(this quantity makes about a dozen 125g cookies)
Ingredients
– 230g room temperature butter
– 160g sugar
– 160g fine-grained brown sugar (e.g., Muscovado)
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 2 eggs
– 500g wheat flour
– 5 tsp baking powder
– 0.25 tsp baking soda
– 1 tsp pink salt
– 400g milk chocolate
– 100g walnuts
Preparation
I use a KitchenAid stand mixer for all my baking, but a hand mixer will also do the job.
Preheat the oven to 200°C and roast the walnuts for about 4+4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let them cool, then chop.
Chop the milk chocolate.
Weigh the butter and sugars into the mixer bowl and mix into a smooth cream.
Add the eggs one by one, mixing until smooth in between.
Add the vanilla and mix until smooth.
Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Pour them into the cream and mix at the slowest speed until the flour starts to incorporate slowly.
Now pour in the nuts and chocolate and mix only until the dough is uniform and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If you mix for too long, the dough will become chewy and the cookies won't be as crumbly and airy.
Weigh out about 125g portions of dough and shape them into relatively rustic balls. Do not overwork the dough more than absolutely necessary.
Place the balls on a tray lined with baking paper and put them in the freezer for at least a couple of hours. If you want to keep them there longer, pack them in an airtight container once frozen solid to prevent them from picking up a freezer taste.
When you want to start baking, preheat the oven to 210°C (190°C for fan ovens), take the desired number of cookies out of the freezer, and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper about 10cm apart. In my oven, the cookies need 18 minutes of heat, but this may vary by oven. This time results in cookies that are crispy on the outside but pleasantly soft and melt-in-the-mouth on the inside. Test the result and adjust the time to your preference.
The cookies are very soft after coming out of the oven; do not touch them for about half an hour, let them cool down properly.