Chocolate Sablè cookies

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, bicarb and salt into a bowl and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until fluffy and light. Add the sugars and vanilla and beat together for approximately 2 minutes until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix until you have a mixture that looks sandy then add the chocolate and mix to combine. The dough should then look like soil, not a large ball of dough. This is the key to getting the correct sable cookie texture. NB: if you overmix the biscuits will be tough.

Tip out the mixture onto a work surface and gently press together to form a uniform dough. Divide the dough into two halves and roll into two logs, 4cm thick.

Wrap the dough in cling-wrap and place in the fridge, allowing to chill for 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan oven) and line baking trays with baking paper or a Silpat mat. Remove the dough from the fridge and using a thin, sharp knife, cut into rounds about 1cm thick. Place the cookies onto the baking trays and bake for 10–12 minutes until set around the outside but still soft in the center. If you dare, because they’ll be quite hot straight out the oven of course but I definitely recommend snatching one straight out the oven – it is a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate dream.

Leave the cookies to cool on the trays for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cool, leave as is or decorate according to your preference.