Happy near-the-end of January, friends!

I’m gonna be honest, I really despise January. It’s cold, dark, and generally unfun. Now, as most of you probably know, I live in Germany. I’ve been here off and on since 2011. And before you ask: yes my German is passable when needed, no, I’ve still not adjusted to the culture and may never, yes, the pretzels and bread are extremely good, and no, I wouldn’t suggest moving here to escape the US. Not yet anyway. Germany’s going through its own political thing. I won’t get into it, that’s not what you signed up for. The point is, Germany––like my hometown in Massachusetts––has offered me no respite from the January blues. Thankfully, I’ve kept busy though.

First, I’ve been baking all sorts of stuff. Here’s a picture of my latest cookie creation. We’ve got black cocoa, Oreo crumbs, mini m&ms, milk, semisweet, and dark chocolate callets. If you’re looking at this and thinking: “Alechia, is that too much chocolate?” Nope. It’s well-balanced, promise. I’ll post the recipe below.

Next, I’ve been writing. Writing, revising, and preparing. So far I’m nearing the developmental end on my Feb 4, 2026 book, Until the Clock Strikes Midnight (a YA cozy romantasy from Feiwel & Friends), I’ve got an adult Christmas rom-com and a genuinely intense YA sci-fi to submit, and as of yesterday, I began drafting something a little goofy but delightful.

Reading-wise, I finished the fabulous Jenny L. Howe’s Love at First Tilt, which comes out July 22nd, and it is STUNNING. Truly, preorder if you haven’t already. It’s a YA contemporary with a plus-size character and a love letter to friendship, family, and fandom. Also, rooooomance! Next, I’m about to fall into The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes. This is going to be huge for me; as someone with bipolar disorder I haven’t read enough bipolar main characters. Hollywood tends to portray us––at best––as chaotic gremlins, and––at worst––volatile villains. The latter more often than not. It’ll be so refreshing to see positive rep (also worth noting, you can expect this rep in Until the Clock Strikes Midnight too, I’m very nervous about it!). Also, Sonora is an incredibly talented award-winning author, I’m beyond excited to read anything they write. You can preorder this book too, coming out 9/25. How lucky am I that I get to read all of these amazing stories?

Lastly, I’m watching Severance and I very happily finished Skeleton Crew. Eight thumbs up! Oh, and, did you know I have a book out May 13th? That’s right I do! Their Just Desserts co-authored with Tracy Badua. It’s the sequel to The Cookie Crumbles! You can preorder here too. Look at this cover by Diobelle Cerna!

Annnnd here’s the recipe!

The Oooo-Girl-I-Need-Some-Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

• 125 g unsalted butter

• 150g dark or light brown sugar––I like dark here

• 50g white granulated sugar

• 1 medium egg

• 2 Tablespoons milk (plant is fine too)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 25g cocoa powder, preferably dark

• 225g all-purpose flour

• 25g Oreo crumbs

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 150g milk chocolate chips

• 100g dark chocolate chips

• 100g M&M minis or regular, though it will look different 

Method of Preparation:

1. Preheat your oven to 375F or 180C and line your sheet pan with parchment paper.

2. Cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. About 2 minutes with a mixer.

3. Add the vanilla, milk, and egg until completely combined. Then mix in the cocoa powder, flour, Oreo crumbs, baking soda, baking powder and salt until a cohesive cookie dough is formed. 

4. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips and M&Ms. 

5. With 1 Tablespoon cookie scoop (you can use a spoon to keep them consistent), scoop as many as the dough allows, set the dough balls in a tupperware bin or a plate for use. Though I do sometimes freeze for later at this stage.

6. Take 5 balls and place on the parchment-lined tray. For the first batch, place them in an X formation, giving them space to stretch. This way you can see how far they spread. The second batch you'll know how many you can actually fit. 

7. Bake in the oven for 8-11 minutes. This is all you, if you like gooey, go on the shorter end. If you like crispy, go longer. You do you.

8. Once baked, remove from the oven and let them sit on the sheet pan for a few minutes for the bottom to firm up. Slide them onto a cooling rack or plate, make more because you'll eat them all. Seriously. 

Happy Baking! 

See you all next time and thanks for reading,

Alechia