How to make Jill Barber’s choco-charged cookies

Classic chocolate chip cookies aren’t part of the curriculum at the École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie in France, where Jill Barber perfected her pastry craft nine years ago. But the Choco Chippy is one of the few non-puff-pastry items she sells at Barbershop, the College Street patisserie she opened in December, and it’s a mainstay of her own baking routine. “I pretty much always have this dough in the freezer ready for emergencies,” she says.

Her secrets: an incredible concentration of high-quality dark chocolate that the dough can barely contain, and a higher-than-usual baking temperature that results in a crispy-edged cookie with a gooey middle. “I want to make things that people want to eat, and eat again and again and again,” Barber says. Mission accomplished. The next time a cookie craving strikes, here’s how to make them at home.

Ingredients Makes up to 24 cookies 227 g unsalted butter (room temperature) 200 g dark brown sugar 200 g white sugar 2 large eggs (room temperature) 10 g pure vanilla extract 335 g all-purpose flour 3 g salt 6 g baking soda 325 g 70 per cent dark chocolate (Barber uses Cacao Barry) chopped into a mix of chunks and shards Pinch flaked sea salt, for sprinkling

Technique 1. Using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer, lightly whip the sugars into the butter until the mixture is fully integrated and it lightens in colour. 2. Add vanilla and mix in the eggs one by one. Turn off the mixer. 3. Scrape down the bowl and add all the dry ingredients except the chocolate. Mix until barely combined. 4. Add the chocolate and mix until there’s no visible flour and the chocolate is well dispersed. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl again. 5. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and shape into a log about two inches in diameter. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill in the freezer for one hour. 6. Preheat oven to 375°F. Slice the firm dough into even rounds and place on a baking sheet (or sheets) lined with parchment paper, leaving room for the cookies to spread out. 7. Bake until the edges are golden brown but the centre has just stopped looking wet, about 8-12 minutes. 8. Sprinkle the finished cookies with the flaked sea salt.