Simply put, Nigella Lawson is an alluring food goddess who cannot be denied. With her seemingly-effortless style of cooking and her irresistible charms as a highly-flirtatious television series presenter, she is able to conquer the hearts (and tastebuds) of thousands of followers.
Yet, the true allure of this enticing goddess lies in her sweet promises of the most indulgent, sheerly hedonistic of desserts, and for myself and my five year-old son, the temptation of the most chocolate of chocolate-chip cookies was just too much. We had to, and with immense chocolaty pleasure, did succumb to Nigella’s wickedly-delectable temptation.
Oh and what a truly delicious downfall it was.
The heavenly (or rather utterly wicked) cookies had such an intense chocolate taste that it was initially difficult to comprehend that such an obviously divine flavour could also be enjoyed here on Earth.
The pure velvetiness of the cookies’ melting chocolate-chips, coupled with its exquisitely dark-chocolate colour, achieved in somehow further enhancing my already out-of-this-world experience. (Although, as you can see from the photos, my cookies were indeed a trifle too dark!).
I even will have to praise the gloriously perfect shape of the cookies because, due to her almighty’s wise tip of using an ice-cream scoop and note to NOT flatten the mounds of cookie batter, each and every single one of my cookies came out of the oven perfectly circular in form.
In fact, the only thing I was not completely satisfied with was the slight dryness of the biscuits; however, I do suspect that this was my fault. I accidentally baked the cookies for 25 minutes as opposed to the suggested 18 minutes. Oh well, being a mere mortal it is only expected of me to make the occasional mistake, but at least this time around my problem was easily solved when my son poured himself an accompanying glass of warm milk.
So without much further ado (even though greatly deserved), I present you with an utterly delectable recipe from the irresistible goddess of food. Now please enjoy and do not forget the glass of milk!
Washing-up note: As Nigella also happens to be the goddess of good will and consideration, she has made certain that you can enjoy this divine recipe without a lot of washing-up. (A total of only 3 bowls, 2 beaters, and 1 ice-cream scoop was all I needed to put in my dishwasher).
Totally Chocolate Chocolate-chip Cookies
Serves: Makes 12
INGREDIENTS:
· 125g dark chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids
· 150g flour
· 30g cocoa, sieved
· 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 125g soft butter
· 75g light brown sugar
· 50g white sugar
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 1 egg, cold from the fridge
· 350g (2 bags) semi-sweet chocolate morsels or dark chocolate chips
METHOD:
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3. Melt the 125g dark chocolate either in the microwave or in a heatproof dish over a pan of simmering water.
2. Put the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl.
3. Cream the butter and sugars in another bowl. (I use my freestanding mixer, itself an odd source of comfort to me.) Add the melted chocolate and mix together.
4. Beat in the vanilla extract and cold egg, and then mix in the dry ingredients. Finally stir in the chocolate morsels or chips.
5. Scoop out 12 equal-sized mounds - an ice cream scoop and a palette knife are the best tools for the job - and place on a lined baking sheet about 6cm apart. Do not flatten them.
6. Cook for 18 minutes, testing with a cake tester to make sure it comes out semi-clean and not wet with cake batter. If you pierce a chocolate chip, try again.
7. Leave to cool slightly on the baking sheet for 4-5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to harden as they cool.
For more delicious recipes by Nigella Lawson visit: http://www.nigella.com/.
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