Vicki Delany's Soft Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Bestselling author Vicki Delany is Canada's most prolific crime fiction writer. She has written cozy mysteries, historical mysteries, police procedurals, domestic suspense novels, and thrillers. In 2019, she received the Derrick Murdoch Award for her amazing contributions to Canadian crime writing. She currently writes four cozy mystery book series:

• Year-Round Christmas Mysteries

• Tea by the Sea Mysteries

• Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mysteries

  Lighthouse Library Mystery Series (as Eva Gates)

You can learn more about Vicki Delany's books at VickiDelany.com.

Recipe Note From Author Vicki Delany

Who doesn’t love chocolate chip cookies? These are simply the best I’ve ever had. This recipe is a family favorite here at Chez Vicki, and I used it in Murder in a Teacup, the second of my Tea by the Sea books. The books are set in a restaurant specializing in afternoon tea, and although chocolate chip cookies aren’t usually served at a traditional afternoon tea, my cook, Lily Roberts, often makes these for her younger guests as part of the children’s tea.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: 10 min. Yield: approx. 12 cookies.

Ingredients

• 8 Tbsp. salted butter

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

• 1 Tsp vanilla

• 1 egg

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Microwave butter until just barely melted. Should be almost entirely liquid.

2. Using stand mixer or electric beater, beat butter with white and brown sugars until creamy. Add vanilla and the egg; beat on low until incorporated, 10-15 seconds (if you beat the egg too long the cookies will be stiff)

3. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until crumbles form. Use your hands to press the crumbles together into a dough. It should form one large ball that is easy to handle (right at the stage between “wet” dough and “dry” dough). Add the chocolate chips and incorporate with your hands.

4. Roll the dough into 12 large balls (or 9 for HUGE cookies) and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes until the cookies look puffy and dry and just barely golden. (DON’T OVERBAKE: this is essential for keeping the cookies soft. Take them out even if they look like they’re not done yet. They’ll be pale and puffy)

5. Let them cool on the pan for a good 30 minutes or so. They will sink down and turn into dense, buttery, soft cookies. They will stay soft for several days if kept in an airtight container. I also make double/triple batches to freeze (single batches don’t last long!)