Chocolate chip and walnut cookies

Sastojci

220 g (8 oz) unsalted butter,

softened

170 g (6 oz) soft brown sugar

130 g (4½ oz) raw caster (superfine) sugar

8 g (¼ Oz) fine sea salt

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste)

280 g (10 oz) wholemeal (whole-wheat) flour

5 g (⅛ oz) baking powder

3 g (1o Oz) bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

1 egg (60 g/2 oz), lightly beaten

350 g (12½ oz) dark chocolate (at least 60% cocoa), roughly chopped

175 g (6 oz) walnuts, roughly chopped

Upute

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugars, salt and vanilla. Start on a low speed and gradually increase the speed to high, until you have a pale and fluffy mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to mix everything well.

Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together into a bowl. The bran particles won't go through the sieve - don't discard them, just add them back in and mix well.

With the mixer speed on low, add the egg in two or three additions. Run the mixer at high speed between each addition to fully incorporate the egg before adding more. Scrape down the side of the bowl as necessary.

With the mixer turned off, add the flour mixture. Mix at low speed until just incorporated.

Add the chocolate and walnuts, then mix at low speed until just until just incorporated.

Transfer your cookie dough into an airtight container and refrigerate overnight. This will help the flavours to mature, and your cookies will taste even better.

The next day, preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Divide the dough into 18 equal portions roughly 75 g (2¾ oz) each. Roll each portion into a ball, and then slightly squash each one into a puck. (At this stage you can freeze some or all of your cookies for future use.) Line a baking tray with baking paper and put the cookie balls onto the tray, spacing them evenly apart. They will spread quite a lot during baking.

Bake for 14-16 minutes until golden and crisp. If you like them really crunchy, bake them a little longer. Cool on the tray for a few minutes then enjoy warm cookie!

Once cool, store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Bilješke

Chocolate chip and walnut cookies

The combination of chocolate and walnuts is just so good. The use of wholemeal flour in this recipe complements the pairing and adds depth of flavour, resulting in a cookie that is the perfect balance of sweet, salty and nutty. As this is a large batch of cookies, we often bake just half and freeze the other half once rolled. Having cookies in the freezer is like having a secret stash of loot. The dough keeps for up to 3 months in the freezer and can be baked from frozen - just add a couple of minutes to the bake time.

Makes 18 cookies

Michael + Pippa James