Little Cookies

As much as I enjoy baking endless batches of colossal cakes and cookies, now and again it's nice to have just a little mouthful to nibble on with a cup of leaf tea, particularly following periods of considerable indulgence (which I admit are frequent). These cookies are easy peasy and dinky enough to bake in one batch, but no less delicious as a result. They are crisp and biscuity yet just yielding in texture, with fragrant vanilla and bittersweet dark chocolate chips. Of course, if you want to try different variations of your own then have at it!

Prep time: 15 Mins
Baking time: 12 Mins
55g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
80g Caster Sugar
1 Egg Yolk
1/2tsp Baking Powder
1/2tsp Vanilla Extract
75g Plain Flour
100g Dark Chocolate Chips

Let us bake once more. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a large flat baking tray with baking paper (the largest you have). In a mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar, then beat in the egg yolk. Add the baking powder and vanilla extract, then sift in the plain flour and mix to a sticky dough. Fold through the dark chocolate chips (or whatever you decide to throw in) and that's the dough done.

Take a small handful of the dough and roll into a ball, about the size of a small walnut. Place on the tray and repeat for the rest of the dough, evenly spacing each ball apart as they will spread during baking. If your tray isn't big enough then you can split over two trays or even two batches. Place the tray in the centre of the oven and bake for around 12 minutes, until the cookies have spread, are a light golden brown and just darkening at the edges. When you are happy they are baked remove from the oven and carefully slide the paper off of the tray onto a wire rack. Leave to cool for 30 minutes, then lift each cookie from the paper and return to the wire rack to cool completely. Booooooooooooooom you're all done!