How to make cookies

Have you ever known anyone say no to home-made cookies? Neither have we. They’re irresistible to everyone, and surprisingly easy to make. Even if you’ve never baked before, you can knock up a batch of yummy cookies in no time. Start with our Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe – it’s always a hit. Once you’ve mastered that, it’s easy to mix things up. Just be sure to bake plenty, as they soon disappear!

Made using the Lakeland Brownie Traybake Tin.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preparation time: 15 mins, plus chilling time
Baking time: 15-18 mins
Makes approx. 28

Ingredients

115g softened butter
200g plain flour, plus extra to dust
50g soft light brown sugar
¼ tsp salt
50g caster sugar
50g dark chocolate chips
3 tbsp milk
¼ tsp almond extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/Gas 4. Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment.
Put the butter into a large mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add the flour, salt, light brown sugar, caster sugar and chocolate chips. Stir to combine. Mix together the milk and almond extract and add to the mixing bowl, working them into the mixture.
Use your hand to knead lightly to make a smooth dough, then separate into two equal portions. Lightly flour a work surface, then roll each portion into a thick sausage with a diameter of approximately 4cm. Wrap in baking parchment or cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
Slice the chilled cookie dough into rounds (approx. 5mm thick) and arrange on the prepared baking trays. Bake for 15-18 minutes, then leave on the baking trays to cool.

Cook’s tip: Instead of rolling the dough into a sausage, you could chill it for 10 minutes, then place heaped teaspoons of the cookie dough onto the baking sheets, making sure they’re spaced apart. Press a fork onto the surface to flatten them slightly before baking. It helps to dip the fork in flour to prevent sticking.

Fancy a different flavour?

It’s so simple to tweak the ingredients and make a batch of cookies in a different flavour.

For Double Chocolate Chip Cookies, follow the recipe above, but swap the 200g plain flour for 150g plain flour and 50g cocoa powder.

For Hazelnut and White Chocolate Chip Cookies, use white chocolate chips instead of dark, and add 50g chopped hazelnuts.

Pecan, Raisin and Cherry Cookies

Cookies aren’t always about chocolate chips (no matter how much we love them). Studded with glacé cherries and raisins, these fruity cookies are made with pecans for crunch and rolled oats for a crumbly texture. Best make plenty for the biscuit tin… they go down a little too easily with a mid-morning cuppa.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 20 minutes
Makes approximately 20

Ingredients

115g softened butter
150g plain flour, plus extra to dust
80g rolled oats
⅛ tsp salt
70g soft light brown sugar
30g glacé cherries, chopped
70g caster sugar
30g raisins
30g pecans, chopped
3 tbsp milk
¼ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/Gas 4. Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment.
Put the butter into a large mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add the flour, oats, salt, light brown sugar, caster sugar, glacé cherries, raisins and pecans. Stir to combine. Mix together the milk and vanilla extract and add to the mixing bowl, working them into the mixture.
Use your hand to knead lightly to make a smooth dough, then separate into two equal portions. Lightly flour a work surface, then roll each portion into a thick sausage with a diameter of approximately 4cm. Wrap in baking parchment or cling film and chill for 30 minutes. (Alternatively, just bring the dough together with lightly floured hands, then roll into 20 or so small balls – each about the size of a ping pong ball).
Slice the chilled cookie dough into rounds (approx. 5mm thick) and arrange on the baking trays. (Or arrange the balls on the baking trays and press down with a fork dipped in flour, to prevent sticking). Bake for approximately 20 minutes, then leave on the baking trays to cool.

Not eating your home-made cookies right away?

Going to a coffee morning or bake sale? If you’re baking ahead, you’ll want to keep your home-made cookies fresh. Unexpected visitors popped round, so the biscuit tin can’t be empty! If you’ve got a roll of cookie dough in the fridge, you’re only a few minutes away from treating them to home-baked biscuits. Read our tips to find out how.

How to store baked cookies

Once the cookies are completely cold, they can be transferred to an airtight tin and kept for up to 2 weeks… if you can resist them for that long. Baked cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months.

How to make cookie dough in advance

Make the cookie dough 2-3 days before you need it, wrap it in cling film or baking parchment, and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. Save time by rolling it into a sausage shape before wrapping, ready to be sliced into cookies.

How to freeze cookie dough

Freeze ‘sausages’ of uncooked cookie dough for up to 2 months, then defrost before slicing and baking.

You made them just for me?

You shouldn’t have… but I’m really glad you did. Home-made cookies make a lovely gift, especially when you’ve made an effort with the presentation. Pop them into cellophane bags and close with a twist tie if you think they’ll be devoured straight away.

Or to make them last a little longer, pack cookies into a sealed airtight bag, and tuck then into a decorative treat box.

If you’re looking for a DIY gift for a budding baker, why not treat them to cookie mix in a jar? Layer the weighed dry ingredients in an attractive airtight storage jar, then print the recipe out and include a note that they’ll need to add butter, milk and any extract. Add a gift tag and a bow, and you’ve got a memorable (and Insta-worthy) gift idea that just so happens to be easy on the purse strings too.

Finally, if you really can’t get enough of cookies – and who can? – then pop over to our blog for our Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream recipe. A scoop or two is a treat at any time.