Baking glory -- double chocolate chip cookies, chicken patties and cheesestraws

I've been stuck at home for the last month, looking after the dogs and playing nurse to my Man Friday who's gone and fractured his leg. The heat of Delhi is also so unbearable currently, that you don't even feel like venturing out. So instead of cooking in the heat of the kitchen, I decided to put my oven to good use. I've spent the last week making chicken patties - just like my mom used to make for us for tiffin in school - and cheesestraws and yesterday I baked chocolate chip cookies for the first time. While the recipe didn't ask for grated cooking chocolate, I dumped in some because I had tons of it at home. You could always leave it out if you want.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

2 cups flour
1 cup butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup grated dark cooking chocolate

1 cup brown sugar (I powdered it, but it should work as well even if you don't)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

Sieve the flour and baking powder and salt together.

In another bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and eggs and vanilla essence. Then add the chocolate and the choco chips. 

Then mix in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. It will take on a fudgy texture.

Prepare a baking tray with greased butter paper. Take a teaspoon and put a dollop of mixture around 3 inches apart on the tray. Make sure it's not too close because the mixture will flatten out and the biscuits will merge into each other if there's not enough space between them.

Place in a pre-heated oven, set at 190 degrees C for around 15 minutes. Take out, allow to cool on the baking sheet and then eat :) If the cookies have flattened and merged into each other, just break them at the division line with your hand. 

These turned out extremely chewy and fabulous, and perfect for a tea party. Especially if you serve them with home-made chicken patties and cheese straws.