Did you know that this week is National Baking Week? So, if you were just waiting for an excuse to break out the mixing bowls or the icing sugar, now’s your chance!

Personally, I thought I’d use it as an excuse to share with you one of my favourite recipes from my upcoming 12+ book, Love, Lies and Lemon Pies – my recipe for chocolate chip cookies.

Here’s what the book is about:

Sixteen-year-old Lottie is on a mission to protect her biggest secret, and it’ll take every lie and every baking trick she can muster.

One year on from her father’s death, the school counselor is on her back about her slipping grades and refusal to take part in school activities. All of which Lottie could handle, if they weren’t threatening to pay her mum a home visit.

So Lottie agrees to join Bake Club, relying on the recipes her dad taught her to help the other members take part in a national baking competition. But from the very first chocolate chip cookies, it’s clear that she’s not the only one keeping secrets…

Chocolate chip cookies aren’t just the first thing Lottie makes in Bake Club – they also mark the first time she bakes with Mac, the school bad boy who has been sent to Bake Club as a punishment. So, along with the recipe, here’s a sneak peek at the moment they start to bake together…

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Cream together 125g of unsalted butter and 200g of light muscovado sugar in a bowl using a mixer, or wooden spoon.

Mix in 1tsp of vanilla extract and a lightly beaten egg.

Sift in 200g of plain flour, ½ tsp of baking powder and a pinch of salt, then

stir until just combined. Fold through 200g of chocolate chips.

Place spoonfuls of cookie mixture onto a greased and lined baking tray, making sure to leave room for spreading.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 180°C, until they turn a pale golden colour.

As Miss Anderson started talking us through some baking basics I already knew, I took the opportunity to watch the boy who’d claimed a fifty per cent share in my chocolate chip cookies. He looked in an even worse mood than he had earlier in the week outside Mr Carroll’s office. His tie and school sweater were gone, and his hair was a mess.

“And now, it’s over to you,” Miss Anderson said, with a little more excitement than I felt was strictly necessary. “Just follow the recipe and you’ll be fine.”

At our station, Mac turned to me and scowled. “You’re just everywhere this week, aren’t you?”

“Apparently so.” I gave him a too bright smile. “Aren’t you lucky?”

“I was going to go with cursed,” Mac said, but his scowl lightened up a bit, so I figured he was probably joking.

“You ever made cookies before?”

Mac shrugged. “Never made much of anything before.”

Look out for more sneak peaks into the world of Bake Club as we get closer to the release date, next May!