I was given about 3 kg of all sorts of chocolate left over after a photographic shoot. So, of course I made chocolate chip cookies. These are slightly different from my other cookie recipes – they’re NYC-style: enormous, and molten and tender, to the point where they very nearly collapse when lifted. They’re saturated with chocolate and have the delicious crunch of walnuts and a touch of sea salt to counteract their sweetness. You can make them as adult as you wish by changing the ratio of dark to milk to white chocolate according to your preference. I’m not mature enough to love dark chocolate dominance, so I opt for an equal balance of the three.

 NYC-STYLE CHOCLATE CHIP COOKIES - RECIPE

Ingredients

240g unsalted butter, at room temperature

110g light brown muscovado sugar

85g caster sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

300g plain flour

20g cornflour

1 tsp baking power

1 tsp bicarb

½ tsp salt

100g walnuts, roughly chopped into 0.5cm – 1cm size pieces

350g of chocolate (I use a mix of dark, milk and white), roughly chopped into 0.5cm – 1cm size pieces

15g Maldon sea salt

2 baking trays lined with baking parchment

Method 

1)    Either by hand, or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitter with the paddle, beat the softened butter until fluffy. Pour in the sugars and beat for another few minutes until smooth and fluffy, almost as if the sugar has dissolved into the butter.

2)    Pour the eggs into the bowl and beat until fully mixed and creamy. I suggest scraping down the sides of the bowl mid-way through to ensure all the ingredients are fully combined.

3)    Add the flour, cornflour, baking powder, bicarb and salt. Beat on a slow speed until just combined. Pour in the walnuts and chocolate and stir together until evenly distributed. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for half an hour to an hour (this allows the flour to hydrate, creating a better end-texture).

4)    Remove the bowl from the fridge and take off 90-100g size pieces (I use a scale to get each cookie the same size/weight. Roll the piece into a ball and place on baking tray. Repeat until you have around 12 cookies, leaving at least 10cm between each (they will spread as they bake). Sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of Maldon sea salt.

5)    Place trays back in fridge for a further half an hour.

6)    While the cookies are resting in the fridge, preheat the oven to 200C. Place cookies in oven and bake for 7-8minutes until cookies are golden brown but very soft to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow the residual heat of the tray to continue cooking them a little longer. Devour.

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