Step 1

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 fan-forced; 390F). Line a large baking tray with baking paper.

Step 2

Add the soft butter, caster sugar and brown sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer. Whisk on medium speed until the mixture becomes pale thick and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla on low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

Step 3

Turn the speed up to medium-high and beat for 10 minutes. This will whip the batter to almost double its volume. During those 10 minutes, crush and/or finely chop up the components of your “compost” mix.

Step 4

When the 10 minutes is up, reduce back to low speed and pour in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate soda and salt until the dough just comes together. Scrape down the bowl. Pour in your “compost” mix and beat on low speed until just combined.

Step 5

Use a tablespoon or ice-cream scoop to place balls of the dough onto the lined baking tray. Leave a 3 cm gap (1 in) between each one. Place the tray in the fridge for at least 1 hour. This stops the cookies spreading too far while they bake.

Step 6

Remove the tray from the fridge and place it into the oven on the middle rack. Bake for 10 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown. They will flatten, spread and crack on the top as they bake. They will harden later as they cool.

Step 7

Remove tray from the oven. Let the cookies cool completely on the tray.