Many people enjoy baking come the holiday season, and perhaps no dish is more synonymous with holiday baking than cookies. Children leave cookies out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, while adults may indulge and enjoy an extra cookie or two at family gatherings or holiday office parties.

Cookies come in all shapes and sizes, so bakers have an array of options at their disposal when planning their holiday menus. Chocolate chip cookies may be among the most popular types of cookies, and bakers who want to capitalize on that popularity while giving loved ones something a little different may want to try the following recipe for “Double Chocolate Chip Cookies” from Maxine Clark’s “Chocolate: Deliciously Indulgent Recipes for Chocolate Lovers” (Ryland, Peters & Small).

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Makes about 12 large cookies

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

• 5 tablespoons granulated sugar

• 5 tablespoons light brown sugar, sifted

• 1 large egg, beaten

• 1⁄ 2 teaspoon pure vanilla essence or chocolate extract (see note)

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons self-rising flour

• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt

• 2 ⁄3 cup (or more) dark and white (or milk) chocolate chips (or roughly chopped chocolate)

A heavy, nonstick baking sheet

Preheat the oven to 350°

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla essence.

Sift the flour with the cocoa and salt in a small bowl. Fold into the egg mixture with the chocolate chips.

Place four heaping tablespoonsfuls of the mixture on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them well apart. Press down and spread out to about 1 ⁄4-inch thick with the back of a wet spoon or with dampened fingers (you may like to scatter some more chocolate chips over the top). Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack. When cool, store in an airtight container. Repeat with the remaining mixture.

Note: Chocolate extract is a fat-free flavoring ingredient made from a blend of roasted cacao beans, water and alcohol.