Chunky Chocolate Cookies

the best bit about comfort baking, is that you can while your woes away into thick chocolatey goodness whilst pretending that your sharing your love with the family. when i think of comfort, i think of chocolate, ice cream, a cuppa and a happy movie. this is one step towards that ideal. i got the recipe from the hamlyn 200 cakes and bakes book, my new love. except me, being the ditzy person i am, used plain flour instead of self raising, so rather than being soft and chewy, they're brittle and crunchy. ahh well, not the end of the world i guess.

now, forget all those people who say 'you must use the best chocolate possible' because, in the case of white chocolate, i don't think you'll be getting your money's worth. i used menier white chocolate, simply because it was in the house and my dad was paying for it :) but if i was buying it myself, you can bet your life that i'd be buying milky bars and dairy milk!

the cookie dough was really, really dry, so i added some water, and it seemed to turn out okay. there also seemed to be more chocolate than dough, but to be honest, i'm not complaining! the more chocolate, the better!

the size of the cookies was a bit hit and miss really, i think it depends on whether you want large millie's sized cookies, or small maryland sized cookies. i went for somewhere in the middle, and just used a golf ball sized ball of dough, and then slightly squished down, not flattened, but just a bit flatter, oval sized.

this recipe made 20 odd cookies (after eating some of the dough - i couldn't resist!) and filled up my cookies jar, making it look healthily stocked :)

Ingredients;
75g Butter
175g Caster Sugar
1 Egg
150g Self Raising Flour
2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
100g White Chocolate, chopped
100g Dark Chocolate, chopped
splash of warm water
pinch of salt

cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
mix in the egg, flour, cocoa and salt.
mix in the water until all the flour has been combined and the cookie dough seems to be the right texture.
add the chopped chocolate, and use your hands to mix it evenly through the dough.
roll golf ball sized pieces of the dough and place them on a greased baking sheet, spaced apart.
bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until soft but cooked.
transfer the cookies to a cooling rack immediatly or the cooling chocolate will stick to the sheet.

why couldn't life be as simple as a cookie?
eat warm with a steaming mug of tea, watching sunday morning telly.

sarahhh xxx