Making chocolate chip cookies has always been my favourite weekend activity. It is a chance to unwind from the working week and bake something delicious for family and friends.

I have made numerous cookies over the years, but this recipe always seems to come out on top, hence the ‘Best Ever’ title. The recipe below comes from a favourite cookbook of mine, Gran’s Sweet Pantry by Natalie Oldfield, but I have tweaked it slightly, for example, the recipe originally says to bake the cookies for 15 minutes, but I like mine chewy in the middle, so I bake them for 10-12 minutes.

Makes approximately 24-30 cookies.

Ingredients
2 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate buttons, roughly chopped
180g unsalted butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar (I like Billingtons)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line two (or three if needed) baking trays. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda and chocolate and set aside.

3. In an electric mixer (I love the KitchenAid Stand Mixer), combine the butter and both sugars until light and creamy. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla essence and continue to mix. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir to combine well.

4. Use a cookie scoop to make perfectly round cookie dough balls (you can buy one here) and place them on the lined baking trays, about 5cm apart. Lightly flatten them with a fork.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool.

* Serve with a glass of cold milk or a nice hot cup of tea. x

Tips
– For a slightly crunchier cookie, bake them for 15 minutes
– I usually use a cookie scoop, rather than rolling them (you can buy them from most kitchenware stores)
– You don’t have to use chocolate buttons – one time I used Lindt dark chocolate and they were delicious!