Quick and Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I used to make these a lot at uni. Boys would turn up on my doorstep at 3am demanding that I make them and I haven't really made them since. But when my boss came to my flat for a meeting and wanted homemade cookies and my Hawaiian friend was on hand to eat most of the cookie dough so I didn't have to, I decided to dig out the old faithful recipe and give them a go.

The only problem was that the boss doesn't like dark chocolate really and there were no milk chocolate chips to be found so we bashed up some Minstrels and used those instead. I have to say I may just use them all the time in future - I don't really like cookies and I had two of these!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 20-30 cookies

300g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
170g butter, slightly softened
215g light brown sugar
1 tbsp Vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
300g chocolate chips (or just under 2 large bags of minstrels)

Pre-heat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5. You will need a couple of lined baking sheets - I prefer the reusable Teflon ones - two mixing bowls and a cooling rack.

1. Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt and set aside.

2. Stir together the soft butter, sugar and Vanilla extract then add the egg and the yolk. Beat well to ensure the egg is evenly distributed.

 

3. If you are using Minstrels then wrap them in a clean teatowel and bash with a rolling pin - you don't want it to be too fine though. You could also pulse carefully in a Magimix.

Jo bashing up the Minstrels

4. Stir in the dry ingredients and then fold in the chocolate chips. It may be easier to do this by hand...

Mixing in the chocolate chips by hand

5. Form the dough into a rough sausage shape, cover in clingfilm and chill until firm - at least 30 minutes.

6. When the dough is ready, make hockey puck shapes and press onto the prepared baking tray.

7. Bake for approximately 10 minutes in the pre-heated oven until the edges begin to look golden.

8. Cool on the sheet for a minute then remove to a cooling rack.

Finished Cookies

Pepparkakor

Now it would have been sensible to post this before Christmas as they are the most festive biscuit ever invented but as you may know I'm a complete Christmas obsessive and I got completely swept away by it all and didn't get round to writing these up. However, I have been crisping the leftover ones up in the oven and they're are very cheering at this depressing time of year so if you fancy a bake why not try these? Pepparkakor are the Swedish version of ginger biscuits and they are out of this world - this is a recipe from one of my mother's old Swedish cookbooks.

Pepparkakor

Makes a lot - probably 80ish biscuits

500g butter
500g sugar
2 tbsp syrup
1/2 tbsp ginger
2 tbsp ground cloves
2 tbsp cinammon
2 eggs
1kg flour
2 tbsp bicarbonate of soda

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/390F. You will need some lined baking sheets so you can do these in batches. You can use any shape cutter you like - I use a large and small star and a large heart for these. You can ice these or just sprinkle with icing sugar. The dough keeps for ages in the fridge and and if these biscuits go soggy a couple of minutes in the oven will crisp them right up.

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the sugar, syrup, ginger, cloves and cinnamon.

2. Let it cool and then add the eggs, flour and bicarbonate of soda.

3. Roll out the dough as thin as you can and cut into shapes.

Uncooked biscuits on baking sheet

4. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

Finished biscuits on cooling rack