Prep 20minBake 15-25 minMakes about 12 large cookies
This great basic cookie recipe (requiring only a bowl and a wooden spoon to mix) can be customised depending on your flavour and texture preferences… Choose from the suggested ingredients to add your twist and to personalise the cookies – the variation options are only limited by your imagination (and a little baking science)!
Ingredients
Base
125g salted butter, melted
110g (½ cup) caster sugar
110g (½ cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
1 egg
185g-225g plain flour (see Baker's Tips)
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Ingredients for flavour (choose at least 1)
1-2 teaspoons vanilla essence or extract or vanilla bean paste
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 orange, lemon or lime, zest finely grated
Sea salt flakes, to taste
Ingredients for texture (choose at least 1)
100g chocolate (dark, milk, white or a combination) – 150g if not using nuts also
100g toasted nuts (macadamias, pecans, salted peanuts, peeled hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts or pistachios), coarsely chopped
150g Smarties or M&M's
100g soft caramels, chopped
1 cup shredded or flaked coconut
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Line a large oven tray with non-stick baking paper.
- Combine the butter, caster sugar and brown sugar in a medium bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth and well combined. Add the egg (and vanilla and/or citrus zest if using) and beat with the wooden spoon until the mixture becomes pale, creamy and thickens slightly (this will take 1-2 minutes).
- Sift together the flour (see Baker’s Tips) and bicarbonate of soda (and cinnamon if using). Add to the butter mixture and stir until well combined. Add the chocolate, nuts, Smarties, M&M's and/or caramels and stir to combine evenly.
- Roll 2 level tablespoonfuls (see Baker's Tips) of the cookie dough into balls and place on the lined oven tray about 10cm apart (see Baker's Tips).
- Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes. Lift the baking tray on one side and let it fall back onto the oven rack 3 times (see Baker’s Tips). Sprinkle with coconut or finely chopped nuts if using. Bake for 5 minutes longer then lift the baking tray on one side and let it fall back onto the oven rack 3 times again. Bake for a further 5-15 minutes (see Baker’s Tips).
- Cool the cookies on the trays for 5 minutes or until firm enough to transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.
Baker's Tips
- Using less flour (185g) will mean that your cookies will spread more and be thinner than if you use more flour (225g).
- To bake smaller cookies, roll 1 tablespoon measure of dough into balls and place on the oven trays at least 7cm apart. Bake as per recipe.
- You can use a small ice-cream scoop to scoop your cookie dough and place it straight onto the oven trays but you will find the cookies will be more evenly shaped if rolled before baking.
- Chilling the balls of dough for 30 minutes before baking will give your cookies more contrast in texture between the centre and the outer edge.
- Banging the trays on the oven racks during baking will give the cookies a ‘crinkled’ appearance once baked and will also be thinner than those that aren’t.
- You can determine the texture of these cookies by adjusting the baking time. 15 minutes will give you a cookie with a soft, chewy centre and crisp outer; 20 minutes will give you a slightly soft centre and crisp outer; while 25 minutes will mean the cookies are crisp all the way through.
- These cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
