Nigella's Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Serving Size : Makes 12

I used to have a great recipe for double choc chip cookies, and for the life of me can't find it...with my birthday coming up and lots of visitors due over the next week, I thought an afternoon of baking was in order...so here we have the first recipe care of Nigella Lawson - The Domestic Goddess  and a new favourite of mine. I love the tip of using the icecream scoop - don't they just look like icecream - and then they are all perfect when they come out.....I was good and didn't have one of these - so will taste tomorrow --- oops that's today, but the house smells good going to bed. And yes we got exactly 12 per batch...we did however on doubling the recipe - omit 1/3 of the chocolate chips.

INGREDIENTS
125g dark chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids
150g flour
30g cocoa, sieved
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
125g soft butter
75g light brown sugar
50g white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, cold from the fridge
350g (2 bags) semi-sweet chocolate morsels or dark chocolate chips

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3. Melt the 125g dark chocolate either in the microwave or in a heatproof dish over a pan of simmering water. 
2. Put the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl. 
3. Cream the butter and sugars in another bowl. Add the melted chocolate and mix together. 
4. Beat in the vanilla extract and cold egg, and then mix in the dry ingredients. Finally stir in the chocolate morsels or chips.
5. Scoop out 12 equal-sized mounds – an ice cream scoop and a palette knife are the best tools for the job – and place on a lined baking sheet about 6cm apart. Do not flatten them. 
6. Cook for 18 minutes, testing with a cake tester to make sure it comes out semi-clean and not wet with cake batter. If you pierce a chocolate chip, try again. 
7. Leave to cool slightly on the baking sheet for 4–5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to harden as they cool.