Chocolate Chip Cookies

Let's bake chocolate chip cookies!

If that's what your kids are saying, or that little voice inside your head, then you've landed on the right page.

This recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies is one that Aussie home cooks have relied on for decades. It's simple to follow and will create cookies with that perfect crunchy, chewy, chocolate-y balance!

The BEST Recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies

When it comes to classics like the choc chip cookie, you really can't go past those recipes that have been handed down and around for years.

Chocolate Chip Cookies were originally an American idea, with the first recipe created in the late 1930s by Ruth Wakefield who famously ran the Toll House restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts.

However, this recipe for chocolate chip cookies is based on several I found in Aussie community cookbooks I've collected over the years.

Ingredients for Chocolate Chip Cookies

To make up a batch of 20 cookies you'll need:

• butter
• caster sugar (or granulated sugar)
• brown sugar
• egg
• vanilla extract
• SR flour (or plain/all-purpose flour plus salt and baking powder)
• chocolate chips (buy choc chips or simply roughly chop a block of chocolate).

Variation ideas include:

• using different types of chocolate, including dark, white or caramilk
• using M&Ms, chopped Maltesers or other chocolate candies.

How to make up this recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies

To make these cookies you'll need a few baking trays lined with baking paper, your oven pre-heated to moderate and a stand or hand held electric mixer.

Start by creaming the butter and sugar – see recipe card below for quantities.

The mixture should turn a pale colour and become fluffy.

Next, add a lightly whisked egg and vanilla extract and beat again until well combined.

This is my youngest daughter's favourite part of the recipe, cracking that egg and giving it a little whisk.

Next, fold in the flour and then stir in chocolate chips until evenly distributed throughout mixture. This is another great step to delegate to the little ones who love to cook.

Roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls and place on the baking trays, spacing them to allow for spreading. Flatten the balls slightly with your fingertips or a fork.

Bake for 13-15 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking tray before using a spatula to transfer cookies to a cooling tray.

Once cool, store in an airtight container.

After you've sampled one with a cuppa first, of course!

Tips and tricks for perfect Choc Chip Cookies

It's pretty hard to go wrong with this recipe for chocolate chip cookies, but here are a few extra bits of advice to create cookie perfection:

• Make sure you use both sugars, brown and white, to get the right balance of chewiness and cookie crunch.
• Soften the butter before using it by leaving it out of the fridge for half an hour to an hour (depending on room temperature).
• Whisk the egg lightly before adding so it combines well with the butter/sugar mixture without having to overmix the dough.
• Use a tablespoon measurer or cookie dough scoop to get even-sized cookies.
• Don't skip the baking paper layer as this ensures a smoother and more evenly cooked product.
• Add flour gradually, again avoiding the need to overmix the dough.
• Roll into balls with your hands to ensure a smoother cookie.
• Flatten slightly, or a little extra if you want larger, thinner cookies.
• Allow cookies to cool on the baking tray for a few minutes before using a spatula to transfer cookies to a cooling tray. Otherwise they may break apart.

Choc Chip Biscuit troubleshooting

How do I stop cookies spreading too much?

If you find your cookies are spreading too much during cooking, chill the dough in the fridge before baking off. Though note that you shouldn't have to do this if you're using this recipe.

Can I freeze Choc Chip Cookie dough?

You sure can, for up to a couple of months.

Simply thaw out the dough and roll into balls to bake off as per the recipe instructions when you're ready.

Do you have other cookie and biscuit recipes?

I sure do. Other popular recipes include Cornflake Cookies, Anzac Biscuits, Homemade Iced VoVos, Coconut Biscuits, Jam Drops and Butternut Cookies. Or you can check out the entire biscuits collection here.

What about chocolate recipes?

If it's a chocolate hit you're after, check out these other awesome chocolate recipes: Texas Sheet Cake, Chocolate Spiders, Chocolate Trifle, Choc Cherry Log, Choc Coconut Slice, Choc Caramel Slice and Chocolate Crackles.