Soft-Bake Bounty Cookies

Ok, I know full well that Bounty is not, ahem, everyone’s idea of ‘a taste of paradise’. But fear not; you can safely omit the chunks of chocolate-encased coconut and replace with your choice of chocolate chips, chopped nuts (hazelnuts work well) or indeed chopped up bars of something other than Bounty. It doesn’t really matter; you’ll still end up with a seriously chocolatey soft-bake chunky cookie. I know I’m forever saying this, but these are easy to make and they are just the thing for putting the world to rights with a nice cup of tea.

Makes 16-18 cookies. You will need 2 baking sheets lined with baking paper.

100g dark chocolate, chopped, melted and cooled slightly
150g unsalted butter, softened
75g soft light brown sugar
100g granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp natural vanilla extract
160g plain flour
40g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
4 regular Bounty Bars (that’s 8 individual bars) chopped into chunks

Chop up the dark chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. Microwave in short bursts – 20-30 seconds, until melted. Stir thoroughly; any remaining small chunks will continue to melt. Set aside to cool slightly while you get on with the rest. Chop up the Bounty bars – I got about 10/12 chunks from each little bar. Set aside.

 
Place the butter, sugars and vanilla into your mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. This takes several minutes even in a stand mixer.

 
Add the egg and beat for another minute or so until thoroughly combined.

 
With the mixer switched off, pour in the melted chocolate. I find it is easier to initially stir it in using a spatula before placing it back under the mixer for a minute. Once it is well mixed, sift in the flour, cocoa powder, bicarb and salt. Keep mixing until you have a smooth, even, thick dough.

Divide into approximately 18 walnut-sized balls and place on prepared baking sheets. I tend to do these in two batches. Press about four chunks of Bounty into each cookie mound; you might need to gently roll/reshape into balls again. Do not flatten; they will naturally find their shape when baking, so allow a decent gap around each cookie. Place each tray of cookies into the fridge to chill for around 15-20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 180c /350f / gas mark 4. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Place the tray on a cooling rack and allow to cool for a good 30 minutes before attempting to remove – they will be extremely soft when they come out of the oven and will firm up as they cool. When completely cold, store in an airtight tub.