Perfect Chocolate Biscuits, or Cookies

I recently read an article by Felicity Cloake in the Guardian, on how to make the perfect chocolate biscuit.  That is a chooclate flavoured one, rather than with melted chocolate on the top. I was intrigued and, happily, Felicity had tried recipes from several sources before arriving at what she called the perfect version.  So I decided to try it out and am pleased to report that the resultant biscuits, or cookies, are very good indeed.

Using a combination of cocoa powder and dark chocolate gives these biscuits a rich but mellow chocolate flavour.  I like my biscuits to be crunchy and capable of being dunked in a cup of tea so I baked mine for 25 minutes, but for those who want a less crunch version reducing the time to 20 minutes would achieve that.  A further 5 minute reduction in baking time would probably result in a soft, gooey, cookie type biscuit.

Easy to make and with only a small number of ingredients these just need a little time to chill in the fridge before being rolled out, or cut into slices before baking.

They taste so good, and mine had a great crunch to them.  I will be making more very soon.

Ingredients:

• 100g(1/2 cup) dark chocolate chopped finely to a mixture of crumbs and tiny pieces
• 150g(1 stick + 2 1/2 tbsp) softened unsalted butter
• 130g(2/3 cup) caster sugar
• 70g(1/4 cup minus 2 tsp) golden syrup, or corn syrup
• 215g(2 cups minus 1 tbsp) plain flour
• 45g(1/2 cup minus 1 tsp) cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Place the butter, sugar and golden syrup into a large bowl.
2. Mix together for a few minutes, until light and fluffy( I used my hand mixer).
3. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder and salt and add the chopped chocolate and mix again until everything clumps together and is fully mixed.
4. Tip out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and pull together to form a roll about 12 inches in length and of an even thickness.
5. Wrap in the plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, until firm enough to cut into slices.  I left mine for 3 hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
7. Remove the roll of dough from the fridge and take off the plastic wrap.
8. Cut into roughly 1/2 inch/13mm slices and place on the baking trays, leaving a good space between each to allow for spreading. (If you prefer you can roll the dough out and use cookie cutters to make the shapes).
9. Place the trays in the oven and bake for 25 minutes to achieve a nice crunchy biscuit.  For less crunchiness 20 minutes will be enough. 15 minutes if you want a more gooey cookie type.
10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.