What cookie type are you?
When asked what makes the best cookie, that is a debate that can never be won. Perhaps the best question to ask is, what cookie type are you? Are you a fan of a crispy cookie or the one that is slightly soft and chewy?
I especially love playing around with combining different types of flours in my baking and the recipe below has a combination of plain and baker's flour. Baker's flour has a higher gluten protein content and is especially great if you want a chewier cookie that is not too delicate.
If you want to have a crunchier cookie, simply bake it longer than the recommended time.
RECIPE
230 g Unsalted Butter
150 g Plain Flour
200 g Baker's Flour (12 - 13% Protein)
1 tsp Bi-carbonate Soda (10g)
1 tsp Salt (9 g)
200 g Brown Sugar
100 g Caster sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
100 g Whole Eggs ( 2 large eggs)
250 g White Chocolate Chips
170 g Macadamia Nuts -roughly chopped
Yield = 1,300 g cookie dough
This recipe makes 2 x 20 cm skillet cookies
Alternatively, you can roll the dough in to individual ball and then bake for slightly shorter time depending on the size of the cookie
Method
Pre heat the oven to 170°C.
Place the butter into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat to create a beurre noisette. As soon as the butter starts to turn lightly brown, turn off the heat and transfer in to a clean bowl. You have now created a beurre noisette or Hazelnut butter in French. Although the butter do not contain any nuts but the aromatic of it resembles the note of hazelnuts. Leave to fully cool but still melted at room temperature.
In a stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment (or you can mix this by hand), place the plain flour, bi-carbonate soda, salt and sugars together and stir to combine. Add in the eggs and mix until incorporated then stream in the cooled beurre noisette.
Lastly add in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
Divide the dough in to two equal portions of roughly around 650 g and press them flat in to a skillet and bake in the pre heated oven and bake for approximate 30 to 35 minutes
until the side starts to feel firm but the centre is still slightly soft.
Note: If you are using a larger skillet or less cookie dough the baking time can vary. The cookie should still be slightly soft when taken out from the oven. It will harden slightly more during cooking.
You can dip in to the cookies with some ice cream while still warm or alternatively leave it cool slightly in the skillet and cut them in to individual wedges.
