Ingredients
Method
- Start by getting organised. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt — quick, light, no drama.
- In a second bowl, add the butter and both sugars. Using an electric hand mixer, beat for 4–5 minutes until pale, fluffy and looking like it knows it’s about to become a cookie. Add the egg and beat again until fully combined, then mix in the vanilla for that bakery smell we all love.
- Tip in the dry ingredients and mix just until a dough comes together — don’t overdo it. Fold in the chocolate until evenly scattered and irresistible.
- Now for the patience bit. Chill the dough for 24–48 hours if you can. This gives better flavour, deeper caramel notes and a more impressive bake. In a rush? A few hours in the fridge will still do the job — just enough so the dough firms up and doesn’t spread everywhere.
- When you’re ready, heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / Gas 4 and line two baking trays with baking paper.
- Roll the dough into balls (about 60–70g each — generous, as it should be), sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and space them out on the trays so they’ve got room to spread and shine.
- Bake for 16–18 minutes, until golden at the edges but still soft and pale in the middle. Leave them to sit for a few minutes (they’ll finish setting), then transfer to a wire rack.
- Eat warm if possible, or store in a sealed container for up to 4 days — assuming they last that long.
Notes
When it comes to chocolate, you’ve got options. You can go classic with chips, but chopping up a bar or using chocolate discs is my favourite move — better quality chocolate, melty pockets, and those lovely irregular chunks that make cookies look properly bakery-worthy. Rule of thumb: use a chocolate you genuinely love eating on its own.
Feel free to be a little adventurous with mix-ins — nuts, dried fruit, extra chocolate, the odd surprise — but keep the total extras to 250g. Any more than that and the cookies start to lose their perfect texture and bake.
The dough balls freeze beautifully too. Arrange them on a lined tray and freeze for about an hour until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag or sealed container. Freezing them flat first stops them sticking together. When a cookie craving hits, bake straight from frozen, just adding an extra minute or so to the baking time.
Take your time when creaming the butter and sugar. Once they’re combined, keep beating — the mixture will turn paler and fluffier. That’s your cue that it’s ready.
Finally, be gentle when mixing in the flour. A light hand keeps the cookies soft and tender; overmixing is the fast track to tough, chewy biscuits (and nobody wants that).
