baileys and chocolate chip cookies

What's better than Heston's chocolate chip cookies?  Heston's chocolate chip cookies with added booze!

I do love the fact that Christmas makes it perfect acceptable to add booze to random foodstuffs.

We have had a thoroughly festive weekend with a Christmas party on Saturday (for which these were a contribution) and a little last-minute shopping followed by our annual viewing of Home Alone yesterday.  Then last night we abandoned the warmth of our flat to head to a carol service at the Royal Albert Hall.  Is there anything better than a couple of glasses of champagne and a singalong?

Part of me does wish that I wasn't at work that week but I'm trying to save my holiday-days for the summer.  I'm not sure that I'll view a week under a duvet watching DVDs as quite such a good use of my time come July as it seems now.

One of my favourite days of the Christmas period is Christmas Eve.  If we are hosting Christmas, the day is planned with military efficiency.  I love the sense of anticipation as we all gather in the kitchen to prepare stuffing or peel vegetables, singing along to the carol service from King's College, Cambridge which is always broadcast in the afternoon of Christmas Eve.  We are actually going elsewhere for Christmas day this year but there will be no shortage of jobs to keep us busy on Christmas day.  From making mince pies to writing gift tags, everything has to be done before we allowed to crack open the booze and start celebrating.

 

If, of course, you hadn't already cracked open the booze to make alcohol-laden cookies.

These cookies are adapted from the Heston Blumenthal chocolate chip cookies that I made a few weeks ago.  I added some Baileys to the chocolate chip mixture (and decreased the amount of cream) and then, for a double hit, added a splash to the cookie dough itself, increasing the amount of flour to try and compensate.    The alcohol made the cookie slightly crisper than previous incarnations.  The Baileys isn't overwhelming but there is a satisfying gentle kick of booze.

~

Baileys and chocolate chip cookies (makes about 20 cookies)

Adapted from Heston's chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients

For the chocolate chips:

• 10g golden syrup
• 50ml heavy/double cream
• 20ml Baileys
• 65g dark chocolate
• Pinch of salt

For the cookies:

• 230g 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
• 20ml Baileys
• 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 Baileys 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, vanilla and Baileys 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.