Pistachio nuts have grown on me over the years and are now a firm favourite with me. I think they’re an acquired taste – the same goes for dark chocolate. You’ll grow to love them more you’re exposed to them. I never used to like their flavours but now, well I’ve come to realise how good they are. Salted pistachios? Yes. Pistachio ice cream? YES. Bittersweet chocolate? Well, yes I’ll have that too. It was during my Summer in Berlin that I began to understand and appreciate quality chocolate. They’re both pricey but worth it, especially when it comes to cooking with them. Together they are the most amazing combination, and these guilt-free soft baked cookies do them justice.

You’ll want to use 60% or 70% (cocoa solids) dark chocolate for intensity, but the recipe can be adapted if you prefer a lower grade. It’s a simple recipe with only a handful of ingredients, but the key to this is probably the short length of time you cook them for – just 8 minutes – so I’d suggest not leaving the kitchen to save distractions!

Oh, and eat them warm out of the oven. But I warn you, one won’t be enough…

Makes 6 large/12 small cookies | Method: 5 mins | Cooking: 8 mins

For the cookie mix:

Step one: Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Step two: In a heavy bowl or mixer, cream the butter, sugar and egg until well mixed. Add the salt, flour and oats.

Step three: Roughly chop the chocolate into semi-large chunks and also the pistachio nuts. Mix into the cookie dough until dispersed.

Step four: With your hands, take a golf ball sized amount of dough, and gently press down onto the tray. You should fit six perfectly on the tray, well spaced apart (they’ll spread when cooking and if making 12 then use two trays).

Step five: Bake for 8 minutes, then let cool for a few minutes on a wire rack. They should be firm on the outside, but soft melting goodness inside.