Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

My Aunt Leela has a knack for baking...she finds it easy to do...and each time I have to let her know that not just anyone can bake! I sure as hell can't...ok well I can do simple things here and there...but it's not something that comes to me easily...baking for me requires much planning and effort.

She whips up cookies, tarts, and cakes on a whim...without so much as even a thought...and they turn out beautifully... sometimes she even bakes late at night when she can't sleep...that is a true passion for baking.

I was recently at her place for dinner...in addition to cooking the meal...she had whipped up a chocolate cake, lemon meringue pie, as well as chocolate chip cookies and macadamia nut cookies for dessert...it was all so delicious...but what caught my attention were the cookies...they were soft and chewy...much like the cookies I enjoyed in the States (cookies here tend to be hard and crunchy). I took a tin of them home with the recipe in hand...I wasn't about to let a recipe for the perfect chocolate chip cookie slip away!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, cut into chunks

Preheat oven to 175 Celcius. Cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.
Stir in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks. Drop by tablespoons onto a greased baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. Let them cool down and enjoy!

The macadamia nut cookies are from the same recipe but put nuts in place of the chocolate and you're good to go!