Making Chocolate Chip Cookies

Asked by A.R. Answered on 16th January 2015

Full question

Hi! I have few questions on making Nigella's Chocolate Chip Cookies and I was wondering if you can help? 1. Why is there no salt in the cookies? 2. Can I chill the dough? 3. Is it better to chill the dough or not? Thank you!

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe (from Kitchen and on the Nigella website) does not include an instruction to add salt as in in most of her recipes Nigella prefers to leave the addition of salt to personal preference and taste. In the method the cookie dough is scooped and baked immediately after mixing, however it is possible to make the cookie dough in advance and then chill or freeze it.

If you chill the bowl of cookie dough for too long then it can become difficult to scoop into mounds so we would suggest that you shape the cookies on a baking sheet before chilling the dough, or you will need to allow the bowl of chilled dough to stand at room temperature before you scoop and shape it. If baking the cookies from chilled then the baking time is the same. Alternatively shape the cookie dough onto baking sheets lined with baking parchment (parchmant paper) and freeze until solid. Transfer the cookies to resealable bags and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Bake the cookies direct from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes to the baking time.