The Ugly Duckling Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Over Easter I had the pleasure of going camping with my family. I decided that I would bake some snacks and these delicious cookies were the result of the bake frenzy that ensued. These cookies were so good the beau asked could we hide the remaining cookies in our tent; I didn’t hesitate in obeying his request!

The key to these cookies delicious taste and texture is the brown sugar and also making sure the oven is heated to 150°C and no higher. This will ensure the cookies have a chewy centre that will continue to develop after baking.

You can use whatever chocolate you desire however, I find that a combination of white and milk or dark provides a good balance.

Last week I attempted these cookies again. In a rush. I was being a bit lazy and decided that I would melt the butter and just whack it in with the sugar, the result being that the texture of the cookies changed completely. The texture became almost gritty and the cookies kind of pancaked a bit, they still had a good flavour but my advice would be never skip the creaming of the butter and sugar.

I decided to investigate why creaming of butter and sugar is necessary in this recipe. I found with a little help from Google… “that it is important to cream butter and sugar correctly, or it could have adverse effects on the final recipe results. (ah huh! Wish I had read this before!) Creaming creates air pockets in a recipe batter. This causes the food to rise, giving an airy, delicate texture. It is the same principle as yeast making bread rise. Creaming produces cakes and desserts that aren’t dense, but instead light and airy”.

The bits and pieces

100g white chocolate roughly chopped

100g milk chocolate with coconut roughly chopped

125g butter softened

1 cup soft brown sugar

1 free range egg lightly beaten

60ml milk

2 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 150°C and line a large baking tray with baking paper.

Using electric beaters, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. When you notice the mixture becoming light and fluffy mix in the egg, beating well. Stir in the milk.

Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl and fold into the butter and egg mixture. Add the chocolate.

Using your hand, grab a small amount of mixture and begin shaping into cookie sized balls. Place on the baking tray and using a fork lightly press down on the top of the cookies. Try and keep the cookies about 4cm apart otherwise they will stick together!

Bake for around 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool then dig in! YUM!