I'll admit, once I find a recipe I like I hold onto it, to the detriment of trying new ones.
I'm a bit of a perfectionist so it can't be any old recipe, which is why I'm still searching for the perfect chocolate cake recipe.
When it comes to chocolate biscuits though, this recipe takes the cake.
It's decidedly versatile and the biscuits are demanded by family and friends alike.
In fact, I left a jar of them at the last place I house-sat and am being invited back, possibly in the simple hopes that I'll refill the cookie jar. On other occasions, friends across the waters have seemed incredibly disappointed that I have arrived to visit them without a filled jar firmly wedged into my suitcase.
Strangely, offering up the recipe doesn't seem to provoke the same response.
As always, the exception to this is CM who has taken up the recipe and made it her own adding glace cherries, nuts or whole fantales to the batter for an entirely different experience in decadence.
I'm a little less adventurous, preferring to tweak the amount of chocolate to levels some would consider obsessive, or play with the cocoa depending on the colour I desire.
Take 75g caster sugar (the original recipe calls for golden castor sugar, but I'm just lazy and refuse to spend that sort of money when white caster sugar more than suffices.), 75g soft brown sugar and whisk with 75g softened butter until pale and creamy and fluffy.
Add 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence ( I often forget this or double/triple the quantity depending upon my mood).
Whisk again until it's uniform in texture, light and fluffy and almost stiffening slightly.
Sift (I often can't be bothered) in 1 pinch of salt (again, often forgotten), 150g (1 1/4 Cups) of self raising flour and 25g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder. (Now, I tweak here. provided the total weight of dry goods is 175g, it really doesn't matter if this amount contains 50g cocoa powder to 125g flour, or no cocoa powder whatsoever. However I do recommend getting the lumps out of the cocoa powder.)
Now is also a good time to dump in the chocolate chips (or finely chopped block of chocolate if you refuse to pay choc chip prices). The recipe calls for 100g. 200g is probably a more accurate measure if you want to replicate what I make. Think of it as the batter being there to hold the chocolate chips together, so test this to the limit by throwing in the kitchen sink.
Form into balls and press onto a tray. Teaspoon size is good as it gives you lots of biscuits. Soup spoons are even better if you have no intention of sharing.
Bake at 180C for 10-15 minutes depending on crunch vs chew preference.
Convince house-mates you haven't been baking and enjoy a relaxing cuppa.
I'm a bit of a perfectionist so it can't be any old recipe, which is why I'm still searching for the perfect chocolate cake recipe.
When it comes to chocolate biscuits though, this recipe takes the cake.
In fact, I left a jar of them at the last place I house-sat and am being invited back, possibly in the simple hopes that I'll refill the cookie jar. On other occasions, friends across the waters have seemed incredibly disappointed that I have arrived to visit them without a filled jar firmly wedged into my suitcase.
Strangely, offering up the recipe doesn't seem to provoke the same response.
As always, the exception to this is CM who has taken up the recipe and made it her own adding glace cherries, nuts or whole fantales to the batter for an entirely different experience in decadence.
I'm a little less adventurous, preferring to tweak the amount of chocolate to levels some would consider obsessive, or play with the cocoa depending on the colour I desire.
Take 75g caster sugar (the original recipe calls for golden castor sugar, but I'm just lazy and refuse to spend that sort of money when white caster sugar more than suffices.), 75g soft brown sugar and whisk with 75g softened butter until pale and creamy and fluffy.
Add 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence ( I often forget this or double/triple the quantity depending upon my mood).
Whisk again until it's uniform in texture, light and fluffy and almost stiffening slightly.
Sift (I often can't be bothered) in 1 pinch of salt (again, often forgotten), 150g (1 1/4 Cups) of self raising flour and 25g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder. (Now, I tweak here. provided the total weight of dry goods is 175g, it really doesn't matter if this amount contains 50g cocoa powder to 125g flour, or no cocoa powder whatsoever. However I do recommend getting the lumps out of the cocoa powder.)
Now is also a good time to dump in the chocolate chips (or finely chopped block of chocolate if you refuse to pay choc chip prices). The recipe calls for 100g. 200g is probably a more accurate measure if you want to replicate what I make. Think of it as the batter being there to hold the chocolate chips together, so test this to the limit by throwing in the kitchen sink.
Form into balls and press onto a tray. Teaspoon size is good as it gives you lots of biscuits. Soup spoons are even better if you have no intention of sharing.
Bake at 180C for 10-15 minutes depending on crunch vs chew preference.
Convince house-mates you haven't been baking and enjoy a relaxing cuppa.
Hehehe, when bitten into fresh out of the oven, these biscuits, with a Fantale in the middle, explode caramel into your mouth. Very Willy Wonka/Harry Potter/Heston Blumenthal ...
ReplyDelete