It was my darling friend Carol’s birthday last week, so I made her a box of treats.
I filled it with her favourite chestnut flour brownies, dark hazelnut praline chocolates, roasted hazelnut amaretti, and chocolate chip cookies.
The cookies are an old favourite, but this time I made them in two sizes. I’ve tweaked the methodology a bit as well…
The secret is to start with cold butter, and then to let the dough rest in the fridge overnight. This ensures the cookies won’t spread too much when baked. Oh, and watch the egg size – large eggs are good, but huge jumbo ones will result in a sloppy dough. I shaped my cookies with icecream scoops – a regular sized one and a small one that I normally use to make truffle centres.
These quantities make a double batch for sharing, but the recipe works perfectly well halved…
- 330g plain flour
- 70g bread or bakers flour
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 240g white sugar
- 200g brown sugar
- 250g unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
- 2 large (59g) eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (I used homemade)
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), sifted
- 300g semisweet chocolate callets (Callebaut 811, 54% cocoa)
- 100g bittersweet chocolate callets (Callebaut 70% cocoa Sao Thome Origin)
- 200g bake stable dark choc chips (Callebaut 44% cocoa baking sticks, broken into small pieces)
Note : As you can see, there is a very high ratio of chocolate to flour (3:2). I use all dark in my cookies, but please use any combination you prefer. Try to use the best chocolate you can get your hands on!
1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cold butter and sugars together, until they form a grainy paste. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until just combined. Do not overmix.
2. In a separate large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and sifted bicarbonate of soda (it’s important to sift the bicarb, or you’ll get bitter lumps in the finished cookie). Add the chocolate bits to the flour and stir to combine. Add the whole lot to the batter and mix until just incorporated. It’s important not to overmix at any stage, or the cookies will flatten out while baking.
3. Cover the bowl and pop the dough into the fridge overnight to chill. These cookies are notorious spreaders, and chilling them helps to minimise this.
4. Preheat oven to 150C (with fan). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Scoop balls of cold dough and place them on the lined trays, about 10cm apart. The dough should be quite stiff. If you’re using the larger 5cm scoop, flatten the bottoms out a little (so they sit on the tray like half domes); for the smaller cookies, shape the dough into small round balls (around the size of a melon ball). It’s best to bake large and small ones separately because of the different baking times.
6. Bake the large cookies for 16-18 minutes until golden brown, rotating the trays once during the baking time. Bake the small cookies for about 10-12 minutes, rotating once at the 8 minute mark. The cookies are done when they move a bit on the tray when gently pushed. Experiment to see how you like them – a slightly shorter time will result in more fragile cookies with a wafery crumb, a minute or so longer and the cookies will be chewier, more robust and store better.
7. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to sit on the trays for a minute or so. Instead of transferring them onto a wire rack to cool, I prefer to carefully drag the sheet of parchment with all the cookies on it off the tray and onto a cold bench. This allows the melted chocolate to reform before the cookies are moved.
The big and little cookies will keep well for several days in airtight containers…
We love these – they’re less doughy than most chocolate chip cookies, which makes them a bit fiddlier to make, but much easier to eat!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Big Man loves cookies but I’m ashamed to say I can’t remember the last time I made them :( We’re trying to shed a few kilos but a little treat every so often keeps us motivated – I could make a batch and freeze (i.e. hide!) some :)
I love chocolate chip cookies! Yours look delicious!
Aha, I wondered why I’ve been randomly looking to buy an icecream scoop!
The biccies look lovely… of course :)
very lovely gift of love Celia. I always come to your blog for recipes because I know you have tested and tweaked them and they are fabulous x
Some lovely favourites there. Now that I completed full-time study, I can get back to making all the Celia treats again. Where do you buy your chestnut flour?
Elaine, I know these are your fave cookies too! :) I buy chestnut flour from Italian grocers.
Thank-you. Six months without bread baking or chocolate has left the household in a steep decline!
Elaine, I’ve just remembered you can buy chestnut flour online as well. I haven’t used this thought: http://cheznuts.com.au/
I didn’t even know you could get such small ice cream scoops. But now I do!
Nice idea – making the cookies in two sizes, making them perfect for grazing on all day long!
I always use ice scream scoops for even cookies, it is such a good trick! I also use the large one for cupcakes which ensures consistency!
you can\t beat a choc chip cookie! Loving the little and large sizes here ;)
Wonderful, Celia! The only difference in my house would be the “keeps well for several days”….I can’t imagine these cookies surviving for several days with my 15 year old (197cm tall) Cookie Monster in the house! Must try your recipe. ….my boys would love them!
Celia, the chocolate brownies sound divine and I’m sure my partner who is a coeliac would love them. Where do you get the chestnut flour from? I haven’t seen it here in Adelaide?
Sue, I buy it from Italian grocers, but I’ve been told you can also get it online from http://www.cheznuts.com.au. I haven’t used their service, but from memory other bloggers have.
Cookies never last in my home! As soon as I place them on the cooling racks & turn my back, half disappear! So I stash some aside from now on to share with friends & neighbours. I can’t believe I threw out my Metal Ice cream scoops for the plastic ones! Will need to hunt some down. Thanks for sharing Celia. You’re such a blessing to others. x
Yum…a favourite of mine to both cook and eat. In fact, just a few days ago I made a huge batch that I packed up as a thank you present for someone who has helped us out lately. Great minds obviously think alike x
Oh yummy Celia! I think I’d make little ones so that I’d be able to eat more at once- 4 little ones feels much more decadent than 2 big ones after all :) xo
What a wonderful looking box of goodies! I’ve read a few things about the benefits of resting the dough for choc chip cookies, and I usually do as well as it’s also quite convenient to be able to make a day or so before…love the three chocolate types too :)
What a lovely friend you are. That is a fabulous gift which I am sure will go down very well.
Your chocolate chip cookies look delicious! Ive just posted my IMK for September. Best wishes. Emma xx
Excellent friend and share Ms Celia. Stellar job on both counts :)
I just blogged the “In my kitchen” post of the month.
Next time in the kitchen I´ll be trying your cookies!
http://ale-ligeradeequipaje.blogspot.com.ar/
Good idea… delicious cookies! I think I’d feel less guilty if I ate 20 of the little ones xxx
Lovely looking cookies and I found your tip about using chilled butter and putting the cookies in the fridge overnight very interesting – I didn’t know that!
Yummo. I think I want the big ones. :)
These look great Celia and what a nice gift to receive. I found out first hand what happens when the butter in the dough is not chilled and ended up with the flattest, most spread out cookie dough all over the cookie sheet – it looked like one massive flat cookie. Of course I was in a hurry and it was probably the hottest day of the year when I made that cookie mess. Live, learn, and listen to Celia.
Nothing wrong with a high ratio of chocolate to flour :)
Little chocolate chip cookies are so special. My mom and I would share a fresh batch and go for walks when I was a teen. One lucky friend you have there!
Hubby’s favorite is chocolate chip cookies. He even dares to call it his favorite Christmas cookie! This looks like a good excuse to look for a small ice cream scoop. Of course that just means the boys will think they can eat even more cookies due to their small size!
Hello, I JUST discovered your corner of the here. I haven’t the foggiest what took me so long. I love your blog! I wanted to say hi and what a great job you do here.