These chocolate chip cookies started out as an adaptation of an American recipe I discovered many years ago (hence why I always call these “cookies” but everything else “biscuits”) but was the first recipe that I changed dramatically multiple times to suit my own tastes. I suppose it was the first recipe that I created – the first where I just went with my gut feeling. You always remember your first.
Can I share a secret with you? I never really used to like cooking. When I first moved out of home it was a chore that needed doing just like cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming and killing cockroaches with my bare hands (I was living in a very old and dilapidated apartment block at the time – perhaps that’s a story for another day?).
Over time, I came to love cooking and began creating my own recipes.
But baking is a different story. Baking is in my genes I think. Some of my earliest memories are of my mother standing in our bright orange 1970s kitchen baking jam tarts, apple pies or cream puffs. Even when I moved out of home and hated the thought of cooking a meal, baking a tray of brownies or biscuits was always something I enjoyed doing. Perhaps the precise measuring of butter and sugar and flour appealed to my inner nerd?
Chocolate Chip Cookies
{Makes about 36 cookies}
Ingredients
- 150g butter
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tspn vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 3/4 cups self-raising flour
- 1/2 tspn salt
- 125g milk chocolate chips
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line two baking trays with baking paper.
- Use a mixer to cream together the butter, sugars and vanilla.
- Add the egg and mix until well combined.
- Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and salt.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Roll the mixture into small balls and flatten slightly between your palms, then place on the baking trays – be sure to leave room for them to spread a little.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden.
- Remove from trays and place on a wire rack to cool.
Stored in an air-tight container, these cookies will keep fresh for 5-6 days.
Do you prefer baking over cooking?
