Choc chip cookies

1. Place the ghee, water and both sugars into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat at high speed for about 5 minutes until light and creamy.

2. Add the egg and vanilla paste, scrape down the sides and beat again for about 5 minutes until well combined.

3. Add the gluten-free flour and the cacao powder, 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing in between until well combined. The mixture should thicken to a soft dough-like consistency.

4. Fold through the chocolate pieces and then cover the dough and pop it into the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or preferably overnight. Once chilled, you should be able to roll the dough into balls.

5. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

6. Using a tablespoon, scoop out even amounts of dough and roll them into balls just larger than a ping-pong ball. Place them on the baking tray, press lightly with a fork and allow 3 cm of space around them for when they bake and spread out.

7. Bake for 8–10 minutes or until the edges start to become golden brown.

8. Once ready, allow to cool for 5 minutes on the tray before transferring to a cooling rack. Leave as is or melt some dark chocolate, drizzle it over the cookies and allow to set.

9. Once cooled completely you can store the cookies in an airtight container. You can also freeze the balls of dough in a freezer-safe container and make cookies on demand – just add 5 minutes to the baking time.

Cook's note:  These are ideally prepped the day before so they have sufficient rest time.

Find more biscuit recipes here. 

This is an extract from HEAL – begin with food by Melissa Delport. Published by Struik Lifestyle (an imprint of Penguin Random House (Pty) Ltd). Photographer and food stylist: Melissa Delport