Recipe video above. This is a copycat of Australia's most famous Chocolate Chip Cookies - the Byron Bay Milk Choc Chunk Cookies! Just like the real deal, these are big, crunchy, buttery and loaded with a generous amount of chocolate. See reader feedback on the White Chocolate Macadamia which uses the same cookie dough! Good quality milk chocolate for baking is hard to come by, so we're using dark chocolate here - but if anything, it intensifies the chocolate experience!Cookie emergency? No beater? No worries! Make these fast & easy Chocolate Chip Cookies instead (they're soft and chewy, no chill time).
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time25 minutesmins
Chilling1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Course: Baking, Cookies
Cuisine: Australia, Western
Keyword: choc chunk cookies, Chocolate chip cookies
Place butter, salt and both sugars in a bowl. Beat on speed 5 for 1 minute until it's soft, creamy and fluffy.
Add yolks and vanilla - beat for 1 minute until well incorporated.
Add baking powder, rice flour and half the plain flour. Beat until you can't see flour anymore, then add remaining flour and beat again until incorporated.
Mixture will be fairly clump and thick, but if you press between your fingers, it should stick together (rather than being dry and crumbly).
Use a wooden spoon to stir chocolate through.
Tip out onto a work surface then press together into a 22cm / 9" log. Wrap in cling wrap or paper, twisting to seal the ends.
Refrigerate 1.5 - 2 hours (Note 4).
Baking:
Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).
Line 2 trays with baking/parchment paper. Put one shelf in the middle of the oven, and the other underneath.
Remove from fridge, unwrap.
Use a serrated knife to slice into 1.75cm / 2/3" thick slices. Saw carefully through choc chunks. If it falls apart on edges, just press if back together, no big deal. Place 6 on each tray.
Bake 10 minutes. Turn oven down to 170°C/340°F (150°C fan), switch trays (Note 5)
Bake for a further 15 minutes until surface is light golden and edges are a bit golden.
Remove from oven and cool completely on trays - this makes them crunchy.
STORAGE: Keeps for at least 2 weeks in an airtight container - they stay 100% crunchy, just like they're freshly made.
Notes
SMALLER COOKIES - 30 cm/12" log = 30 cookies x 1cm / 2/5" thick slices. 10 minutes at high temp, then around 8 minutes at the low temp (switch trays). They expand slightly (see photo in post) so leave at least 1" / 2.5cm between each cookie.1. Butter - you want the butter to be soft so it's easily to whip and become fluffy. Don't let it be on the verge of melting though - that's too soft, no good for cookies.BUTTER SOFTENING TIP - if it's too cold for the butter to soften by leaving it out on the counter, or you forgot (as I always do), then use this trick:
cut into 1 cm cubes (or for US sticks, slice 1/3" thick) and place in single layer on small plate
place 2 cups water in a microwave proof jug or bowl. Microwave on high for 2 - 3 minutes until just before boiling
working quickly, remove jug, put plate in microwave and shut door, DO NOT TURN MICROWAVE ON! Leave for 10 minutes - the residual heat in the microwave will soften the butter perfectly!
if still not soft enough (eg cut too big, microwave has lower power), then just repeat (but for round 2, check after a few minutes)
Do not try microwaving the butter - even the greatest experts run a high risk of pockets of melted butter = cookies won't work!😩2. Rice flour - this gives the cookies a slightly more "velvety" mouthfeel even though they are crunchy cookies, which is a distinct feature of the Byron Bay Cookies. Find it in Asian stores and the flour aisle of grocery stores (small box). Also used in Shortbread Cookies (for same reason). Sub with normal flour - cookies are still terrific, texture is just not quite as velvety (but 100% still fantastic - in fact, I made a batch for a friend with no rice flour just a few days ago).Note: If you use the McKenzie's brand (Australia) the rice flour isn't ground as finely as flour so you may notice a faint grit in the cookies. Though actually, most normal people don't notice it! For this reason, I prefer using Asian brands as they don't have this problem. However, the faint grit really is a minor, minor thing and it's 100% worth it for the texture benefit you get in the cookie!3. Chocolate - use any baking chocolate here ie chocolate sold in the baking aisle, intended for cooking. Eating chocolate doesn't hold up in the oven - goes a funny texture. Choc blocks are better quality, but chips will be fine too!4. Chilling dough - this is to make it sliceable, and to stop the cookies from inflating in the oven. If you forget about the dough and it stays in the fridge for way longer, it gets rock hard so leave it out for 20 minutes or so before slicing.5. Switch trays for even cooking - move the bottom tray up to the middle shelf, and the tray on the middle shelf down to the bottom shelf.6. Leftover egg whites – Here’s my list of what I do with them and all my egg white recipes can be found in this recipe collection.7. An original recipe, my copycat of the Byron Bay Cookies by reference to the ingredients on the packet. It's as close as I can get - pretty close!8. Nutrition per cookie: