Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
by Nigella. Featured in NIGELLA EXPRESS, and Nigella Quick CollectionIntroduction
Along with chocolate, there is much comfort to be gleaned from reading cookbooks. This recipe combines two loves by being chocolatey to the point of madness and having revealed itself to me after a cosy, snuggled-down read of Elinor Klivans' glorious Big Fat Cookies. What I do is make up the full batch of these (hard to divide it really, since it contains only 1 egg) and form all 12 cookies, but bake only half and freeze the other half. I freeze them on a little tray and, once they're hard, I bung them in a freezer bag, seal it and stash it back in the freeze, to bake them unthawed at a later date. That way, I've got 6 chocolate cookies to keep me and my family happy without any time or effort.
This is what I call an investment. And it's worth it - these are the chocolatiest cookies you will ever come across.
Along with chocolate, there is much comfort to be gleaned from reading cookbooks. This recipe combines two loves by being chocolatey to the point of madness and having revealed itself to me after a cosy, snuggled-down read of Elinor Klivans' glorious Big Fat Cookies. What I do is make up the full batch of these (hard to divide it really, since it contains only 1 egg) and form all 12 cookies, but bake only half and freeze the other half. I freeze them on a little tray and, once they're hard, I bung them in a freezer bag, seal it and stash it back in the freeze, to bake them unthawed at a later date. That way, I've got 6 chocolate cookies to keep me and my family happy without any time or effort.
This is what I call an investment. And it's worth it - these are the chocolatiest cookies you will ever come across.
Ingredients
Makes: 12 cookies
- 125 grams dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
- 150 grams plain flour
- 30 grams cocoa powder (sieved)
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 125 grams soft unsalted butter
- 75 grams soft light brown sugar
- 50 grams white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg (cold from the fridge)
- 350 grams dark chocolate chips (or semi sweet chocolate morsels)
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa (sieved)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick soft unsalted butter
- ½ cup soft light brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg (cold from the fridge)
- 2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (or semi sweet chocolate morsels)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3/325ºF. Melt the 125g / 4oz dark chocolate either in the microwave or in a heatproof dish over a pan of simmering water.
- Put the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl.
- Cream the butter and sugars in another bowl. (I use my freestanding mixer, itself an odd source of comfort to me.) Add the melted chocolate and mix together.
- Beat in the vanilla extract and cold egg, and then mix in the dry ingredients. Finally stir in the chocolate morsels or chips.
- Scoop out 12 equal-sized mounds - an ice cream scoop and a palette knife are the best tools for the job - and place on a lined baking sheet about 6cm apart. Do not flatten them.
- Cook for 18 minutes, testing with a cake tester to make sure it comes out semi-clean and not wet with cake batter. If you pierce a chocolate chip, try again.
- Leave to cool slightly on the baking sheet for 4-5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to harden as they cool.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3/325ºF. Melt the 125g / 4oz bittersweet chocolate either in the microwave or in a heatproof dish over a pan of simmering water.
- Put the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a bowl.
- Cream the butter and sugars in another bowl. (I use my freestanding mixer, itself an odd source of comfort to me.) Add the melted chocolate and mix together.
- Beat in the vanilla extract and cold egg, and then mix in the dry ingredients. Finally stir in the chocolate morsels or chips.
- Scoop out 12 equal-sized mounds - an ice cream scoop and a palette knife are the best tools for the job - and place on a lined baking sheet about 6cm apart. Do not flatten them.
- Cook for 18 minutes, testing with a cake tester to make sure it comes out semi-clean and not wet with cake batter. If you pierce a chocolate chip, try again.
- Leave to cool slightly on the baking sheet for 4-5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to harden as they cool.
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Show more commentsThese are really very good...I changed the chips to a mix of milk as well, and white choc chips added was also good. I've tried adding grated orange zest and sour cherries and I have to add some nuts. Pistachio was gorgeous, but a also almond or toasted hazelnuts. Try with finely chopped stem ginger or finely ground star anise ( only a little) They're the best choc chip cookies i've tried. Great to put in a nice bag and give as gifts...or just eat them all yourself! Experiment -the world is your choc chip!
I
ve just baked these cookies; theyre still hot, but smell so delicious that I can`t resist.... Simply amazing & my man will definitely love them. :-)questi biscotti sono spettacolari! Io li inzuppo nel latte a colazione! Wow
Made these cookies the other day and my family absolutely loved them! They all said they tasted store bought and had no clue that i'd made them from scratch! Fab recipe Nigella it worked out perfectly. Cookies came out crispy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside! A great treat for everyone! Thank you!
I was so disappointed when I scorched my first batch - I have a fan oven and should have checked the oven temp before baking ... 24hrs later and I felt compelled to bake a 2nd batch = perfection! Super pleased and so yummy.
I made these cookies for the first time today, and they are sooo good! I did not have the chocolate to melt so I skipped that item, but everything else was the same. They are still seriously chocolatey and squidgy inside. I made them a bit smaller in size so was able to get a few more cookies to the batch. Lovely!
Do you have to have as much chocolate chips in the recipe?
Tried these cookies.....and have not stopped making them!!! Gifted these to friends and family for Diwali recently instead of the normal Indian Sweets and they loved it! Thank you Nigella! What i wanted to know was...can we do these without the egg?
is it plain flour or self raising she uses? Also are they very dark chocolaty or would someone who prefers milk chocolate like them too??
The best chocolate cookies i've ever had in my entire life.. And this is a keeper
I just made these now and they are SO GOOD. I am far from being what anyone would consider a good baker, but these were so easy and delicious! I don't like cookies, or deserts in general, which are two sweet, but the dark chocolate in this really helps give it that rich chocolate flavour without them being sickly. Yum!
I made these today and they are just scrumptious!