Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Yesterday was National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, so I thought I'd share my mama's recipe for chocolate chip cookies (see below). 

For years, I struggled to make chocolate chip cookies. They were too dry, too cakey, too flat, too ... something. 

After my mom passed away, I found a handwritten copy of her cookie recipe. I followed it to the letter and baked a batch of cookies that tasted like my childhood. 

In new new release, Sunrise Surf, the hero, Logan, loves anything with chocolate chips in them. In fact, he's quite taken with the cookies the heroine makes for a party for her nephew. 

You're probably wondering what a beach book has to do with cowboys. 

Logan grew up on a ranch in Central Oregon, and despite his work undercover for the Oregon State Police, he goes back to the ranch to see his family whenever he has a chance. 

So how does a cowboy end up posing as a surfer for the summer?

I'll let Logan explain ...

~*~

From the time he was seven until his grandfather passed away during Logan’s sophomore year of college, he’d spent two weeks every summer with his grandparents on the Oregon coast. After that, his grandmother couldn’t bear to visit the familiar places and walk through the memories the coast stirred in her thoughts.

However, it didn’t keep Logan away. He continued surfing every chance he got, even with his demanding and busy career as an Oregon State Police officer. Logan had known the first time he’d seen a state police car cruising down the lonely stretch of highway by his family’s ranch in the middle of nowhere that he wanted to work for them.

With that goal in mind, he’d pursued it until he’d become a respected member of the force.

Which is how he’d ended up undercover in Seaside.

~*~

When a police officer posing as a surfer and a doctor wading through the uncharted waters of parenting a teen join forces to dismantle a drug operation, anything is possible.

 Oregon State Police Officer Logan Wright swaps his badge for a board, posing undercover as a homeless surfer to infiltrate a deadly drug ring. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Seaside's rugged coastline, he struggles with his dual life, especially after meeting a beautiful doctor who turns his head and touches his heart. Troubled by the fine line between duty and authenticity, Logan fears sharing the truth of his identity will drive her away.

 Laken Hayes is a devoted doctor, fiercely protective of her teenage nephew, and determined to keep her hectic life in balance. But when a free-spirited surfer enters her world, nothing will ever be the same. Unexpectedly drawn to the charismatic man, Laken finds joy in his upbeat outlook on life while inadvertently becoming entangled in the web of Logan’s mission.

 As their connection deepens and mysteries unravel, Logan faces a heart-wrenching dilemma: will he continue the deception to protect his cover or reveal his true self to the woman who has captured his heart?

 Join Logan and Laken as they navigate a tide of secrets, false identities, and a wave of fast-moving danger in Sunrise Surf, a wholesome small-town romance that proves love may be the ultimate risk worth taking.

I hope you'll check out Logan and Laken's story, and have a beautiful August!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup salted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugars. Add egg and combine. Add vanilla. Stir baking soda and salt into flour then add a little at a time to dough. Stir in chocolate chips.

Use a cookie scoop, or a tablespoon to drop dough on parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes until cookie are just set and barely starting to brown. Remove from oven and cool for a minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Yield: 36 cookies

USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield is a farm girl who loves to write character-driven romances with relatable heroes and heroines. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances are filled with sarcasm, humor, hope, and hunky heroes.

When Shanna isn’t dreaming up unforgettable characters, twisting plots, or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, she hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.