I usually love using my air fryer; it’s quick and easy, and I don’t waste time waiting for it to preheat. So when I found Lidl’s air fryer chocolate chip cookies recipe, I just had to try it out. However, it didn’t end up going entirely to plan, and I actually ended up finishing the batch in the oven.
I will admit that I have a particularly small air fryer (I mean, it is typically just me I’m cooking for), and this certainly didn’t help matters. And it’s unlikely to be a problem with the ingredients that were the issue, as the cookies baked in the oven turned out just fine.
The recipe calls for cooking the cookies in batches and lining the air fryer with baking paper, as you would with a tray going into the oven. However, unlike simply removing the tray from the oven, removing the cookies from the air fryer became a bit of a faff.
Following the instructions, I started with a batch of three, which annoyingly ended up forming one big cookie. Then, when using a spatula to remove them from the air fryer, they crumbled into pieces.
After the first disaster, I tried putting just one cookie in at a time, which worked out a lot better and was a lot easier to get out.
However, after doing this twice, I realised it was going to take well over an hour to get through the entire batch, so I decided to use the oven instead, which is the method I will be sticking to when making cookies in the future.
Ingredients (makes 20)
- 150g of butter
- 175g of brown sugar
- One egg
- One teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 225g of plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
- 150g of dark chocolate
Method
Start by mixing the butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk until combined. Sift over the flour and bicarbonate of soda and stir until combined. Then stir in the dark chocolate.
Roll the cookie dough into approximately 18-20 golf-sized balls. Line the air fryer basket with baking parchment. Working in batches, flatten 3-4 cookie dough balls into slim patties between your hands. Place in the air fryer basket and cook for five to six minutes at 180°C.
Allow the cookies to cool and firm-up a little in the air-fryer for a few minutes, then carefully remove using and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough balls.
