Recipe: muscovado dark chocolate chunk cookies by Matt Adlard
Soft and chewy, this recipe delivers the optimum cookie texture

Every baker needs a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe, said Matt Adlard. I like them slightly crispy on the outside, with a soft and chewy centre. By using muscovado sugar, we get more of that molasses flavour and the cookie retains more moisture, resulting in the perfect texture. I always use the best chocolate I can get my hands on for these, as it makes a huge difference in the flavour.
Ingredients: makes 12
- 110g unsalted butter, softened
- 120g dark muscovado sugar
- 80g granulated/caster sugar
- 2g sea salt
- 50g eggs
- 225g all-purpose/plain flour
- 5g corn flour
- 5g baking soda
- 2g baking powder
- 180g chopped dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids, plus more for topping
- Special equipment: stand mixer, with paddle attachment 3 × baking trays/sheets cookie cutter
Method
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugars and salt. Beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, pausing to scrape down the sides as needed.
- Add the eggs and beat until they have been fully incorporated, scraping down the sides to make sure all the butter is also incorporated.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, corn flour, baking soda and baking powder.
- Place a sieve over the stand mixer bowl and sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed just until the flour has been incorporated.
- Add the chopped dark chocolate and mix again to incorporate.
- Roll the dough into 65g balls in your hand and place them on a baking tray. Cover with plastic wrap/cling film and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C. Working in batches, place 6 dough balls on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Press a few more bits of chopped dark chocolate into the top of the balls.
- Place the tray in the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes, or until lightly golden.
- Remove the tray from the oven and, while still hot, take a cutter slightly larger than the cookie and quickly rotate it around the cookie. This neatens up the edges and gives a perfectly round cookie.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.
Recipe from "Bake It Better: 70 Show-Stopping Recipes to Level Up Your Baking Skills" by Matt Adlard, published by DK at £20. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £15.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.
Sign up for The Week's Food & Drink newsletter for recipes, reviews and recommendations.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - May 4, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - deportation, Canadian politeness, and more
-
5 low approval cartoons about poll numbers
Cartoons Artists take on fake pollsters, shared disapproval, and more
-
Deepfakes and impostors: the brave new world of AI jobseeking
In The Spotlight More than 80% of large companies use AI in their hiring process, but increasingly job candidates are getting in on the act
-
A journey into Egypt's western desert
The Week Recommends There is much more to be found in Egypt when straying from the usual tourist destinations
-
Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style: full of 'revelations and surprises'
The Week Recommends The Design Museum's sweeping collection of all things swimming contains hidden depths
-
The Ugly Stepsister: 'slyly funny' body-horror take on Cinderella
The Week Recommends Emilie Blichfeldt's cutting Norwegian revision of the classic fairy tale leaves no character unscathed
-
John Boyne shares his favourite books
The Week recommends The bestselling novelist picks works by Tobias Wolff, Christos Tsiolkas, and Agatha Christie
-
The Brightening Air: a 'gripping' family drama
The Week Recommends Connor McPherson's Chekhovian drama about a pair of siblings whose lives are upended by the arrival of their relations
-
6 isolated homes for hermits
Feature Featuring a secluded ranch on 560 acres in New Mexico and a home inspired by a 400-year-old Italian farmhouse in Colorado
-
Allies at War: a 'revelatory' account of the Second World War
The Week Recommends Tim Bouverie's 'old-fashioned diplomatic history' explores the often fraught relationship between world powers
-
The Friend: a 'graceful' but flawed dog movie
The Week Recommends Naomi Watts stars in 'intelligent' adaptation of Sigrid Nunez's book about a 'problematic pooch'