heston's chocolate chip cookies

These are probably the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever made.  

Actually, they're probably the best chocolate chip cookies that I've ever eaten.  

They almost made me cry chocolate chip flavoured tears of joy.  

I have been wanting to share this recipe for over a month now.  When I knew that a new site design was on the cards, I decided to save them.  It was like having a burning secret which you can't tell anyone and you're worried that every time you open your mouth, it will just tumble out.  

(If a certain someone is reading this, I've had a lot of practice recently).  

It's funny, several people have commented on the new design that it's 'so me' (well, obviously they said it was 'so you' because it would have been a bit weird if they'd thought it was 'so them').  That's exactly how I feel when I look at it.  It's like finding that perfect pair of jeans, the ones that were made for you and make your bum look ah-may-zing.

Sadly I don't think these cookies will do anything to my bum other than make it significantly larger.  

But that's okay because I have a pretty small bum to start with and these cookies will make the journey to a giant bum all the better.  

You have to trust me with these cookies; I know they look like a bit of a faff what with the whole make-your-own-chocolate-chips thing.  I promise it's not that difficult though and the results are so worth it. 

Rather than having hard little nuggets of overcooked chocolate, what you have here are swirls of chocolate truffle. And you can flavour the chocolate truffle however you want; the possibilities are endless.  It's really not hard.  All you have to do is melt some chocolate, mix it with cream and golden syrup (potential substitutions here if it's hard to come by) and freeze it. Once the mixture is frozen solid, you chop it up and keep it cold until you're ready to throw it into your cookie dough at the last minute.  Simple.  

I wasn't hugely surprised that these turned out perfectly because they're a recipe from my absolute favourite cookbook of the moment - Heston Blumenthal at Home.  Heston Blumenthal is known for his inventive cooking and scientific techniques and, while there are some recipes that I'm unlikely to ever attempt, most of the recipes in this book are happily approachable with detailed instructions and fascinating background information about techniques and ingredients.  

These cookies are crisp on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside.  Just as they should be.  There is a healthy dose of salt and a hint of depth from the instant coffee.  I halved the quantities and still made 20 cookies or so. Frankly, it would have been dangerous to have any more on hand.  

~

Heston's chocolate chip cookies (makes about 20 cookies)

Ingredients

For the chocolate chips:

• 10g golden syrup
• 70g heavy/double cream
• 65g dark chocolate
• Pinch of salt

For the cookies:

• 220g plain/all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 teaspon baking powder
• 5g salt (this is actually double what you need but I loved it!)
• 1/4 teaspoon instant coffee
• 115g cold butter, cubed
• 260g caster sugar
• 1 large egg
• 10g vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp extract or 1 vanilla pod)

Cooking Directions

To make the chocolate chips:

1. Bring cream and syrup to a simmer. Melt the chocolate in a bain marie.  Take it off the heat when melted.  Combine the hot cream with salt and add to the melted chocolate 1/3 at a time, making sure to incorporate all.
2. Allow to cool a bit before pouring onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Stand at room temp for an hour then freeze until solid (about 4 hours) Remove from freezer and cut into small squares. Freeze until needed.

To make the cookies:

1. Pre heat the oven to 190C/375F. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and coffee into a large bowl.
2. Cream the (cold) butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This may be quite tricky because of the butter and so a stand mixer is probably best but I managed it with a handheld whisk.
3. Add the egg and vanilla and keep whisking until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and mix for 3-5 minutes until a dough is formed.
4. At the last minute add the frozen chocolate chips and mix to incorpate.
5. Place a ice cream scoop of dough (approx 40g) onto parchment paper with plenty of space around each cookie (I got 6-8 on a baking tray).
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool on the baking tray before removing to a wire rack.