HOW TO MAKEBEN'S COOKIES

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15 flavoursto make

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IntroductionTips & tricksWhat's your flavour?Triple Chocolate ChunkPraline & MilkOatmeal & RaisinGinger GingerDates & Milk ChocolateOrange & Milk ChocolatePeanut ButterCoconutGinger & Dark ChocolateAnd there's more ...

w w w . m a r m a l a d e a n d m e . c o m

CONTENTS

It's fair to say that I've been obsessing about Ben's Cookies for years.

Do you know them? If you live in Bath, Brighton, Bristol, Edinburgh, London, Oxford,Reading, Dubai, Kuwait, Riyadh, Seoul or Singapore then you most probably will and ifyou don't ... then let me tell you all.

They are BIG. They have chunks and not chips and most importantly they are slightlygooey in the centre ... in fact, you could say that they are somewhere between a cakeand a traditional cookie, especially when they are straight from the oven. Swoooooon.Oh my word, they are SO good. And the flavours - my favourite is the Gingerand Dark Chocolate, but you can also tempt me with a White Chocolate (even though I'mnot normally a fan), or a Coconut or a Milk Chocolate. In fact, just pass me the box. Alarge box.

And the branding (because I'm a sucker for great branding) is so very perfect. Striking,red background; black, scratchy lettering and a classic Quentin Blake illustration ofBen (I assume).

But they are also expensive and not right on my doorstep either, so being able torecreate Ben's cookies so that I could make them at home would be heavenly...

INTRODUCTION

So, I started on the internet - of course. There are a handful of recipes that claim tohave nailed it. I've tried them all and although they are all nice cookies, they are amillion miles from the real McCoy. The first attempt spread so much that I ended upwith one enormous 'baking tray' shaped cookie about a millimetre thick. There wastalk by the children of re-branding as 'Ben's enormous pancakes' but ultimately it was -REJECT. The next few iterations were more successful but there was still room forimprovement. Then I did a bit of research and discovered that the chain of shops wasfounded in 1984 by Helge Rubinstein. She wrote an iconic chocolate recipe book, sothat had to be my next move.

A few small steps forward came next, followed by a couple of backward steps andthen I was so very nearly there ... just a bit more of this and a bit less of that, until ...TA DAH - I had nailed it ... the Ben's cookie recipe - well, as close to the genuine articleas is possible, without resorting to industrial espionage. And they are easy too. Theend result FAR outweighs the effort.

Of course, the flavour that I focussed on first was my own favourite - Ginger and DarkChocolate. But now, I have perfected the other flavours too so that we can all savourthese big, chunky, gooey, rich, delicious cookies at home - all 15 flavours. These willmake you happy. I promise

INTRODUCTION(continued)

TIPS & TRICKS WHAT I LEARNED ...

Chunks not chips - Always.Which chocolate? - Choose the best chocolatethat you can manage - I'm a fan of Lindt. Achunky bar of chocolate will stay in definedpieces once cooked. A thinner bar melts a bitand becomes an irregular shape ... it's yourchoice.On top vs inside? - Sometimes I mix thechocolate into the cookie dough, other times Iarrange it on top of the cookies. You choose buttry to get an even spread through the batch.What about white chocolate? - White chocolateon the top of the cookie does go brown and endsup looking like grilled cheese! Avoid this byhiding the chunks inside the cookie mixture.How big should they be? - 90g (3oz) of cookiemixture works for me. Keep the cookies all thesame size (it helps to weigh them) - then theywill cook evenly. How long should I cook them for? - 10 minutesworks in my oven but if in doubt, bake for lesstime rather than more - you want that soft centreafter all.How long will they keep for? - They don't lastlong around here, but if you manage to find agood hiding spot they will keep in an airtightcontainer for 3 or 4 days.Freezing works well - Freezethe uncooked cookies in portions and 'readyshaped' to enjoy cookies warm from the ovenwhenever you fancy. Baking temperature andtime remains the same. Now that soundstempting ...

WHAT'S YOUR FLAVOUR?

WHEN I STARTEDTO RECREATEBEN'S COOKIES ATHOME ...When I started to recreateBen's Cookies at home, Gingerand Dark Chocolate wasdefinitely my favourite. Nocompetition.

But then I experimented withOrange and Milk Chocolate andsuddenly THAT was myfavourite. And then I tried aPeanut Butter warm from theoven and I knew that this wasmy new true love - until Idiscovered Praline and Milk ...But there's also Oatmeal andRaisin (with the added bonus offeeling slightly virtuous) andTriple Chocolate Chunk (withabsolutely no chance of feelingvirtuous)....

So which will be your favourite?

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CHUNKMakes 12 cookies

200g (7oz) SR flour160g (5½oz) plain flour40g (1½oz) cocoa powder½ teaspoon salt170g (6oz) unsalted butter (cut into chunks) + alittle extra for greasing the baking trays200g (7oz) dark brown, soft sugar100g (4oz) caster sugar1 egg + 1 egg yolk40g (1½oz) dark chocolate (I used 60% cocoasolids), cut into big chunks40g (1½oz) milk chocolate, cut into big chunks40g (1½oz) white chocolate, cut into big chunks

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C, 400°F(gas mark 6).2 Lightly grease 2 large baking trays.3 Weigh out the two types of flour into a large mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly and stir in thecocoa powder and salt.4 Now place the butter in a large bowl and melt it in the microwave until no solid bitsremain.5 Tip the dark brown, soft sugar and the caster sugar sugar into the melted butter andcombine everything thoroughly - an electric hand whisk is helpful here.6 Break the eggs into a cup and when you are sure that the melted butter mixture is coolenough not to scramble the eggs (stick your finger in to test it), beat the eggs into themixture.7 Next tip the butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir well until everything is fullycombined. 8 To add the chocolate I find it easier to divide the dough into 12 pieces and then sharethe chocolate chunks between them, pressing them into the dough. It's easiest to use thescales for the dividing - my pieces of dough (before the chocolate) were about 90g each.Roll the dough pieces in balls and place them onto the 2 baking trays. Flatten each ballslightly with the palm of your hand.9 Now bake in the oven for 10 minutes. You want the cookies to still feel very soft in thecentre.10 Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack as soon as they are out of the oven.

PRALINE & MILKMakes 12 cookies

200g (7oz) SR flour200g (7oz) plain flour½ teaspoon salt50g (2oz) hazelnuts, roughly chopped170g (6oz) unsalted butter (cut into chunks) +a little extra for greasing the baking trays200g (7oz) dark brown, soft sugar100g (4oz) caster sugar100g (4oz) hazelnut butter, unsweetened andcrunchy1 egg + 1 egg yolk100g (4oz) milk chocolate, cut into big chunks

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C, 400°F(gas mark 6).2 Lightly grease 2 large baking trays.3 Weigh out the two types of flour into a large mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly and stir in the salt and the chopped hazelnuts.4 Now place the butter in a large bowl and melt it in the microwave until no solid bitsremain. 5 Tip the dark brown, soft sugar, the caster sugar and the hazelnut butter into the meltedbutter and combine everything thoroughly - an electric hand whisk is helpful here.6 Break the eggs into a cup and when you are sure that the melted butter mixture is coolenough not to scramble the eggs (stick your finger in to test it), beat the eggs into themixture.7 Next tip the butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir well until everything is fullycombined. 8 To add the chocolate I find it easier to divide the dough into 12 pieces and then sharethe chocolate chunks between them, pressing them into the dough. It's easiest to use thescales for the dividing - my pieces of dough (before the chocolate) were about 90g each.Roll the dough pieces in balls and place them onto the 2 baking trays. Flatten each ballslightly with the palm of your hand.9 Now bake in the oven for 10 minutes. You want the cookies to still feel very soft in thecentre.10 Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack as soon as they are out of the oven.

OATMEAL & RAISINMakes 12 cookies

200g (7oz) SR flour200g (7oz) plain flour½ teaspoon salt1 teaspoon ground cinnamon100g (4oz) jumbo oats100g (4oz) raisins170g (6oz) unsalted butter (cut into chunks) +a little extra for greasing the baking trays200g (7oz) dark brown, soft sugar100g (4oz) caster sugar1 egg + 1 egg yolk

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C, 400°F(gas mark 6).2 Lightly grease 2 large baking trays.3 Weigh out the two types of flour into a large mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly and stir in the salt, cinnamon, oats and the raisins.4 Now place the butter in a large bowl and melt it in the microwave until no solid bitsremain. 5 Tip the dark brown, soft sugar and the caster sugar into the melted butter and combineeverything thoroughly - an electric hand whisk is helpful here.6 Break the eggs into a cup and when you are sure that the melted butter mixture is coolenough not to scramble the eggs (stick your finger in to test it), beat the eggs into themixture.7 Next tip the butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir well until everything is fullycombined. 8 Divide the dough into 12 pieces - it's easiest to use the scales for the dividing ... mypieces of dough were about 90g each. Roll the dough pieces in balls and place them ontothe 2 baking trays. Flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand.9 Now bake in the oven for 10 minutes. You want the cookies to still feel very soft in thecentre.10 Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack as soon as they are out of the oven.

GINGER GINGERMakes 12 cookies

200g (7oz) SR flour200g (7oz) plain flour½ teaspoon salt2 teaspoons ground ginger100g (4oz) stem ginger, roughly chopped170g (6oz) unsalted butter (cut into chunks) +a little extra for greasing the baking trays200g (7oz) dark brown, soft sugar100g (4oz) caster sugar1 egg + 1 egg yolk

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C, 400°F(gas mark 6).2 Lightly grease 2 large baking trays.3 Weigh out the two types of flour into a large mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly and stir in the salt, ground ginger and stem ginger.4 Now place the butter in a large bowl and melt it in the microwave until no solid bitsremain.5 Tip the dark brown, soft sugar and the caster sugar into the melted butter and combineeverything thoroughly - an electric hand whisk is helpful here.6 Break the eggs into a cup and when you are sure that the melted butter mixture is coolenough not to scramble the eggs (stick your finger in to test it), beat the eggs into themixture.7 Next tip the butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir well until everything is fullycombined. 8 Divide the dough into 12 pieces - it's easiest to use the scales for the dividing ... mypieces of dough were about 90g each. Roll the dough pieces in balls and place them ontothe 2 baking trays. Flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand.9 Now bake in the oven for 10 minutes. You want the cookies to still feel very soft in thecentre.10 Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack as soon as they are out of the oven.

DATES & MILK CHOCOLATEMakes 12 cookies

200g (7oz) SR flour200g (7oz) plain flour½ teaspoon salt100g (4oz) soft, pitted dates, cut into chunkypieces170g (6oz) unsalted butter (cut into chunks) +a little extra for greasing the baking trays200g (7oz) dark brown, soft sugar100g (4oz) caster sugar1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 egg + 1 egg yolk100g (4oz) milk chocolate, cut into big chunks

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C, 400°F(gas mark 6).2 Lightly grease 2 large baking trays.3 Weigh out the two types of flour into a large mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly and stir in the salt and the chopped dates.4 Now place the butter in a large bowl and melt it in the microwave until no solid bitsremain.5 Tip the dark brown, soft sugar, the caster sugar and the vanilla extract into the meltedbutter and combine everything thoroughly - an electric hand whisk is helpful here.6 Break the eggs into a cup and when you are sure that the melted butter mixture is coolenough not to scramble the eggs (stick your finger in to test it), beat the eggs into themixture.7 Next tip the butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir well until everything is fullycombined. 8 To add the chocolate I find it easier to divide the dough into 12 pieces and then sharethe chocolate chunks between them, pressing them into the dough. It's easiest to use thescales for the dividing - my pieces of dough (before the chocolate) were about 90g each.Roll the dough pieces in balls and place them onto the 2 baking trays. Flatten each ballslightly with the palm of your hand.9 Now bake in the oven for 10 minutes. You want the cookies to still feel very soft in thecentre.10 Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack as soon as they are out of the oven.

ORANGE & MILK CHOCOLATEMakes 12 cookies

200g (7oz) SR flour200g (7oz) plain flour½ teaspoon salt170g (6oz) unsalted butter (cut into chunks) +a little extra for greasing the baking trays200g (7oz) dark brown, soft sugar100g (4oz) caster sugarfinely grated zest of 2 large oranges1 egg + 1 egg yolk100g (4oz) milk chocolate, cut into big chunks

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C, 400°F(gas mark 6).2 Lightly grease 2 large baking trays.3 Weigh out the two types of flour into a large mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly and stir in the salt.4 Now place the butter in a large bowl and melt it in the microwave until no solid bitsremain.5 Tip the dark brown, soft sugar, the caster sugar and the orange zest into the meltedbutter and combine everything thoroughly - an electric hand whisk is helpful here.6 Break the eggs into a cup and when you are sure that the melted butter mixture is coolenough not to scramble the eggs (stick your finger in to test it), beat the eggs into themixture.7 Next tip the butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir well until everything is fullycombined. 8 To add the chocolate I find it easier to divide the dough into 12 pieces and then sharethe chocolate chunks between them, pressing them into the dough. It's easiest to use thescales for the dividing - my pieces of dough (before the chocolate) were about 90g each.Roll the dough pieces in balls and place them onto the 2 baking trays. Flatten each ballslightly with the palm of your hand.9 Now bake in the oven for 10 minutes. You want the cookies to still feel very soft in thecentre.10 Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack as soon as they are out of the oven.

PEANUT BUTTERMakes 14 cookies

250g (9oz) SR flour250g (9oz) plain flour½ teaspoon salt50g (2oz) unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped170g (6oz) unsalted butter (cut into chunks) +a little extra for greasing the baking trays200g (7oz) dark brown, soft sugar100g (4oz) caster sugar150g (5oz) peanut butter, unsweetened andcrunchy1 egg + 1 egg yolka sprinkling of coarse sea salt

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C, 400°F(gas mark 6).2 Lightly grease 2 large baking trays.3 Weigh out the two types of flour into a large mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly and stir in the salt and the chopped peanuts.4 Now place the butter in a large bowl and melt it in the microwave until no solid bitsremain.5 Tip the dark brown, soft sugar, the caster sugar and the peanut butter into the meltedbutter and combine everything thoroughly - an electric hand whisk is helpful here.6 Break the eggs into a cup and when you are sure that the melted butter mixture is coolenough not to scramble the eggs (stick your finger in to test it), beat the eggs into themixture.7 Next tip the butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir well until everything is fullycombined. 8 Divide the dough into 14 pieces - it's easiest to use the scales for the dividing ... mypieces of dough were about 90g each. Roll the dough pieces in balls and place them ontothe 2 baking trays. Flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand and sprinkle alittle sea salt over each cookie9 Now bake in the oven for 10 minutes. You want the cookies to still feel very soft in thecentre.10 Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack as soon as they are out of the oven.

COCONUTMakes 12 cookies

200g (7oz) SR flour200g (7oz) plain flour½ teaspoon salt170g (6oz) unsalted butter (cut into chunks) +a little extra for greasing the baking trays200g (7oz) dark brown, soft sugar100g (4oz) caster sugar1 teaspoon vanilla extract150g (5oz) sweetened coconut1 egg + 1 egg yolk25g (1oz) dessicated coconut

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C, 400°F(gas mark 6).2 Lightly grease 2 large baking trays.3 Weigh out the two types of flour into a large mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly and stir in the salt.4 Now place the butter in a large bowl and melt it in the microwave until no solid bitsremain.5 Tip the dark brown, soft sugar, caster sugar, vanilla extract and sweetened coconut intothe melted butter and combine everything thoroughly - an electric hand whisk is helpfulhere.6 Break the eggs into a cup and when you are sure that the melted butter mixture is coolenough not to scramble the eggs (stick your finger in to test it), beat the eggs into themixture.7 Next tip the butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir well until everything is fullycombined. 8 Divide the dough into 12 pieces - it's easiest to use the scales for the dividing ... mypieces of dough were about 90g each. Roll the dough pieces in balls and place them ontothe 2 baking trays. Flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand and sprinklegenerously with the dessicated coconut.9 Now bake in the oven for 10 minutes. You want the cookies to still feel very soft in thecentre.10 Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack as soon as they are out of the oven.

GINGER & DARK CHOCOLATEMakes 12 cookies

200g (7oz) SR flour200g (7oz) plain flour½ teaspoon salt100g (4oz) stem ginger in syrup, drained andcut into chunky pieces170g (6oz) unsalted butter (cut into chunks) +a little extra for greasing the baking trays200g (7oz) dark brown, soft sugar100g (4oz) caster sugar1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 egg + 1 egg yolk100g (4oz) dark chocolate (I used 60% cocoasolids), cut into big chunks

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C, 400°F(gas mark 6).2 Lightly grease 2 large baking trays.3 Weigh out the two types of flour into a large mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly and stir in the salt and the stem ginger.4 Now place the butter in a large bowl and melt it in the microwave until no solid bitsremain.5 Tip the dark brown, soft sugar, the caster sugar and the vanilla extract into the meltedbutter and combine everything thoroughly - an electric hand whisk is helpful here.6 Break the eggs into a cup and when you are sure that the melted butter mixture is coolenough not to scramble the eggs (stick your finger in to test it), beat the eggs into themixture.7 Next tip the butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir well until everything is fullycombined. 8 To add the chocolate I find it easier to divide the dough into 12 pieces and then sharethe chocolate chunks between them, pressing them into the dough. It's easiest to use thescales for the dividing - my pieces of dough (before the chocolate) were about 90g each.Roll the dough pieces in balls and place them onto the 2 baking trays. Flatten each ballslightly with the palm of your hand.9 Now bake in the oven for 10 minutes. You want the cookies to still feel very soft in thecentre.10 Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack as soon as they are out of the oven.

AND THERE'S MORE ...The remaining six flavours are easy to adapt from the recipesthat we already have -

Which recipedo I use?

What do Itake out?

What doI add?

Milk Chocolate Milk Chocolate& Orange

zest of 2 oranges 1 tsp vanilla extract

= - +

White Chocolate = Milk Chocolate& Orange -

zest of 2 oranges

100g milk chocolate + 100g white chocolate

1 tsp vanilla extract

Double ChocolateChunk = Triple Chocolate

Chunk -

100g white chocolate

+

an extra 20g each ofmilk & dark chocolate

To make -

AND THERE'S EVEN MORE ...Which recipe

do I use?What do Itake out?

What doI add?

Cranberries &White Chocolate

Dates &Milk Chocolate

100g soft dates= - +

Dark Chocolate = Milk Chocolate& Orange -

zest of 2 oranges

100g milk chocolate + 100g dark chocolate

1 tsp vanilla extract

White Chocolate& Macadamia = Dates &

Milk Chocolate - +

100g milk chocolate

100g white chocolate

100g cranberries

100g soft dates

100g milk chocolate

100g white chocolate

100g macadamias

To make -