February's bake of the month

The first Saturday (holidays permitting.....) of every month I'll be posting a 'bake of the month'. This month's bake is chocolate chip cookies. Enjoy.

I’ve recently rekindled my love of cookies. 

It’s entirely ‘Subway’ the sandwich shop’s fault. We’ve started to go there as an occasional treat, and while Mr Gertie will have the foot long sandwich, I’ll have a six inch one plus some cookies. Mr Gertie doesn’t like cookies so I have to eat them all myself. Tragic!!!!!

I thought I’d try my hand at making some cookies as it was years since I made any, and my baking has come on a long way since then…..

These are best eaten within a day or two of making as they do go a little soft if left any longer. As there were too many for me to eat (not strictly true but I didn’t want to end up like a house end) Mr Gertie took most of them to work for his colleagues. 

I used my Kitchen Aid mixer (other mixers are available…..) as I’m lazy but you could make it by hand. 

This recipe is adapted from my old and battered Be-Ro cook book. Like Delia or Mary Berry, I found they won’t let you down. I got 14 decent sized cookies out of the mix but you could make them smaller. 

   

Chocolate chip cookies 

Ingredients:

• 4oz/100g margarine (or butter but you prefer)
• 3oz/75g soft brown sugar (I only had dark but you could use light)
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 6oz/150g self-raising flour, sieved
• 4oz/100g chocolate chips (I used both milk and dark but any will do)
• 2tsp milk

Method: 

• Pre-heat the oven to 180º c/Gas Mk 4. Fan oven 160ºc.
• Grease or line two baking trays (I used Lakeland non-stick liners but greaseproof paper/ baking parchment would be fine).
• Beat the margarine until soft then add the sugar and cream until light and fluffy.Stir in rest of the ingredients and mix well.
• Place spoonfuls of the cookie dough onto the baking trays – I used an ice-cream scoop as I’m hopeless at getting things the same size. 
• Flatten the cookies slightly with your fingers, and make sure the cookies are not too close together otherwise you’ll end up with one giant cookie.
• Bake for 8 -10 minutes then leave them on the tray for one minute to firm up slightly before lifting them onto a wire rack. I found they were too soft to move otherwise.
• Leave on wire rack to cool. Resist if you dare!!!!!

Gertie xx