Chewy Cookies

Back from a long weekend of camping and walking , I don’t bake a lot but if we are going away camping I think you need some sweet fuel to go with a big flask of tea , gingerbread , flapjack or brownies have all been big hits.

I have been looking for a good chewy American cookie recipe for ages, but I have definitely hit upon it now best of all this makes 30 decent sized cookies so I tend to make a batch bake half the dough straight away

The other half of the dough can be frozen in a tube of cling film , 1/2cm slices can then be taken from the frozen tube and baked as below from frozen, they will take just a few minutes more.

I like making these cookies with chunks of fiery crysalised ginger and a dash of cayenne pepper but those with even sweeter tooths can use chunks of chocolate but you can use chocolates like smarties , roughly chopped caramels.

Chewy Cookies

225g unsalted butter, at room temperature
170g caster sugar
170g demerara sugar
2 eggs
250g self-raising flour
75g of chosen flavourings e.g crysalised ginger , chocolate chips

Cream together the butter and sugars in a bowl, beat in the eggs.
Stir in the flour, then fold in the nuts and chocolate. Mix until just combined.
Cover the bowl with cling film and chill for 30 minutes
Preheat the oven to 180C and line baking trays with greaseproof paper.
Take a heaped teaspoon of the dough and place on the baking tray , flatten slightly leave plenty of space for the cookies to spread
bake for 10-12 minutes, they should begin to turn brown
Remove from the oven, they will seem slightly soft , but leave to cool and they will harden slightly but remain chewy