Whenever I make my chocolate cookies, I get a lot of requests for the recipe. A long time ago, this was a recipe that I got from the internet1. But I’ve adjusted it so much that it really has nothing to do with that recipe anymore. So here it is!

The Ingredients

  • 250 g butter (unsalted), at room temperature
  • 240 g dark brown sugar (the choice of sugar really affects the cookies – the softer, the better; I recommend Dark Brown Muscovado)
  • 2 medium or large eggs
  • 500 g flour (regular white flour)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 tube liquid vanilla extract/aroma OR 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar OR juice of one lemon
  • 400 g baking chocolate (sliced & diced)

The batter

  • Take the butter out of the refrigerator at least an hour before you start, better two or three, so that it’s got room temperature. Place the butter in a large bowl and cream it at high speed until it’s fluffy.
  • Add the sugar to the butter and cream until the mixture is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes).
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, until everything is completely mixed.
  • Add the vanilla extract and mix thoroughly.
  • In a seperate bowl, weigh the flour and mix in the salt and baking soda. Mix thoroughly.
  • Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture at low speed until everything is just combined – better not overmix here.
  • Slice up two bars of baking chocolate and add to the mixture. Mix until completely combined. (I prefer sliced baking chocolate because it creates a lot of tiny chunks and chocolate dust, which improves the cookies comparing to using store-bought chocolate chunks.)

Time for a break! The batter now needs to cool down and rest, so put it in the fridge for at least two hours, better overnight. Then, the next day, continue with…

The baking

  • Preheat your oven to 175° Celsius.
  • Using a spoon, scrape spoonfuls of batter from the bowl and then using the palms of your hands make little balls. Then flatten them and put them on a baking tray lined with baking parchment paper. (This step is very important. A lot of chocolate chip cookie recipes just tell you to drop a spoonful of batter on the baking sheet, but they always end up a gooey mess. Forming them makes them so much better.)
  • Put the formed dough on the parchment leaving enough room between them (they will expand a bit). With the recipe you can just about fit all cookies on two trays.
  • Put the full tray into the oven and bake for about 9-10 minutes, turning the tray once.
  • Leave in the oven until the edges are golden brown and the middle is still soft (but NOT bubbly).
  • Cool on a wire rack.

And that’s it! Enjoy your cookies! Of course you can also experiment with the flavours – I’ve tried a few variations, using lemon instead of vanilla, but so far the vanilla extract has worked best. I’ve also tried variations with different types of chocolate, like strawberry cheesecake chocolate, orange chocolate, etc., but the simple baking chocolate is still the best.