Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies eternally on trend. I’m sure they’ve gone through almost as many eras as Madonna or Taylor Swift. From classic, to giant, skillet, levain, and even pots (thanks Nigella!)!
Throughout all their delicious iterations, I’ve always been drawn back to the classic version my Mum would make from the Australian classic cookbook – the Women’s Weekly Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits. These biscuits were a fixture in my house growing up in the 90s, alongside my other favourite from this book - the peanut butter crinkle.
Inspired by these memories from a simpler time, I’ve taken this treasured recipe and used it as the base for my very own chocolate chip cookies. A remix of a classic.
Like the classics that inspired them, these are smaller than most cookies you see today and, controversially for some, they also include nuts. You can leave these out, but for me the nuts add a much-needed texture and flavour contrast to the chocolate chips.
There are two other magic ingredients in these cookies – burnt butter, and sea salt flakes. Together, they add so many layers of interesting flavour that make these so exciting to eat.
My final word of advice is to rest the dough overnight. This simple act of patience will take your cookies to a scrumptious new level. It gives the dough a chance to develop and enhance its flavours and hydrate the dry ingredients resulting in a more complex and delicious biscuit. You can read more in the article I wrote for Life Hacker here - https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2023/06/cookie-dough-hack-bake-off/.
Watch my how-to video on Instagram
INGREDIENTS
200g unsalted butter, burnt (you need 135g burnt butter for this recipe)
100g caster sugar
120g light brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
A significant pinch of salt
250g self-raising flour
140g dark chocolate chips, plus extra for decoration
60g pecans, roughly chopped
A small bowl filled with sea salt flakes, to dabbing the cookie dough balls in
METHOD
Burnt butter
Dice your butter into rough cubes and put in a medium saucepan. Place on a medium/low heat and stir until the melts.
Stir the butter occasionally as the butter browns – about 10 – 15 minutes. Here are the stages your butter will go through:
The milk solids will start to separate, and you’ll start seeing white dots bubble and simmer to the surface.
The butter will then start to boil and foam. Remember to keep stirring every minute or so.
As the butter continues to brown, the foam will subside and continue to boil. Remember to keep stirring every minute or so.
After a few minutes, the butter will start to foam up again in a more dramatic way than it did before. Browned, caramelised milk solids will start to emerge on the surface of the foam. This is when you immediately take the butter off the heat.
Carefully pour into a heat-proof bowl and leave the butter cool on the bench. You want the butter to be cool and the consistency of a thick buttercream.
To make the biscuits
Using hand beaters of a stand mixer, cream the browned butter and sugars together in a large bowl until light and creamy.
Add the egg, vanilla and salt and beat until well combined.
Add the flour and slowly beat until almost combined.
Add the chocolate chips and chopped pecans and beat on low until fully combined and the chocolate and pecans are evenly distributed.
If you can, cover the dough and rest in the fridge overnight or for up to 3 days before baking. The flavour enhances as the dough rests, so you’ll reap delicious rewards for your patience!
Preheat your oven to 170 degrees C and line 2 large baking trays with baking paper.
Roll generous teaspoon-sized portions of the dough into balls. Gently dab each into the small bowl of sea salt flakes and then pace on your prepared trays, leaving 3-4cm between each ball. Once the trays are full, place them in the fridge for 15-30 minutes.
Once chilled, bake the biscuits in the pre-heated oven for 12-18 minutes, or until golden brown.
Once baked, immediately stud each cookie with some extra chocolate chips, and then leave to cool on the tray for 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling tray to cool fully.
Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
