American · Desserts

Air Fryer Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies baked in the air fryer in two batches of six, with crisp edges and soft centres after 10 minutes.

20 min total Serves 12 servings Easy
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Air Fryer Cookies

Photograph credit: Overhead Close-Up of Chocolate Chip Cookies inside a Clear Glass Jar by Karolina Grabowska · Kaboompics Standard License · Kaboompics

Why do cookies spread so much less in an air fryer? The moving air sets the edges of the dough quickly, so the cookie holds its shape before the butter has time to melt out. That gives a thicker, chewier cookie than the same dough would make in a flat oven tray.

Cook at a lower heat than you might think, 160°C / 320°F, and stop while the centre still looks a little pale and soft. The cookies keep cooking on the hot tray for a few minutes after you take them out. Overbaked cookies turn hard and biscuity once cold.

Line the basket with baking paper that is cut to size and does not cover the holes entirely. Paper that blows up into the fan can burn. Leave a gap of 3 cm between the cookies, because they will puff and then settle.

Use brown sugar for chew and a good bar of chocolate, chopped roughly, so that you get molten pools rather than uniform chips. Work in two batches of six.

How to Make Air Fryer Cookies

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  1. Beat the butter, brown sugar and caster sugar for 2 minutes until pale. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

  2. Stir in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt until a soft dough forms. Fold in the chocolate.

  3. Heat the air fryer to 160°C / 320°F. Shape the dough into 12 balls, each about the size of a walnut, and chill them for 10 minutes.

  4. Line the basket with cut-to-fit baking paper. Place 6 balls on it with space between, pressing each down lightly. Air fry for 10 minutes until the edges are golden.

  5. Leave on the paper for 5 minutes to firm up, then move to a rack. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

A Few Pointers

  • Weigh the dough balls so every cookie bakes at the same rate.
  • Stop when the middle still looks soft: it sets as it cools.
  • Freeze extra dough balls and bake from frozen, adding 2 minutes.

Serve It With

Cold milk · Vanilla ice cream · Coffee · Peanut butter

Storage

Keeps in an airtight tin for 4 days. Raw dough balls freeze for 2 months.

The Numbers per Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

253Calories
3gProtein
31gCarbs
13gFat
1gFibre
17gSugar
160mgSodium

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Compiled by Turab

Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.

First published ; last changed .