Millie's Cookies!!

Due to popular demand...

First I need to explain something...not that anyone actually needs to explain cravings for Millie's Cookies, but I feel like I'm a special case here.  During my pre-married youth, there were certain things I used to do regularly.  I used to walk from our house in Langley into Slough High Street (even when I could drive) to do a little shopping.  I would also travel by train from Slough (again, walking to the train station, how I miss that!) into London Paddington occasionally too, when I had to go to Senate House Library (no, really, I would only go to the library, I would never, ever detour to Liberty's beauty department, or Hamleys, or Oxford St, or Convent Garden...I was an excellent student).  With all of that walking, I would deem it completely fair that I should reward myself with some Millie's cookies, which, conveniently, was (and I believe, still is) located en route to Slough High Street central in the Observatory Shopping Centre, and there was also a nice little stand in Paddington Station.

It was a treat that I didn't indulge in too often, and when I did, I always felt a little guilty, since the chocolate chunks in there were huge, the cookies were wonderfully buttery and squidgy and it always made me think that whatever's making them taste so good can't be weight-conscious friendly.

And now I've found a recipe for them, I realise that I was absolutely right.

I've been looking for something like Millies here in South Africa for ever, but I haven't come across it yet!  Most recipes for choc-chip cookies are of the hard, crunchy variety (like Maryland cookies).  Nice all the same, but not what I was looking for.

My advice is to exercise some serious will power so as not to eat the whole lot of these once you're done baking them.  These are particularly yummy with a glass of cold milk, and I don't even like drinking milk straight up but you see, Millie's Cookies make you do things!!


The recipe is very simple, but the rule of thumb is, don't bake these cookies till golden brown.  At the most, bake them till the edges are tinged light brown but that's all.  You can even take them out a little earlier - remember Millie's Cookies' trademark is that the cookies are squidgy, not crunchy like other biscuits.

Note:  I tried this recipe with demerara sugar and muscavado, and although they turned out good both times, I preferred it with muscavado.

Another note:  When you're portioning off your biscuits, if you prefer to roll the dough into a sausage shape and cut into slices for perfect rounds, put the dough in the fridge first for about 30 mins.  It will make it easier to roll.

This recipe was taken from Lauren's Recipe Book.  Check her out, she's got more great recipes.

Millie's Cookies
Makes approx. 40 biscuits (depending on size)


Ingredients:

225g self raising flour
125g softened butter
100g soft brown sugar
125g caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
half tsp salt
200g choc chips (or chocolate, cut into chunks, milk or white, or even 200g smarties)

Nearly done!

- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
- Cream butter and sugars well.  Combine with egg and vanilla.
- Sift flour and salt into butter/sugar/egg mixture.
- Add choc chips/chunks or smarties.
- Either shape peices of dough into walnut sized balls, or roll the dough into a thick sausage shape and slice. (see note on rolling and slicing above)
- Bake for 10 mins (see above note on baking)
- Don't burn your hands as you reach to sample one right out of the oven.

These can be stored in an airtight container.  You can even freeze the dough and use it later.