Homemade American chocolate chip cookies: a simple recipe for a rich treat

American-style chocolate cookies have gained a loyal following in Latvia, and home bakers can now recreate them with a recipe that promises an intense chocolate flavour and a lightly crunchy surface. The recipe was originally shared by The Guardian.

The list of ingredients is short: 120 g of butter at room temperature, 170 g of dark chocolate roughly chopped, 75 g of light brown sugar, 75 g of white sugar, half a teaspoon of vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, one beaten egg, 240 g of flour and half a teaspoon of baking soda.

First, make sure the butter is soft enough; if it is hard, cut it into cubes and leave it on the counter while preparing the other ingredients. Chop the chocolate coarsely — dark, milk or white chocolate can be used, or a combination, and chopped nuts are an optional addition. Cream the butter until soft and smooth, then add both sugars, vanilla and salt, and mix until uniform. Gradually beat in the egg.

Sift the flour and baking soda, and fold them gently into the butter-sugar mixture. Mix only until combined; overworking the dough can make the cookies tough. Finally, fold in the chocolate pieces. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough overnight, or up to 72 hours, to let the flavour develop. If time is short, the dough can be put in the freezer while the oven preheats.

Once chilled, divide the dough into balls about the size of a golf ball and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, leaving space between them. Bake at 200°C (180°C with a fan) for roughly 15 minutes, until golden but not too brown. For even baking, swap the trays halfway through. Leave the baked cookies on the tray to cool and firm up before serving.