Tollhouse Cookies Recipe

Or just Chocolate Chip Cookies if you like!  I have been cooking these for years.  They were probably the first cookie recipe I tried and I have never needed to look elsewhere.  I’ve tweaked the recipe here and there and made several variations over the years but simple is best I think.  These are best enjoyed warm with a cold glass of milk.  They may be good on their own but just wait til you try them with milk!  They have the perfect texture somehow managing to be crunchy yet slightly chewy too and if you can restrain yourself they keep quite well too. 

Makes 24

115g butter softened*
50g granulated sugar
75g dark brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
125g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
a pinch of salt
180g chocolate chips (or whatever weight your bag is. I used Cadburys Chunks which weigh 180g If using a small bag, say 100g, use 2 bags.)

– Heat the oven to gas mark 4 and grease 3 baking trays. 
– Cream together the butter and both sugars until it is light, fluffy and there are absolutely no lumps. 
– Beat together the egg and vanilla and then gradually add this to the butter and sugar mix, mixing thoroughly between additions.  If it curdles (goes a bit weird and lumpy looking) just add a tbsp of the flour and continue to mix. 
– Sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt and mix well.  It may look as if it will never cream together if you’re doing it by hand rather than in a mixer as I do but keep mixing and it will come together nicely. 
– Add the chocolate chips  and stir through until evenly distributed. 
– Place heaped teaspoonfuls of the mixture on the prepared trays leaving 2 inches between each mound.  These cookies will spread out so do leave the space. 
– Bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned. 
– Remove from the oven and leave on the tray for a minute before removing with a flat knife and transfering to a wire rack to cook to eating temperature. 

* When baking always use room temperature ingredients, if they’re coming from the fridge then take them out at least 30 minutes in advance.  If your butter still isn’t soft enough to cream I find that 10 seconds in the microwave does the trick but no longer!