flours, baking powder, bicarb and salt together.
2. Cream the butter and sugars until pale.
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla to the butter.
4. Mix in the dry ingredients and the chocolate chips
NOTE: The dough will seem very dry - don't worry.
5. Bring the dough together into a thick disk. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate. I left mine for 48hours. As the original article stated, leave it as long as you can, a day minimum, I reckon.
6. Once rested, make 2.5oz balls of dough and place on a lightly buttered baking tray. Remember to leave a perimeter of a good few inches around each one. I ended up only doing 6 at a time.
7. Sprinkle a few grains of sea salt on the top of each dough ball.
8. Bake for 13mins at 180°C. (Heed my warning about cooking time above and adjust to suit. Baking in small batches also allows for a little experimentation with the cooking time.)
9. Leave too cool, if you can.