Chocolate Chip Cookies and Best Buds

I consider myself pretty fortunate for a lot of things. One of the things I'm most thankful for are the 3 girlfriends who I would describe as my best buddies.  I haven't had a proper best friend (with a title) since I was in school. Even the term 'best friend' seems so 15 years old.  The fact is, these ladies have other friends who they would consider as their 'best friends' but to me, they are everything.

They are the coolest chicks you ever will meet. One is nutso crazy, hilarious and the only person you want to be with on the dance floor. Ever.  One is so chilled out, down to earth and centred that even being around her makes me feel relaxed.  One is generous and kind, can never say a bad word about anyone and probably the most supportive person in my life aside from my husband. To say I am grateful to have these ladies in my life is a massive understatement.

But this isn't a bragging post on how awesome my friends are... It's about appreciating special people.

As I get older, I'm finding it difficult to have people in my life who waste my time. Fake friendships are on the top of my 'get's me so freakin mad!' list. A great friend said the other day 'We have so little time these days, why waste that precious time on people who don't matter?' Too true Annie. You are my Dalai Lama. It's time to shut out negativity and embrace positivity, something I am trying to do every day. So far I'm not very good at it but I'm getting better. Baby steps people, baby steps.

So if you have some genuine people in your life who make you smile, who will always be there for you and who you can count on for pretty much anything, make them some cookies. Like these beauties. There's nothing like a gift of baking to make someone feel the love.

The 3 ladies mentioned above all just had babies and I made these for them and they're gorgeous tired husbands while they were in hospital.  When I had H all I craved, while sitting around all day feeding, was cookies. Big, fat, moist, chocolate filled cookies. These have just the right amount of crispness on the outside, softness on the inside and 50/50 ratio of chocolate chips to dough. Perfection.

First, you'll need to forget everything you know about bringing your ingredients to room temperature and leave your eggs in the fridge. I'm not sure why, but Nigella says to and I always do what Nigella tells me. I love her.

Then, it's simply a matter of mixing the melted butter, sugar and vanilla together. Then add eggs, flour and baking soda then the chips. Easy peasy. I've restrained myself and only used 375 grams of chips but have been known to use 500 grams. Oh my!

Isn't cookie dough glorious? It's was a whopper of a hot day in Brisbane yesterday so your dough might be a little thicker than this.

Scoop out your cookie dough onto 2 lined baking sheets. I get exactly 24 cookies when using a 4.5 cm ice cream scoop.  Bake in a 170 degrees celsius oven for 17 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges. Then restrain yourself from eating them hot off the baking tray. Go on, you have the will power.

After allowing them to cool for a few minutes on the tray, transfer your cookies to a cooling rack until you can't possibly wait a second longer to eat one, or three. I like mine with weak coffee.

If you have more self control than I do, pop them onto a covered cake plate and stand back to admire your baking prowess. Having these on my kitchen counter makes me feel so Martha Stewart. However, as I have been known sneak out in the middle of the night to devour one of these incredible cookies, they were promptly packaged up and shipped off to my mothers group ladies. Better off on their thighs than mine. Sorry gals.

Chocolate Chip Cookies - Adapted from Nigella Lawson's recipe. 

125 grams light brown sugar
100 grams caster (superfine) sugar
150 grams unsalted butter melted and allowed to cool slightly
2 tsps vanilla extract
1 large egg cold from the fridge
1 egg yolk cold from the fridge
300 grams plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
375 - 500 grams of chocolate chips, morsels or chunks

2 baking trays lined with baking paper

Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius

1. Melt butter and allow to cool slightly.
2. In a stand mixer, with a hand mixer or by hand, cream the butter and sugars together until incorporated.
3. Add your vanilla, egg and egg yolk and mix until combined.
4. Using a whisk or sifting if you're not as lazy as I am, combine your flour and baking soda then add to the sugar mixture about 1 cup at a time. Be careful not to over mix.
5. Rain in your chocolate and pulse a few times if using a stand mixer or stir in by hand.
6. Using an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop mixture onto lined baking trays.
7. Bake on the middle shelves of your preheated oven for 15 - 18 minutes depending on the size of your cookies. Check for browning around the edges, the darker your brown, the crunchier your cookies will be.
8. Cool on tray for a few minutes before moving to wire rack.

Enjoy!
Bel xx