Cookie Experiments

I've been experimenting with cookie recipes recently.

It all started when I went through my baking supplies and discovered the dried strawberry bits I'd bought last year. I decided that they would make a great addition to cookies, so taking Joy the Baker's recipe for Cappuccino Cookies as a base, I set about creating a recipe for Strawberries & Cream Cookies.

I replaced the extra egg yolk with a tablespoon of cream and slightly reduced the amount of sugar to compensate for the lack of bitter coffee in my version. In the end, they were still a touch too sweet for me, and the salt levels also needed adjusting, but overall I was quite pleased with my changes.

Today, I thought it might be a good idea to use the same base recipe to attempt one of my baking holy grails: Chocolate chocolate chip cookies. Taking my experiences with the strawberry cookies as guidelines, I reduced the sugar further, and then replaced 45g of flour with cocoa powder. I also reduced the amount of salt by half to just half a teaspoon. The result was exactly what I was looking for, a tender cookie that isn't too sweet with plenty of chocolate chunks, which if baked just right stays soft in the middle with a crunchy edge. Perfect.



Strawberries & Cream Cookies

• 225g softened unsalted butter
• 125g soft brown sugar
• 100g granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 295g plain flour
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 200g dried strawberries, chopped
• 150g white chocolate chips

1. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
2. Beat butter and the two sugars until fluffy.
3. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract and beat until well mixed.
4. Fold in the flour mix until just combined with a metal spoon.
5. Stir in the strawberries and chocolate chips.
6. Shape dough into balls with a small ice cream scoop or some spoons and chill. You can also freeze the cookies on a tray at this stage and bake later from frozen.
7. Bake at 180°C for 12-15 minutes until the middle starts to crack and the edges firm up.
8. Cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes then move onto wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 225g softened unsalted butter
• 125g soft brown sugar
• 100g granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 250g plain flour
• 45g cocoa powder
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 200g white chocolate chips
• 100g dark chocolate chips

1. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
2. Beat butter and the two sugars until fluffy.
3. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract and beat until well mixed.
4. Fold in the flour mix until just combined with a metal spoon.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Shape dough into balls with a small ice cream scoop or some spoons and chill. You can also freeze the cookies on a tray at this stage and bake later from frozen.
7. Bake at 180°C for 12-15 minutes until the middle starts to crack and the edges firm up.
8. Cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes then move onto wire rack to cool completely.