At NorthLink Ferries, we are proud to choose Fairtrade products, which means farmers and workers in developing countries receive better prices and decent working conditions for producing the things we consume every day. Our commitment to using Fairtrade products extends to responsibly sourcing the material for our staff uniform, and to the food and drinks we stock on board our ships. It is very easy (and tasty!) to choose ingredients, including sugar, chocolate chips, and vanilla extract, that are ethically sourced and fairly traded. We thought it would also be fun to see if one of our favourite recipes, for chocolate chip cookies, could be made using Fairtrade products. It turned out to be very easy (and tasty!) to choose ingredients, including sugar, chocolate chips, and vanilla extract, that were ethically sourced and fairly traded. This super-easy recipe makes 24 delicious cookies, with that classic cookie taste and a lovely chocolate-y gooey centre! They have been a favourite with everyone who has tried them – make sure you use the exact measurements below for perfect results every time. Ingredients to make Fairtrade chocolate chip cookies photo © Copyright Magnus Dixon Ingredients 275g (2½ cups) plain flour 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 150g (¾ cup) white sugar 135g (¾ cup) soft brown sugar 227g (1 cup) butter 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 200g (2 cups) milk chocolate chips Combine the flour, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of sugar photo © Copyright Magnus Dixon Method Preheat a fan oven to 160°C and find a large bowl and a medium-sized bowl. In the medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Mix all the ingredients well. In the large bowl, mix the white sugar and the soft brown sugar together. Melt the butter (a minute in the microwave should do the trick) and then add it to the sugar. Stir well. Mix the sugars, melted butter, eggs and vanilla extract together photo © Copyright Magnus Dixon Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the sugar and butter and stir until the mixture is creamy. Combine the wet and dry ingredients to form a thick dough photo © Copyright Magnus Dixon Tip the flour mixture into the sugar and butter mixture, just a little at a time, and stir as you do so. The mixture will become harder to stir, but eventually all the flour, butter and sugar will be combined together and will smell very fine indeed! Stir through the chocolate chips photo © Copyright Magnus Dixon The final addition is the chocolate chips – stir these in now. Scoop the cookie dough into small balls on lined baking trays photo © Copyright Magnus Dixon Line three trays with grease-proof paper. We use two teaspoons to scoop out the cookie mixture and place it in little heaps (of approximately the same size) on the trays. The heaps will melt down flat, and the cookies will spread out when baked, so make sure you leave plenty of room between each of the 24 heaps – otherwise they will melt into each other. The first time I made these cookies I placed them too close together and ended up with one pizza-sized cookie! Bake for approximately 13 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. The baked cookies fresh from the oven photo © Copyright Magnus Dixon Some like these cookies best when they are still warm and gooey, but I adore them when they have cooled down – and think they taste better this way. Let us know which you prefer! By Magnus Dixon Orkney and Shetland enthusiast, family man, loves walks, likes animals, terrible at sports, dire taste in music, adores audiobooks and films, eats a little too much for his own good. Pin it! Header image: Fairtrade Chocolate Chip Cookies photo © Copyright Magnus Dixon
