Speckled Egg Choc Chunk Cookies

This is my pecan and which chocolate cookie, which I have adapted to a milk chocolate version, and threw in some speckled eggs because …. why not, it’s Easter!

There is something special about that perfect cookie, which is crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. I have never been much of a cookie baker, but find that there are some advantages to getting your sweet fix from cookies as opposed to cakes.

I always have an “emergency batch” of cookie dough in the freezer, for when the urge strikes. I almost never have speckled eggs lying around however, as I have no self control with eating them.

As it is Easter soon however, I have stocked up on speckled eggs for the holiday and decided to stick a few into my chocolate chunk cookie – best decision ever! I have the dark chocolate from the cookie and the milk chocolate from the speckled eggs, which ensure that the cookie is not overly sweet. The speckled eggs also have a wonderful vibrant colour to them, which makes this super fun.

I prefer to add a few speckled eggs to the cookie before baking, and then a few more after baking. By adding some of the eggs at the start, the chocolate within the eggs get nice and melty. Adding a few eggs as soon as they come out of the oven however, also ensures that the turkish delight in the centre does not turn to mush.

This is a really fun Easter weekend bake to enjoy with little kids, if you have any around. I will be spending the holiday with my family in Durban, so definitely on my list of things to bake!

If you make this recipe, please share it with me by tagging me on Instagram @adventureswithsugar or on Facebook at Adventures with Sugar.

SPECKLED EGG CHOC CHUNK COOKIES (makes around 30 cookies)

• 200g butter, at room temperature
• 200g light brown sugar
• 50g muscavado sugar
• 50g granulated white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 225g cake flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 180g good quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• 60g speckled eggs

METHOD

1. Roughly chop the dark chocolate and some of the speckled eggs and set aside. I cannot stress enough how much different these cookies turn out when using a good quality chocolate.
2. Cream the butter for about two minutes until light and fluffy.
3. Then add in the white sugar, light brown sugar and muscavado sugar and continue to cream until light and fluffy.
4. Add in the egg and egg yolk and continue to cream until incorporated.
5. Sift the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda together and slowly add to the creamed mixture until well incorporated.
6. Fold in the dark chocolate.
7. Place in the refrigerator for the butter to firm up, for at least three hours, but ideally overnight. I usually make the dough in advance and bake them when needed.
8. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius, and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
9. Roll the dough into 45g balls and space them well apart, they do spread when baked.
10. Stud the cookies with a few pieces of the speckled eggs before they go into the oven.
11. Bake the cookies for around 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges start to brown, and the centre is well risen. Do not overbake or the cookies will not be chewy in the middle.
12. When they come out of the oven, they would have spread a bit, so there will be a bit more space to add more eggs. Let rest on the tray for a few minutes before removing, as they will still be fairly soft.

Recipe by adventureswithsugar.com