Chargrill Charlie’s x Anna Polyviou Lockdown Cookie Dough

Pastry chef Anna Polyviou was busy during last year’s extended lockdown. The affable chef (who still sported an impressively sculpted pink mohawk at home) was invited by popular chook-shop chain Chargrill Charlie’s to mix a tonne of triple-chocolate cookie dough. Now they’ve paired up once again, bringing back the crowd-pleasing flavour alongside a new creation.

Polyviou, who is often called the “Punk Princess of Pastry”, achieved national fame when she made her signature 74-step dessert, Anna’s Mess, on Masterchef in 2016. It’s a take on the Eton Mess, but it looks like the Death Star from Star Wars. Diners drop – or smash – the dessert onto their plate to both reveal and combine its elements.

While that particular recipe comes with eight pages of instruction, these cookies are vastly simpler to make. You just scoop a few tablespoons of the dough onto a lined tray and pop it in the oven for 10 minutes or so. You can also freeze the dough in smaller batches so you’re all sorted for future cookie cravings.

The tubs pack some premium products. The triple-chocolate flavour uses Callebaut Belgian chocolate; Heilala vanilla extract (“which comes from Tonga and the sales go back to the community”, she says); and Olsson’s sea salt from Sydney.

And the newbie? Biscoff bites, made with the popular Lotus Biscoff biscuits and its namesake spread.

Polyviou’s cookie dough ($15) is available for pick-up and delivery from Friday July 2 from all Chargrill Charlie’s stores in Sydney and Melbourne. Find your nearest location here.