When I commit to an afternoon of baking, I like to know that I’m going to get good results, so I struggle with the uncertainty that comes with trying new recipes. I also know that when you’re playing with ingredients to create a brand new recipe, failure is sort of inevitable – I’ve despaired at many cracked cheesecakes and other baking disasters that started out as great ideas.
All that to say, this chocolate and pistachio cookie recipe was unbelievably successful the first time around – they held their shape and came out beautifully even, looking a lot like the shop-bought cookies that I get from Sainsbury’s (Taste the Difference triple chocolate cookies - you’ll never look back). This recipe makes chocolate chip cookies that are buttery and full of nuts, with lots of chocolate running through them. And best of all, the recipe is super easy and fail-safe – even inexperienced bakers will get fabulous cookies with very little effort.
Following a lot of cookie trial and error, here are some top tips for baking perfect cookies every time.
Servings: 14
Keywords: Chocolate, Pistachio, Nuts, Cookies
COOKIE BAKING TIPS
1. Don’t mix or knead the dough more than you need to (only enough to bring it together) – over-mixing will cause the cookies to become tough and rubbery.
Make sure the butter is cold when the cookies go in the oven – that’s why the resting in the fridge stage is so important. If the butter is already soft, it will melt instantly when it enters the hot oven. If the butter melts before the outside of the cookie gets a chance to firm up, and you’ll get a flat cookie.
2. For the same reason, make sure your oven is properly hot before the cookies go in. If it’s only warm, the outside of your cookies won’t set quickly enough, and they’ll collapse into flat puddles.
3. Don’t wait for the cookies to feel solid or ‘done’ before taking them out of the oven – they’ll be overcooked. Testing for doneness with a toothpick works for cake, but cookies will still be soft even when they’re ready to come out – they’ll only solidify when they cool down.
4. With plain cookies, you can tell that they’re ready when you see the edges browning slightly. With chocolate cookies, like these, unfortunately the colour isn’t a good indicator (although with experience you’ll be able to tell when the edges turn a shade darker). I’m afraid you’ll just have to trust me! When the timer goes off, take them out and let them cool down on the side for a few minutes.
5. These cookies freeze beautifully – at the sausage stage (once you’ve rolled the dough into a long sausage, rested it in the fridge and cut the sausage into 32 cookies) you can wrap the raw cookies in clingfilm or parchment paper and stick them in the freezer. You can then bake them straight from the freezer, adding 2 minutes onto the cooking time. Warm cookies in 12 minutes, with zero effort!
6. Once baked, these will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container.