My blog has faded into the background of late, I mentioned it briefly in other recent posts so I’m not going to say any more about it here. Instead I’m just going to rave about cookies and how wonderful they are. I used to have a different go to cookie recipe, it’s on the blog and I’d still recommend it as a great one, but this one has taken its place. It’s an incredibly simple recipe that does require you to have some waiting time, and also has the added bonus of being completely vegan. It’s not asking you to make any awkward substitutes, and if you aren’t then you can stress less about the chocolate you’re putting in it. It just happens to be a very simple oil based cookie dough that doesn’t use butter or eggs. Chilling the dough is absolutely essential for the success of these cookies. A sprinkle of sea salt over each just before you bake them adds a pleasant salty burst, but if you don’t want it, it’s not needed.
There’s something about a cookie that just speaks to people. Maybe it’s something about the simplicity, or the portion size. Maybe it’s the hit of chocolate accompanied by a slight chew from the dough. Either way, you could sit and work your way through a tin of these with the same efficiency that England will get rolled over with by the first decent team they meet in this summer’s world cup in Russia. You’ll enjoy them with as much relish as the tabloids will have laying in to the players the next day as they take more joy in their defeat than if they’d actually won.
OK, I’m excited about the world cup, but these cookies are great, you should bake them.
- 250g plain white flour
- 1tsp baking powder
- ¾tsp baking soda
- ½tsp fine salt
- 200g dark chocolate (over 60%)
- 100g granulated sugar
- 110g packed light or dark brown sugar
- 120ml oil (like vegetable, sunflower or canola)
- 75ml water
- Flaky sea salt, to garnish
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, bicarb and fine salt. Toss through the chocolate chips so they're well coated in the flour.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk the sugars with the oil, vanilla and water, until smooth and incorporated. This'll take around 2 minutes.
- Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and stir until the flour is no longer visible but it's just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- Cover with something air tight. Place in the fridge for 12-24 hours. Do not skip this chilling step as it's essential to the cookies turning out how you want them.
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan assisted) and line a couple of baking trays with greaseproof paper.
- Spoon the dough into tablespoon sized balls on the trays. You'll get around 6 per tray. You can place them in the freezer for 10 minutes if you wish, but it's not essential.
- Sprinkle with the salt and place in the center of the preheated oven.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes. The edges will be golden but the center still gooey.
- Remove and leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.