Best ever big fat chewy choc-chip cookies

orangecake

I really want to give this recipe a try because its had such great reviews but as a cookie making virgin I have a question about laying them out. When I put the batter onto the parchment do I just drop it onto the sheet or do I flatten it down with the back of a spoon or something? Or does it just assume its own shape in the baking?

Gazza22

orangecake wrote: »

I really want to give this recipe a try because its had such great reviews but as a cookie making virgin I have a question about laying them out. When I put the batter onto the parchment do I just drop it onto the sheet or do I flatten it down with the back of a spoon or something? Or does it just assume its own shape in the baking?

Yeah if you just take a big spoonful of the dough and crudely place it on the tray, it will shape itself - no need to flatten it at all!

orangecake

Thanks for that!

Overflow

What should the consistancy of the dough be like, mine is like a very gooey sticky dough when i follow the recipe, i added more flour to firm up the dough, its more like a bread dough now, its that right ?

Also should i shape them into a cookie shape on the baking tray or just put a ball of dough on the tray ?

Twee.

Mine were of sticky consistency so I just dropped them onto the try. For your dough, I'd just put little balls, pushed down with the back your hand, on the tray. Make sure you spread them out, they get big!

Overflow

Ok my second attempt and they turned out amazing compared to my first attempt, they actually taste and look like the ones you would buy in a bakery.

Some pics

Twee.

Nailed them! They're delicious, aren't they? I brought them into college and got a marriage proposal!

Messed Up Mind

http://www.lisahannigan.ie/blogs/stitch_in_time/archive/2008/08/05/8.aspx

Lisa Hannigan's lovely cookies.

I've had them a few times. My lord they are divine. I often dream about them...

225g salted butter
400g soft brown sugar
25g caster sugar
3 tsps vanilla extract
2 free range eggs
350g sifted flour
50g cocoa
2 level tsps bicarbonate of soda
450g - 500g your favourite chocolate (this is a little more than you need but it rarely all arrives in the mixture after chopping it.)

Firstly preheat your oven to 150 for fan ovens or 170 for fanless. Let the butter soften in a big mixing bowl, Then add the sugar and the vanilla extract and beat together until it's fluffy. If the butter's soft you can do this by hand no problem. Then mix in the beaten eggs. Now the sifted flour, bicarb and cocoa. This is a good point to start tasting the dough (there is raw eggs in it so don't go overboard but if you can resist it then well done) Now roughly chop your chocolate, try some, and mix in the rest. I think the bigger the chocolate chunks, the better.

Faith

I made these a couple of weeks ago. Reduced the sugar by a third, and used chopped up Galaxy chocolate. They were amazing!! The recipe made 18 BIG cookies in the end. I had to send some home with friends.

Dolbert

Agreed, I've made these a few times and everyone asks for the recipe! I'm going to make more for my sister's birthday this weekend... any excuse...

mrben86

wow these look amazing.. i'm going to try them today! I miss m&s cookies since moving to oz, I don't think anything can beat them but will give these a go!

Kenny_D

Just made these using a whole large bar of Milka hazlenut chocolate. Amazing!! Second batch of 6 are cooling on the tray now. First batch didn't last long. Really tasty. Got enough for 6 more rolled up in clingfilm in the fridge. Deffinitely the best cookie recipe I've used. Taste like M&S cookies

mrben86

I made these too with Lindt milk chocolate and they were sooo good. As close to M&S cookies as I think you're likely to get. Im afraid to make any more cos I know I'll devour them :pac:....

The Black Oil

Made these again at the weekend. On batch 1 we reduced the sugar (no white) and we didn't have enough eggs for both batches so only put one egg in each batch, no extra yolk. Batch 1 came out rather smooth. In batch 2 again we reduced sugar, but dark brown this time rather than golden ish. Also, we increased the flower and had to top up with salted butter as there was only a small bit of unsalted left. Batch 2's cookies came out more rough looking.

Both batches were tasty, though.

sleepyescapade

I am making these tomorrow, just wondering is it really required to use unsalted butter? I have plenty of salted butter. What would the difference be? (I made these before but stuck to unsalted).

velocirafter

Here's a suggestion, you get two cookies and throw a chunk of icecream in the middle of them...unreal!!

we used to buy them in america, nestle tollhouse made them. Up to now I've been using subway cookies but I might try and do it with homemade ones

shrapnel222

megcork wrote: »

I am making these tomorrow, just wondering is it really required to use unsalted butter? I have plenty of salted butter. What would the difference be? (I made these before but stuck to unsalted).

salty taste?

Malari

megcork wrote: »

I am making these tomorrow, just wondering is it really required to use unsalted butter? I have plenty of salted butter. What would the difference be? (I made these before but stuck to unsalted).

I don't imagine it would make a huge difference. Lower the amount of salt that the recipe calls for.

neuro-praxis

megcork wrote: »

I am making these tomorrow, just wondering is it really required to use unsalted butter? I have plenty of salted butter. What would the difference be? (I made these before but stuck to unsalted).

I used normal salted butter and they came out beautifully.

Eviledna

In my quest to find the best choc-chip cookies ever, I have come across another beautiful recipe.

You know that early episode of Friends where Phoebe has to tell Rachel that Paulo hit on her, so she softens the blow with her "Best Ever Oat and Raisin Cookies"? As soon as I saw that episode, I always wanted to try those cookies. Now I hate raisins, but love oats. I take a "feck fruit" attitude when it comes to cookies, and after trying a multitude of recipes and ALOT of failures, I have found:

THE BEST-EVER OATY CHOC-CHIP NUTTY COOKIES

So of course my first thought was to share it with all you cookie-lovers!

Credit to Tamsin Day Lewis, whose recipe is in her book "The Kitchen Bible"

Ingredients

5oz/142g butter
8oz/225g Light Brown Sugar
1 egg
2 drops Vanilla Extract
4oz/114g Plain Flour
1tsp baking powder
8oz/225g rolled oats (Instant microwave oats also work a treat here!)

3oz/85g Dark or Milk Chocolate Chips to taste
+
3oz/85g Whole hazelnuts, smashed up a little to break up.

Method:

Preheat Oven to 180 degrees C.
Cream together Butter and Sugar,
Beat in Egg and Vanilla
Sift in Flour and Baking Powder and mix
Fold in Oats.

Then add the 6oz of choc-chips and nuts. Now this recipe is great because you can modify the "chips" in it to be anything, here I've used nuts and chocolate, you could use raisins and chocolate, raspberrys and white choc, carob, smarties, anything you like as long as it adds up to 6oz! This way you can have them as rich as you like or as oaty as you like. Even orange peel and dark choc would be lovely.

At this point you will have to get in with your hands and bring the mixture together. This is almost an all-in-one-bowl recipe, great for kids.
Take a tablespoon of the mixture and form a ball. Place on a parchment-lined (not greaseproof!) baking tray and space an inch apart.
The mixture should fill two-three baking trays and make 30 cookies. It is best not to make these cookies large as they are quite oaty and filling. A small bite of chocolatey crumbly heaven is enough:D

Place the trays of cookies in the oven at 180 for approx. 20 mins, check them at 15mins, make sure they aren't too brown. There is no need to have these cookies well done, they should be blonde, not dark.

Remove from baking tray when just cool and enjoy with a Huge Mug Of Tea.:pac:
They are the perfect autumnal treat. Great for halloween too!

biddywiddy

Oh sounds yum! Thanks for sharing!

JohnK

Must remember to try that tonight

Sigma Force

Haven't read through all the posts so don't know if this was mentioned.

Sometimes when I make cookies I prefer to use regular butter it does make them more salty but not mad salty. Also I sometimes throw in some sultanas as well as the choc chips (plain choc chips rather than milk the milk ones tend to burn) the sultanas, rather than raisins, give them a nice chewy texture.

I use light Muscovado sugar and caster sugar, the Muscovado sugar gives the cookies are really rich taste.

I'll find the recipe a post it, they are so addictive though.
Great thing about a good cookie mixture is that you can throw in a handful of oats or nuts or whatever you like yourself.

Give me choc. any day, I add some melted dark choc in the mix for double choc. cookies.

*drools*

JohnK

Tried your recipe tonight Eviledna and I have to say they're quite tasty
I didnt use hazelnuts though, just milk & white choc chips.

Eviledna

JohnK wrote: »

Tried your recipe tonight Eviledna and I have to say they're quite tasty
I didnt use hazelnuts though, just milk & white choc chips.

Mmm, milk and white, tasty. Do you chop the choc yourself, or use buttons?

JohnK

No just used a bag each of the milk & white chips that I bought in Tesco. Used both full bags though so ended up with 200g rather than the 170g the recipe called for but I like choc so its all good

Trying to think now what else I could add in for the next batch - maybe some toffee chips or something like that.

Eviledna

Ooh tescos is great for baking supplies.

How about Minstrels? or Reeses Pieces? Little Pieces of Fudge? Chopped peppermint creams, or Poppits?

Ok that's enough. I've said too much :pac:

JohnK

I like your thinking

Cian92

Made these tonight using self raising flour, alright but had a taste of flour... in them.

Sigma Force

Eviledna wrote: »

Ooh tescos is great for baking supplies.

How about Minstrels? or Reeses Pieces? Little Pieces of Fudge? Chopped peppermint creams, or Poppits?

Ok that's enough. I've said too much :pac:

Never dawned on me to try any of these, do they work well or melt into nothingness?

Going to have to be more adventerous. Our local Tesco has only started to sell more baking ingredients, all of a sudden there's loads to choose from. They now have white choc chips and vanilla sugar (although prefer to just add pod myself) loads of stuff.