Nigella Lawson's Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last weekend, I cleaned up my cookbook collection, a five foot by six foot shelving system that lines the wall on the south side of my dining room. As I was rearranging the books into colour-coordinated categories - something I do once or twice a year - I pulled a few books from the heap, ones that I haven't cooked from for a while, and vowed to make at least one recipe from each in the coming week, if only to remind myself why I've given it a place in my precious collection.

The first one I flipped through was Nigella Express: Good Food Fast. The title alone speaks to me right now, and feels fitting for the kind of food I feel I need to be cooking these days. Now that Rob's better, Matthew has come down with pneumonia, which is tragic for a twelve-month-old, and in an effort to cuddle and kiss him as much as he needs it, I'm just not able to log as many hours in the kitchen as I would like these days.

Naturally, I went for something sweet and comforting first, and happily the cookies do indeed live up to the title of the book. They are good - downright decadent, if you will - not to mention fast to make, which Ben and I did in the fifteen free minutes we had between the time when Matthew went to bed and he was heading out the door to hockey. They make a small batch - just 12 - which, with teenagers in the house, doesn't seem all that many, but they are so rich, laden with puddles of chocolate within, that one cookie seems to be more than enough per serving. 

Are you making any good cookies these days? I feel like I'm in a bit of a cookie rut and looking for new inspiration, so if you have a favourite recipe please feel free to share a link or cookbook that it comes from. My boys will thank you!

Nigella Lawson's Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 12

• 4 oz. semisweet chocolate
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cane or granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Melt the 4oz of chocolate. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a bowl.

3. Cream the butter and two sugars using an electric or handheld mixer. Add the melted chocolate and mix together. 

4. Beat in the vanilla extract and egg. Mix in the dry ingredients. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.

5. Scoop 1/4 cup mounds of dough onto  the prepared baking sheet (depending on the size of your pan you may need to do this in batches). Space the dough balls 2-3 inches apart and do not flatten them.

6. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cookie comes out semi-clean. Cool on the baking sheet for 4-5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to harden as they cool. 

Comments

[Meaghan]

These look yummy! My top two picks for cookies are the brown butter chocolate chip cookies from Dinner with Julie and my grandma's ginger cookies. Both of these are awesome and major hits with everyone in my family!
Happy baking:)And I hope your family gets better soon!

[La Torontoise]

Jan, I wish your little son a good recovery! Hope he sleeps well?

Love these quickies. I do not have this book and would consider it as an addition to Jamie Oliver's 30 and 15 minutes meals-)

Have a good weekend.

[Jan Scott]

Julie makes the best cookies! And I love that your other favourite cookie comes from your Grandma. I made Food 52s accidentally vegan cookies for my boys this week and they were pretty fabulous, too!

[Carol S-B]

Mmm, cookies. I get what you mean: sometime's I play the same one on repeat (hah, and lately it's been "Pacing the Cage" by Bruce Cockburn- although Jimmy Buffet did a decent cover).
Snickerdoodles (how can I resist that name?) with a pinch of salt in the cinnamon sugar you roll them in. Those ginger cookies (Meaghan, I wonder if they are the same ones?) that you roll in sugar and bake- but, again, I put some cinnamon (and- shh!- a little salt and cayenne) in the sugar you roll the balls in before baking. These chocolate ones look killer. Thanks, Jan.

[Sarah. B]

Yummy! I've seen Nigella on British TV and she's awesome. Incidentally, I have just downloaded a free ebook called "Cookie Jar", which has the most mouth-watering cookie recipes ... and the photos are pure pin-ups! http://www.obooko.com/obooko_food/bookpages/fd0018-cookie-jar-ulyate.php