Crispy, gooey or chewy? Three easy chocolate cookie recipes

How do you like yours? Gooey, crunchy or chewy? Edd Kimber, the original Great British Bake Off winner, has spent 14 years since his victory in the tent honing his baking — and specifically his biscuit-making — skills. All the better to answer the nation’s perpetual question: how do you make the ultimate chocolate biscuit? There’s no single answer, so here he gives three of his favourite recipes, each with a different selling point.
These crisp cookies are a cousin to British brandy snaps and brother to French florentines, but they are naturally gluten-free, being made from oats and ground almonds instead of flour. They are also light and delicate and, when sandwiched together with a whisper of dark chocolate, make a sophisticated two-bite treat.
Makes 4 sandwich cookies
• 15g unsalted butter• 15g light brown sugar• 1 tbsp honey• 1 tbsp rolled oats• 2 tbsp ground almonds• A pinch of fine sea salt• 20g dark chocolate, melted, for the filling
1. Heat the oven to 160C fan/gas 4 and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
2. Add the butter, sugar and honey to a small saucepan, place over a low heat and cook until just melted and smooth. Pour into a small bowl along with the oats, almonds and salt and mix to form a batter.
3. Spoon eight small dollops of the batter onto the prepared baking trays, setting them well apart to account for spreading.
4. Bake for 8-10 min, or until the cookies are a deep golden brown and no longer look wet. If you want them to look perfectly round, you can use a larger round cookie cutter to scoot them back into shape, doing so immediately after the cookies come out of the oven, before they have a chance to set. Allow the cookies to cool fully before handling.
5. To assemble, spoon the chocolate on the base of half of the cookies, spreading to cover most of the surface, then sandwich together with a second cookie. These need serving on the same day that they are baked.
These seemingly simple cookies are hiding a secret: they are stuffed to the brim with glorious chocolate and hazelnut spread. I love the contrast of the simple vanilla cookie dough with the chocolate filling, but if you want to amp these up a level, you could add some roughly chopped chocolate to the cookie dough too.
Makes 6
• 100g chocolate hazelnut spread• 60g unsalted butter, diced• 75g light brown sugar• 1 large egg yolk• 1 tbsp whole milk• ½ tsp vanilla bean paste• 125g plain flour• ¼ tsp baking powder• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda• ¼ tsp fine sea salt• Flaked sea salt, for sprinkling
1. Before you make the cookie dough, prepare the filling. Scoop 6 tablespoons of the chocolate spread onto a plate lined with parchment paper. Pop the plate in the freezer for at least an hour before using.
2. For the cookie dough, melt the butter in a saucepan set over a medium heat or in a heatproof bowl in a microwave. Add the sugar to a mixing bowl and pour over the melted butter, then set aside to cool slightly. Add the egg yolk, milk and vanilla and mix until a smooth, uniform batter has formed. Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and fine salt and mix until fully combined. Refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 min.
3. Heat the oven to 160C fan/gas 4 and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
4. Divide the cookie dough into six equal pieces and roll each one into a ball. Flatten each ball into a disc and place a frozen piece of chocolate spread in the middle, folding over the cookie dough to seal in the filling and then rolling the dough back into a neat ball. Place the finished cookie- dough balls on the prepared baking tray and sprinkle with a little flaked sea salt.
5. Bake for 14-15 min, rotating halfway through baking, until the cookies are golden around the edges but still a little pale in the centre.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray for 10 min before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. If stored in a sealed container, these cookies will keep for up to four days.
These naturally gluten-free chocolate cookies get a delightful chew from the oat flour, and with their simplicity there is almost something a little retro about them. They taste like something you would have loved as a child — just pure, unadulterated chocolate heaven.
Makes 6
• 75g unsalted butter, at room temperature• 90g light brown sugar• 1 tbsp whole milk• ½ tsp vanilla extract• 35g cocoa powder• 100g oat flour• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda • ¼ tsp fine sea salt• 100g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
1. Heat the oven to 160C fan/gas 4 and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 min. Add the milk and vanilla and beat briefly until fully combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, oat flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until a uniform cookie dough has formed. Add the chopped chocolate and mix briefly until evenly distributed.
4. Divide the dough into six equal pieces, then roll each one into a ball. Place the cookies on the prepared baking tray, setting them well apart to account for spreading.
5. Bake for 15-16 min until spread and lightly cracked. The cookies will be soft but will set further as they cool. If stored in a sealed container, they will keep for two to three days.Small Batch Cookies by Edd Kimber (Octopus £22). To order a copy go to timesbookshop.co.uk. Free UK standard P&P on orders over £25. Special discount available for Times+ members