White chocolate and raspberry cookies

These white chocolate and raspberry cookies are the perfect summer treat. The aroma of raspberries filling the kitchen as they bake is simply irresistible, and everyone will be eagerly waiting for these sweet homemade cookies to come out of the oven. White chocolate and raspberries are a match made in heaven! They’re at their very best when the edges are golden while the centres remain soft and chewy. Best of all, they’re wonderfully easy to make.

Makes 30 cookies.

Ingredients for the white chocolate and raspberry cookies:

• 115 g butter
• 100 g caster sugar
• 100 g light soft brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 200 g plain flour
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 120 g white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate
• 100 g fresh raspberries

All the ingredients should be at room temperature.

The butter should be very soft – soft enough that a knife slides through it effortlessly, like butter left on the kitchen counter on a warm summer day. If it isn’t soft enough, microwave it for a few seconds until roughly one-third has melted.

Place the butter and both sugars into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until very light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until fully combined. Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt, then mix just until incorporated. Fold in the white chocolate chips with a spatula. Add 40 raspberries (keeping the rest aside) and gently fold them into the dough.

Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Using a small ice cream scoop or a spoon, shape the dough into balls about the size of a small walnut and place them onto the prepared tray, leaving several centimetres between each cookie, as they spread considerably during baking. There is no need to flatten them. Break the remaining raspberries into smaller pieces and gently press them into the tops of the cookies.

Bake at 175°C for 11–12 minutes, or until the edges – and just a little of the centre – begin to turn golden. The longer the cookies bake, the crispier they become. Cookies with paler centres will remain softer and chewier. They will be very soft straight from the oven, so leave them on the baking tray for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Because they contain fresh raspberries, these cookies are best eaten within 3 days and are not suitable for longer storage.

Enjoy!