week 7 – cookies x 3

I think I should re-christen my blog – Fifty Two Bakes would be more appropriate 🙂  I was asked to do a cookie recipe this week, so here you are … three cookies for the price of one.

I think my first experience of ‘real’ cookies was when I moved to London as a 17 year old and discovered Millie’s Cookies. In those days tramping up and down Oxford St (the Selfridge’s end) for Thursday night late-night shopping was my weekly exercise class. And it was topped off with a warm, gooey, double choc chip Millie’s cookie. Or two. Or an ice cream from the Lower Ground Floor Ice-cream bar in Selfridges. You get the picture.

A cookie should be gooey in the middle. Hard all the way through and you’ve got a biscuit. Not a cookie.

I have given the recipe for just three cookies here. There are limitless cookie variations; cranberry and white chocolate is good, dark chocolate and caramel; macademia and date. Think of a flavour, mix it with the basic cookie dough and … abracadabra … the cookie of your dreams! Have fun …

Basic cookie dough: 225g butter, 370g soft brown sugar, 50g caster sugar, 400g plain flour, 2 eggs, 2 tsp bicarbonate soda, 2tsp vanilla extract

cookie ‘sausages’ ready for slicing

Cream together the butter and sugar, beat in the eggs, add the flour and remaining ingredients and beat until the dough forms. Take the dough and roll into a ‘sausage’ shape about 4 or 5cms in diameter. Pop in the fridge to chill for at least an hour. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, set the oven at 170 and slice the cookie dough into disc shapes; you should get about 2 dozen from this quantity. Put the cookie rounds onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Remember to leave lots of space between each cookie, they will spread a lot! Put into the oven for just about 12-14 minutes. The cookie will not appear completely solid – it will be soft and squidgy, don’t panic though; they are cooked. Leave them on the baking paper for 10 minutes to allow them to set. You should be left with a lovely crisp topped cookie that has just the right amount of goo in the middle. And of course, they’re best eaten warm.

This is a plain cookie dough, add chocolate chips, raisins, nuts and marshmallow to your heart’s desire. Or try some of these variations …

Peanut Cookies substitute Crunchy Peanut Butter for the butter in the basic recipe. Follow exactly the same method for delicious Peanut Cookies.

Double Chocolate Chip replace 100g of the flour with 100g of good quality cocoa powder. Beat in chocolate chips with the flour.

Oatmeal and Raisin substitute 400g of plain flour with 200g of rolled oats and 300g of plain flour (so you’ve got 500g in total).  Add the flour as in the basic recipe and add around 150g of raisins at the same time.

double choc chip and peanut cookies