Super Flexible Cookie Recipe

I received some great Seed & Bean Chocolate in the post the other day which I initially decided to just eat and eat and eat but then thought it might be a good idea to test some in the cooking department so I made cookies. 

I had three different flavours of chocolate to test.  I didn't want to use too much of it for this experiment so divided the dough into 6 and flavoured them thus …

1.  Dark Chocolate with Chilli & Lime

2.  Milk Chocolate with Cornish Sea Salt & Lime

3.  Lemon Poppy Seed White Chocolate

4.  Granola

5.  Salted Roasted Nuts

6.  Rum & “Raisin”

Look …

Key Cookie Recipe …

120g soft butter

100g caster sugar
50g light brown sugar

1 egg
½ tsp real vanilla extract

240g plain flour

pinch of salt

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

about 180g of chosen mix-ins

~   Cream together the butter and sugars.
~   Beat the egg together with vanilla extract.
~   Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
~   Gradually whisk in the egg (and here’s a handy hint – add a tablespoon of flour at the same time and the mixture is less likely to curdle).
~   Gradually stir in the flour mixture together with chosen additions to make a stiff-ish dough.
~   Now here’s a great thing about this dough … put it in the fridge overnight at least and in theory up to 72 hours. I’m afraid I couldn’t wait that long, I was brave and strong and waited about 36 hours.

~   Preheat the oven to 350°F/180ºC/160ºC fan/gas 4.
~   Divide the dough into walnut sized balls (or bigger for bigger cookies, or sticks for long cookies) and place not too close together on baking sheets.

~   Squash them a bit!
~   Bake till golden and puffed but still a bit squidgy to the touch.

~   Cool on a rack.

  

This  made 22  variously sized soft cookies with crispy edges. I have personally tested one of each and they all worked well …

~   The Dark Chocolate and Chill was fabulous, of course. The Cornish Sea Salt and Lime was good too but then chilli is always the go for me! 

~   Next time I make the Lemon Poppy Seed White Chocolate cookies I think I’ll add a little lemon zest to continue the theme.

 ~  The granola cookie made a fine breakfast drizzled with a little honey. Next time I shall try replacing a tablespoon of sugar with honey when making the dough.

 ~  The salted nuts needed more nuts, or at least not both of them in the same place!, and more salt. I think next time I’ll sprinkle with a little crunchy sea salt before baking.

 ~  The rum and raisin-ish cookie I made with rum soaked dried fruits, (you'll have to scroll down a bit but it's worth it!) was soft, cakey and pleasantly boozy.

Don't forget it - pin it!

Other cookie additions that spring to mind …

~   A knob or two of stem ginger, coarsely chopped – this would be good either instead of or as well as dark chocolate chips.

~   Dried fruits that have not been macerated in alcohol, as opposed to the ones above, dried cranberries and orange zest would be a nice combination.
~   Coarsely chopped toffee or fudge.
~   A spoonful of ground coffee – also good with chocolate chips.
~   Toasted almonds with a drip or two of almond essence.

~   Toasted coconut.
~   Ground cinnamon.
~   Different essences and extracts – peppermint for instance, again with chocky.

Experiment – I did!

I do love a basic recipe, me!  If you have several of these in your brain, or other handy place, then you are really ready to cook – I've written a few books in a series I have called my Genius Recipes Series.