I’m going to be elsewhere for the next week on a work trip but (fingers crossed) I’m hoping that at some point I’ll have a bit of free time to sneak out and take a few pictures

In the meantime, here’s a small-but-perfectly-formed chocolate biscuit of delight – crispy on the outside, a tiny bit chewy on the inside and completely wonderful all the way through. I’m going to take a little stash with me to nibble throughout the plane flight…

See you all in a week’s time  

Chocolate biscuits from The Perfect Cookbook by David Herbert

You’ll need:

125g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
125g unsalted butter, chopped
1 large egg
1 cup lightly-packed light brown sugar
1 and 1/4 cups self, raising flour, sifted

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Line two oven trays with baking paper.

2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of hot water, stirring occasionally, until smooth.

3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg and sugar with a wooden spoon until combined.

4. Stir the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Add the sifted flour and mix until smooth and thick. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

5. Roll teaspoonfuls of the dough into balls and place on the oven trays, allowing 5cm between each for the biscuits to spread while cooking.

6. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the biscuits are firm to the touch and the tops have wrinkled slightly. Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.

Cook’s notes

The recipe suggests this makes about 24 to 30. I think I managed about 40 odd.

David suggest good variations of stirring through a cup of chocolate chips for a bit of extra indulgence or drizzling the finished biscuits with melted dark, milk or white chocolate. I was too impatient to try any of those options!