Vi’s Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

(makes 10 | 1 hour & 15 minutes | medium)

Virginia – my wonderful sister – doesn’t bake often, but when she does, she creates perfection. Yesterday she made her friend Lorenza’s gooey chocolate chip cookies and after trying them I simply had to share the recipe with all of you. 

177g plain, all purpose flour – ¾ tsp baking powder – ½ tsp baking soda – 2 pinches of salt – 125g butter, cut into cubes and at room temp – 80g granulated (white) sugar – 60g brown sugar – 1 egg, at room temp – ½ tbsp vanilla extract – 200g dark chocolate, chopped roughly – rock salt 

  1. In a bowl, mix together manually the flour, baking powder, baking soda and a pinch of salt. Place to one side as you work on the rest. 
  2. Place the butter and both sugars in a bowl and beat them together with an electric hand-held beater until they become light and fluffy. 
  3. Add the egg and combine it well to the butter and sugar mix. Add the vanilla bean extract and do the same. 
  4. Slow down the mixer speed and pour in half of the dry ingredients, combine well and then add the remaining half. Add the roughly chopped chocolate and mix with a spoon. 
  5. Cover the bowl with cling film and place it to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. 
  6. In the meantime preheat the oven to 180°C and place baking parchment on two oven trays (you want the cookies to be as separate as possible so they don’t merge whilst cooking). 
  7. Once 30 mins have passed, remove the dough from the fridge and scoop it out using an ice cream scoop (or a heaped tablespoon if you don’t have one). Place the scoops onto the baking trays with a distance of at least a hand (more if you can) between them. 
  8. Sprinkle a few grains of rock salt onto each scoop and place in the oven. 
  9. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes. After 8 minutes pull out the cookies and tap them once against a surface in order to deflate them, then place them back in the oven for 30 seconds and repeat. Do this for a total of 3 times. 
  10. Once the cookies are golden, crisp around the edges and just set in the middle, remove from the oven and let them cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. 

​Original recipe by Butter and Brioche