Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are a classic of American home baking: lightly crisp outside, soft inside, with melting chunks of chocolate.

1. Beat the soft, room-temperature butter with the brown sugar and the caster sugar until pale and fluffy.

2. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each.

3. Sift in the wheat flour, the baking powder and a pinch of salt, then mix just until it comes together – do not overwork it.

4. Chop the dark chocolate coarsely and fold it into the mixture.

5. With two spoons place walnut-sized mounds on a baking-paper-lined tray, well apart – they spread while baking.

6. Bake at 180 °C for 10-12 minutes; they are right when the edge has set but the middle still looks soft.

Tip: Let them cool on the tray for 5 minutes before lifting them off – this is when they firm up, and when the characteristic crisp-soft texture develops.