Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies (Ravneet Gill)

I want to start by saying if you don't know who Ravneet Gill is, you need to get to know! She is currently a judge on Junior Bake Off but more importantly she is one of the greatest pastry chefs of this generation. She trained at Le Cordon Bleu and has worked at St. JOHN, Llewelyn's, Black Axe Mangal and Wild by Tart. She writes for the Telegraph, she runs pastry tutorials, she has had a best selling cook book, she's a legend, understood?

All that being said, her greatest achievement is arguably the creation of the Perfect Cookie. The original recipe is a dark chocolate chip number but, as I explain below, there's nothing wrong with adding your own flair to it. This recipe takes a little bit of patience but trust me it is so worth it. They hold their shape but when you break it in the middle it's got a gooey, chewy centre packed with flavour and a hint of sea salt - heaven, heaven, heaven!

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies (Ravneet Gill)

Makes 14-15 cookies

140g unsalted butter
140g dark or light brown sugar 

110g caster sugar 

1 egg 

250g plain flour 

3g baking powder 

4g bicarbonate of soda 

3g Maldon salt 

180g dark chocolate

Put the butter and both sugars in a stand mixer or mixing bowl. Cream together using a paddle attachment on medium speed, a handheld electric whisk or a wooden spoon for 1 to 2 minutes until paler but not fluffy. (Do not mix for too long; in this case you don't want the mixture to be super light and fluffy as that will cause the cookie to deflate later when cooking.) 

Add the egg and beat in quickly until evenly combined. 

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt) together in a separate bowl, and fold then fold into the butter mixture.

Add the chopped chocolate and fold into the dough until evenly distributed.

Immediately scoop out heaping 60g portions of the cookie dough, roll into balls and place on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Chill in the fridge overnight. (If space is tight, you can condense them on one sheet before refrigerating then redistribute among two sheets before baking.) 

The next day, heat the oven to 160C fan/180C/350F/gas mark 4. 

Make sure the dough balls are evenly spaced out among at least two baking sheets, as they will spread. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes (or 14 minutes if baking from frozen). You want the middle to be ever so slightly under-set. 

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet; they will continue firming up as they cool. Once cooled, eat! 

Once baked, these cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The balls of dough will keep for up to 2 days in the fridge or 2 weeks in the freezer.

TIP: Whilst I recommend you try the classic to start with, you can swap the dark chocolate for pretty much any sweet treat you like. I chopped up my selection box from Christmas together with a mixture of nuts and they were DELICIOUS!