Cookies with redcurrants and chocolate

Delicate butter cookies studded with dark chocolate and fresh redcurrants. Crisp around the edges, soft in the centre, with a delicious balance of sweet and tart flavours. Delicate shortbread cookies with redcurrants and chocolate. These large, butter cookies spread beautifully as they bake and contain no raising agents. Before baking, fresh redcurrants are gently pressed into the dough, adding a lovely tart note and making the cookies look especially attractive.

Makes 20–25 cookies.

Ingredients for the cookies with redcurrants and chocolate:

• 125 g butter
• 150 g plain flour
• 3 tbsp ground almonds
• 150 g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 100 g dark chocolate chips or finely chopped dark chocolate
• 150 g redcurrants

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place the butter and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until fully combined. Add the plain flour and ground almonds and mix until a smooth cookie dough forms. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips. The dough will be very sticky — this is perfectly normal. If preferred, chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to make it easier to handle.

Line a flat baking tray with baking parchment. Using a spoon and helping yourself with a second spoon, drop portions of dough onto the tray, leaving very large gaps between them. During baking the cookies spread considerably, almost doubling in size. Flatten each portion slightly with the back of a spoon, then gently press redcurrants into the surface of each cookie. The dough is very soft, so this is easy to do.

Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes before carefully transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3–5 days.

Enjoy!