Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

So this post is a bit late.. Sorry I was MIA last week. Work got a little crazy and the weekend got even crazier!! So this week I baked Chocolate Chip Cookies. I found it very hard to get the consistency just right in these cookies but finally managed to get a winning combination. These cookies are what I call 'Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies' as they have a crisp edge but a yummy chewy centre. I have always been a fan of cookies or 'biscuits' as we call them at home. I remember in both my grannies houses there was always a stash of biscuits in the biscuit barrel when we went to visit. The poor women would barely get a hello from me and I was off in search of the sugary goodness! I remember my Lala always had 'Club Bars' in hers and with my Nana it was a variety but I always remember there being 'Fig Rolls' left at the bottom when all the chocolate covered ones were gone!! Such great memories..! 

Anyway what I am trying to say is in an Irish house hold there is always a stash of biscuits in case 'visitors' called unexpectedly and the "mortification" if someone calls unexpectedly and you have nothing in the house.. I can hear my own mother now "And I haven't a bit here to offer you with the tea". Well, my cookie recipe is perfect for freezing. No I don't mean freezing the baked cookies but freezing the dough. So if someone calls to say they'll be over in 20 mins there is no excuse for not having the house smelling like freshly baked cookies when they arrive!

Just follow my simple recipe for the dough and how to bake them, then at the end I will show you the best way to freeze them.

Ingredients

325g Plain Flour

1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1tsp Salt

200g Butter (Soft, at room temp)

150g Caster Sugar

150g Soft Brown Sugar

1tsp Vanilla Extract

2 Eggs

300g Dark Chocolate Chips

Prepare

Preheat oven to 190C / Gas Mark 5. Line a baking tray with Parchment Paper.

Method

Begin by combining the flour, bicarb and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl (if using a free standing mixer use this bowl here) add the butter, caster sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract and mix to combine. If you're using a free standing mixer use paddle attachment or use hand held whisk and beat until creamy.

Then beat in your eggs. Once eggs have been incorporated gradually beat in your flour. I had my mixer at a medium speed for all these steps. Be sure to stop mixing every once in a while and scrape down any ingredients that may be stuck to the side of the bowl and scrape the bottom of the bowl too.. any places the mixer may have missed. Once flour has been combined stir in your chocolate chips (do not beat or whisk as you don't want them breaking). I have mentioned in my recipe 'Dark Chocolate Chips' .. You can use whatever type of chocolate you prefer. I just prefer the dark chocolate chips because I like the sharp taste of the dark chocolate against the sweetness of the cookie. So now you should be left with a nice pliable dough like below. 

Now, what you can do here is split the dough into two halves and roll out into large sausage shapes and cut accordingly. These rolls can be wrapped in cling film and placed in the fridge until ready to use. They are easier to cut went they have been in the fridge for about 20-30 mins. For me, using an ice-cream scoop, I scooped out equal (ish) portions and placed on the baking tray as seen below. 

I placed them in the oven for 9-11 mins. Be careful not to over cook as they will be very hard and you won't have that yummy chewy consistency. Be sure to leave plenty of space between them as they will spread!!

If you want to freeze your dough all you have to do is place the tray into the freezer when you have the cookies placed on it. You can obviously place more cookies on the tray if you're freezing them but just make sure they're not touching.

Place in the freezer for about one hour. When they have frozen just take the tray out of the freezer and place your cookie dough balls into a zip lock bag and put back into the freezer. They will not stick together when they have frozen. When you want to bake them from frozen just take them out of the freezer, straight onto a baking tray and place into your preheated oven. 

Alternatively if you used the rolled dough method you can just placed the wrapped roll of cookie dough in the freezer and take it out of the freezer and put into the fridge a couple of hours before cooking or until soft enough to cut.

If frozen they will obviously take a little longer to cook; about 13-15 minutes. Just keep an eye on them. You will know they're done because they will look a lovely gold brown colour all over.

Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee or you could do it like the Americans do have it with a nice cold glass of milk.

These cookies are honestly so so easy to make and very handy to have in the freezer whenever you have guests coming around. I hope you enjoy making them. Please let me know if you try them and what you think of them. If you have any questions just comment below or you can find me on instagram or twitter.

Happy Baking!

O x

(I just love the tulips this time of year..!!)