Hot-cross-bun chocolate chip cookies
These are the favorite chocolate-chip cookies of London’s star baker, Claire Ptak. The base recipe has her signature use of egg yolks for richness but with added crunchy bits of hot-cross buns and all the chocolate for texture and flavor. Make and freeze the dough, baking off individual cookies as and when you want them for optimum satisfaction and that fresh-baked cookie smell in your home.
Makes 18 cookies
unsalted butter 250g, softened soft brown sugar 200g white sugar 100g vanilla extract 2 tsp egg yolks 4 plain flour 315g fine sea salt 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 2 tsp stale hot-cross buns 200g (2-3 buns), toasted and torn into 2cm pieces chocolate 300g, broken into different sized chunks (Ptak uses a mix of white, milk, and dark. You can also use chocolate Easter eggs and random bits of bars you have, which makes it fun to eat.)
Line a small baking tray or baking tin (one that will fit inside your freezer) with parchment paper.
Beat the butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer until combined but not too creamy – you are not aiming for light and fluffy here, as that would make the cookies too cakey. Add the vanilla and the egg yolks, and mix well.
In another bowl weigh out the flour, salt, and bicarbonate of soda, and whisk together well. Add this to the butter-and-egg mixture, and mix until combined.
Add the hot-cross-bun pieces and all the chocolate chunks.
Scoop individual portions of cookie dough on to the lined baking tray or tin. If using spoons, pat each portion into a little ball. Cover with clingfilm and freeze for at least 1 hour, or up to a month.
When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 170C fan/gas mark 5. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and arrange the cookies evenly on the tray, leaving enough space between each one so they have room to expand during baking (they will almost double in size). If you are baking from frozen, allow the cookies 5 minutes out of the freezer before placing in the oven.
Bake for 14 minutes or until the center of each cookie is slightly soft and underbaked but the edges are crisp and golden. Remove from the oven, rap the tray on your counter to flatten them a little, and allow to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before serving.
