Chocolate chip and ginger cookies

A good friend of mine describes me as dizzy intelligent person. There have been enough embarrassing situations in my life to realise that she has a point.  Like the time when, on a train to Edinburgh, i thought i'd electronically locked the toilet door only to find as i was sat on the toilet, i hadnt. The shocked look on the elderly mans face as the door slid open to find me sat there will be forever imprinted on my mind.

As well as being abit dizzy at times i can be pretty clumsy. Today whilst setting up to shoot photos of these cookies i managed to knock over a large white foam board on its side, causing the two glasses of milk on the table to topple over. The milk went everywhere and i couldnt use the linens i wanted for the background. I had to do a big clean up and start all over again.

 

I wish i could say these cookies were worth the effort but unfortunately they werent. Since tasting the best cookie i've ever had in the Cotswolds purchased from a Bens Cookies stall http://www.benscookies.com/, I've been looking for a cookie recipe which may in some way match. 

The recipe i adapted is one from Joy The Baker for Black and White cookies http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2008/12/black-and-white-cookies/ which had a nice cookie base. I like my cookies soft, almost undercooked and loaded with chocolate chips. These cookies certainly had a soft, almost cake like texture and the adequate amount of chocolate chips. But i made the mistake of adding nutmeg into the mix, giving the cookies an odd flavour. Next time I'll omit the nutmeg, up the ginger and consider adding in some chunks of stemmed ginger.

Recipe - Chocolate chip and ginger cookies (adapted from Black and White Cookie recipe by Joy The Baker)

2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg

1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
200g dark chocolate chips

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add eggs, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes.