The perfect chocolate chip cookie is crunchy and crisp on the outside, soft in the centre with gooey melted chocolate in every bite. I admit I do often shy away from making cookies because all recipes for them tend not to be crunchy on the outside and soft in the centre but this recipe is perfect.

The addition of cornflour to the cookie mixture helps to keep them soft in the centre and the bicarbonate of soda spreads out the cookies so the edges can get crisp. You don’t even need a fancy mixer, the recipe is easy enough to make by hand.

This quantity makes 24 standard sized cookies each weighing 20g but you can also use an ice cream scoop to make 8 large cookies. I did try fitting 12 standard cookies on a tray but they just merged into each other so make sure you leave enough room for spreading.

Make sure to check out my other cookie recipes – how about White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies, Funfetti Sugar Cookies or Dark Chocolate and Black Sesame Biscuits?

115g margarine or unsalted butter

190g granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

170g plain flour

1 tbsp cornflour or potato starch

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

120g dark chocolate, chopped into small chunks

Cream together the margarine or butter with the granulated sugar with a rubber spatula, pressing the butter against the side of the bowl into the sugar and beating well. Unlike a cake batter, we don’t need this whipped until it is aerated, just until it has mixed well. Beat in the large egg and vanilla extract.

Add in the flour, cornflour and bicarbonate of soda all at once and fold together until it forms a soft, pliable but not sticky cookie dough. Fold through the chocolate chunks until they are evenly dispersed through the cookie dough. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and chill the dough for at least 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Line some baking trays with baking parchment.

Take a large teaspoon of dough and roll it into a ball in your hands. If the dough is still sticky, wear disposable gloves. Place on the lined baking trays, leaving enough space for spreading.

Bake for around 10 – 12 minutes, until the edges of the cookie have browned. Leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies, still on the baking parchment, to a cooling rack to cool fully. To remove the cookies, use the parchment to help you lift off the cookie; the cookies can be fragile if they are handled too much.