These cookies are not for the faint of heart. They are deliciously rich and dangerously addictive. Here I have doubled Nigella’s original recipe (aptly named ‘Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies’) and added pomegranate kernels to cut through the rich dense chocolate. I freeze them in batches of 14 (exactly one tray of cookies) as making more than this at a time is dangerous! Make them, you’ll see what I mean..
Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson from Nigella Express
Ingredients:
+ 1 pomegranate
+ 250g dark chocolate
+ 300g flour
+ 60g cocoa
+ 2 teaspoons bicarb
+ 1 teaspoon salt
+ 250g butter, at room temperature
+ 100g brown sugar
+ 75g white sugar
+ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
+ 2 eggs
+ 460g dark chocolate chips
Method:
De-kernel the pomegranate. I add this to the method so you don’t underestimate how long this takes. As I did. Oh and another pearl of wisdom (ie. learn from my mistakes!) – wear an apron. And definitely not just a white t-shirt!
Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler. Put to one side.
Beat the butter and sugars till light and fluffy. Add the melted chocolate and mix to combine. Ditto with the eggs and vanilla. Add the rest of the ingredients, excepting the chocolate chips and pomegranate and mix until combined. Add the chocolate chips and pomegranate and stir till well distributed.
I used this trusty tool to scoop balls of dough onto the oven tray – make sure you leave some space as the cookies will spread. For my 1 tablespoon sized cookie dough balls, I left about an inch and a half between the cookies. Bake for 18 minutes, testing with a toothpick. Leave on the baking tray to cool for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
While the first tray is baking, I scoop more dough into a second tray (this time not leaving the large space between the cookies) and freeze. Once hard, you can transfer into a zip lock or freezer bag for long term storage and unexpected guests! From frozen, these cookies take only about 2o minutes to bake (no need to defrost before cooking, just place straight in the oven!).
Best served with a tall glass of milk.
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