Basic Chocolate Chip Cookies by Poppy Flynn

Basic Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Poppy Flynn

August 4 th is Chocolate Chip Cookie Day –Celebrate by making your own fresh cookies with this quick and simple recipe. Prep:10 minutes ~ Cooking time:15 minutes ~ Makes approx. 20 cookies ~ Preheat the oven to 170°C (gas mark 4) Ingredients

100g butter or margarine (best at room temperature) 50g sugar 150g self-raising flour 100g chocolate chips 1tsp vanilla essence (optional) Method

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the Vanilla essence. Stir in the flour and chocolate chips. Knead with hands to make a smooth dough. Divide into approximately 20 even-sized balls and arrange on a greased baking sheet with enough room for them to spread and press them down slightly. Cook for 12-15 minutes until golden then leave to cool them on a wire rack.

Hints and tips:

While the Vanilla Essence is optional, it does improve the flavour of the cookies, but if you don’t have any, it’s not the end of the world.

If you prefer Double Chocolate Chip Cookies, swap out 50g of the flour and replace with cocoa powder. For a richer cookie use brown or demerara sugar. For a more country style cookie use chopped chocolate from a chilled bar. Experiment with White and Dark chocolate in your cookies. Add a handful of nuts for a tasty twist.

Poppy Flynn was born in Buckinghamshire, UK and moved to Wales at eight years old with parents who wanted to live the 'self-sufficiency' lifestyle. Today she still lives in rural Wales and is married with six children. Poppy's love of reading and writing stemmed from her parents' encouragement and the fact that they didn't have a television in the house. "When you're surrounded by fields, cows and sheep, no neighbors,

no TV and the closest tiny village is four miles away, there's a certain limit to your options, but with books your adventures and your horizons are endless." Discover more about Poppy on Mom's Favorite Reads website: