Seville Meringue Pie

Click on book to visit Amazon

LORD OF THE PIES (such a great title and yes, you’ll be craving pie while reading) is the second book in Nell Hampton’s Kensington Palace Chef Mystery series. This delightful addition gives the reader an insider’s peek at working for the royal family in London. The protagonist, Chef Carrie Ann Cole, is an American transplant who is hired by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as a private chef for the family. While she’s making a few friends, several people view her as an outsider and it seems like someone is going out of their way to sabotage her position. Could it be the stalker who spies on her while she’s working in the kitchen late at night? Or maybe one of the other palace chefs who feel that an American shouldn’t be cooking for royalty? Carrie Ann knows she must prove she is more than capable in order to keep her job. When her pie is found to have poisoned a waiter and she’s relieved of duties while the investigation is ongoing, Chef Cole finds herself asking questions and gathering information on who could have wanted the waiter dead in order to clear her name.

Ms. Hampton weaves intrigue, spies, scandal, and a cooking competition in this page turner. I’ll admit I love hearing about Britain’s monarchy and greatly enjoyed the glimpses we see of the young royal family through Carrie Ann’s interaction. The story is well-plotted and the action provides good pace. Given how many people are keeping secrets in the palace along with the plot twists, I was kept guessing about who the killer was but also who the intended victim was. The final reveal caught me by surprise… I didn’t see that one coming at all! The satisfying conclusion gives a hint of what’s in store for Carrie Ann in the next book and I cannot wait!

Like I said at the beginning, you’ll be craving pies as you read this book. I am happy to say that Ms. Hampton provides a few recipes at the back of the book and I’m delighted to share her recipe for Seville Meringue Pie! Seville oranges (also known as bitter or sour oranges) are used for cooking and not eating. I found Seville Marmalade at my local Bristol Farms market but regular orange marmalade can be substituted. The orange custard was simply amazing and I would have been happy to eat it as pudding on its own. However, when paired with the buttery, flaky crust and topped by sweet meringue that’s crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, this dessert is fit for royalty… or serve to someone you want to treat as royalty!

Amazon Synopsis

When Carrie Ann Cole bakes a lemon meringue pie to die for that actually kills someone, she must find out who the real killer is before her time at the Kensington Palace expires.

The elegant Orangery at Kensington Palace is the perfect setting for the bridal shower of Carrie Ann Cole’s best friend’s sister. Personal chef to the royal family, Carrie Ann’s pie theme is naturally winning. But a waiter later keels over dead into the lemon meringue pie she leaves as a thank-you to the staff and Carrie Ann realizes that somebody slipped a mickey into that meringue.

Her floury fingerprints are all over that pie and the authorities suspect her distress is a cover-up for murder. Carrie Ann must set out to clear her name if she wants to stay at her dream job any longer. But all too soon, another body drops in the Orangery. This time, it’s the Orangery chef.

Murder won’t crimp her style, and as bodies pile up, Carrie Ann uncovers palace intrigue, London nightlife, and British pies scouring for the killer in Lord of the Pies, the witty follow-up to Nell Hampton’s Kale to the Queen.

A special thanks to Nell Hampton for providing a hardcover copy of LORD OF THE PIES for one lucky winner. Contest is limited to U.S. residents only and ends Wednesday, April 25, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

Seville Meringue Pie

Ingredients

Pie Crust

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 tablespoons ice water
3/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Pie Filling

3/4 cup full-fat milk
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup sugar
zest and juice from 3 medium oranges (about 1 cup juice)
1/4 cup thin-cut Seville orange marmalade
3/4 cup unsalted butter
4 large egg yolks

Meringue

4 large egg whites
1 cup golden caster sugar*
1 teaspoon cream of tarter

Instructions

Pie Crust

Stir flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium-sized bowl. Add butter; cut with pastry cutter until it resembles fine meal or is pea-sized.
Add 4 tablespoons ice water and cider vinegar. Stir with a wooden spoon until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonful if dough is dry.
Gather dough together and turn out onto work surface. Form into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap disk in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Using a little flour to dust the surface, thinly roll out the pastry and place in a loose-bottomed tart tin.
Leave the excess overhanging and prick the base with a fork. Chill for 30 minutes until firm.
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Put the tart tin on a baking sheet, then line the pastry with foil and fill with baking beans or rice. Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastry is firm and dry, then remove the beans and foil. Bake for 20 minutes more or until the pastry is golden brown and biscuity. Leave to cool.

Pie Filling

Pour the milk into a pan and bring to a simmer.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, orange zest, juice and marmalade. Pour the warm milk into the bowl, whisking constantly.
Pour the mixture into a clean pan and cook over low heat, stirring all the time, until shimmering and thickened. The custard might look a bit lumpy at first, but keep stirring and it will come together.
Take off the heat and beat in the butter. Constantly whisking, add 1/2 cup of the warm custard to egg yolks, then add egg mixture back to the pan of custard. Be sure to whisk constantly until fully incorporated.

Meringue

Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks in a large bowl. Add the sugar in four additions, beating back to stiff peaks after each, to make a thick meringue. Whisk in the cream of tarter.

Putting it together

Trim the edges of the pastry case with a small serrated knife.
Warm the orange filling until it bubbles, stirring occasionally. Spoon the filling into the case and smooth the top.
Carefully spoon the meringue on top of the hot filling, starting at the edge and working towards the middle to prevent the meringue from sinking. Gently swirl the meringue down to meet the pastry all around the edge of the tart.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the meringue is pale golden brown.
Cool for at least 1 hour, then remove from the tin and serve.

Notes

*I couldn't find golden caster sugar so substituted white caster sugar, aka C & H Baker's sugar. Or you can process regular granulated sugar in the food processor for 2 minutes until it is finely ground.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pin to Pinterest:

If you receive my blog post via email you will need to visit my website to view the video.

I was provided an advance copy with the hopes I would review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Traditional English Scones

Click on the book to visit Amazon

APPLE STRUDEL ALIBI, the eighth book in the Oxford Tearoom Mysteries by H.Y. Hanna is a very fun addition to an enjoyable series! The protagonist, Gemma Rose, owns Little Stables Tearoom, a successful tearoom near Oxford, England. She’s having a difficult time connecting with her investigator boyfriend… murder cases keep getting in his way and his latest cancellation of their holiday plans is the last straw. When Gemma’s tearoom Traditional English Scones win a contest, she sees it as the perfect chance to go on holiday to collect the award in Vienna, Austria. Fortunately for the entertainment of the reader, the four elderly women (aka the Old Biddies) who frequent Gemma’s tearoom, decide to invite themselves along for the holiday. From there zany antics abound as they find themselves embroiled in murder and mayhem away from home.

While Gemma’s English village and tearoom are charming, it was a refreshing change to see Vienna through her eyes. I loved the description of Austria – the sights, sounds, smells and above all the tastes of their famous pastries! Ms. Hanna made the location come alive and I felt like I was on vacation with Gemma. Muesli, Gemma’s adorable and mischievous tabby, also makes the trip and plays a prominent role. But once again, it’s the Old Biddies who steal the limelight of each scene they’re in! They are such great characters and talk Gemma into the craziest trouble, providing lighthearted humor. Their sauna scene is one of the funniest scenes I’ve read in a long time and one I won’t soon forget.

The mystery itself is well plotted with plenty of suspects with viable reasons to kill the victim. I didn’t figure it out until just before the reveal and the suspenseful conclusion wrapped up the plot and subplots nicely. I was a bit unnerved when a young child was threatened but it was handled with sensitivity and the resolution adhered to our cozy guidelines: a happy ending… which is why I enjoy cozy mysteries so much!

Be prepared to drool all over the pages with the many mentions of Vienna’s delectable pastries and desserts! Ms. Hanna provides a recipe for Traditional Apple Strudel at the back of the book, which was generously provided by Ursula Schersch, blogger at Li’l Vienna. I’ve provided a photo and a link back to Li’l Vienna’s blog at the bottom of the page for that recipe. I’m re-sharing my post of Ms. Hanna’s recipe for Traditional English Scones which was published in A SCONE TO DIE FOR, the first book in the Oxford Tearoom Mysteries. These “award winning” delectable scones will make you feel like you’re visiting a quaint English tearoom… like Little Stables Tearoom!

Amazon Synopsis

When Gemma’s romantic holiday with her boyfriend is cancelled, the tearoom sleuth finds herself heading to Vienna instead, with her cat Muesli and the nosy Old Biddies for company. And it’s not long before they stumble across a murder right in the heart of Austria’s historic capital.

A handsome art critic dies suspiciously at their hotel and the Old Biddies are determined to sniff out the killer. Is it the bitter hotel owner nursing a grudge? The critic’s jealous mistress wanting revenge? Or even the visiting American who seems inexplicably nervous around the police?

Soon Gemma is dragged into an impromptu investigation which has her tackling Vienna’s famous pastries, snooping in police files and even braving a nude sauna in search of clues!

But can she sort the suspects from the Schnitzel, and solve the mystery before the killer strikes again?

A special thanks to H.Y. Hanna for providing one winner the choice of print or an e-book copy of APPLE STRUDEL ALIBI! Contest is open worldwide and ends Monday, April 16, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

Traditional English Scones

Ingredients

500 grams all-purpose flour (approximately 4-1/4 cups or 17.6 ounces)
4 teaspoons double-acting baking powder*
1/2 cup caster sugar (super fine sugar**)
125 grams butter (room temperature (1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon or 4.4 ounces)
150 ml full fat milk (just under 2/3 cup)
2 eggs beaten lightly
Egg and milk wash for the “egg wash” to glaze the scones***

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 250C / 400F
Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl (this is important to add more “air” to the mixture).
Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers – it is important to coat the flour with butter as much as possible. Keep doing this until the mixture has the consistency of fine breadcrumbs.
Add the sugar to the mixture and mix well with your fingers. (This is the stage when you can add in extra ingredients such as raisins and currants, if you wish.)
Add the eggs and some of the milk – do not add all the milk at once; go slow and check that the dough does not become too wet otherwise the scones will “drop”.
Mix well with your fingers until the dough forms a ball.
Tip the dough onto a floured board, scatter some more flour on top, and then knead lightly. It is very important not to over-work the dough otherwise the scones will become very hard.
When the dough looks smooth, gently pat it out (or use a rolling pin) into a thick slab, about 1 – 1.5 inches thick. This is one of the secrets to great scones – not rolling the dough out too thinly.
The dough should now be rested for at least 30 minutes – unless you are using a single-acting baking powder. Some chefs say that resting the dough for hours, even overnight, is the secret to getting really light, fluffy scones.
Using a cutter of your choice, stamp out the scones from the dough. Be careful not to twist the cutter as you are pressing it down – only twist it gently at the very bottom to free it.
Roll up any leftover dough and spread it out again – keep cutting out scones until you have used up all the mixture.
Place the cut rounds onto the greased baking tray or baking paper. Brush the tops with the the egg and milk wash – this will give them a lovely golden glaze.
Bake in the hot oven for about 12 – 15 minutes.
Cool the scones on a wire rack. Serve warm with some jam and butter or clotted cream! Enjoy!

Notes

*”Double-acting” baking powder contains both cream of tartar and baking soda and causes the dough to rise only after heat is applied. If you use single-acting baking powder (which rises immediately), then you must not leave the dough to “rest” but must cut the scones and bake them immediately.
**If you don’t have super fine sugar on hand, run regular granulated sugar in the food process for a minute or two.
***I used 2 teaspoons egg taken from the recipe’s beaten eggs and 2 teaspoons whole milk. You don’t need to waste an entire egg for this. A little goes a long way.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pin to Pinterest:

If you receive my blog post via email you will need to visit my website to view the video.

Apple Strudel (“Apfelstrudel”) is a typical and beloved Austrian dessert. This is Ursula Schersch’s granny’s recipe! http://www.lilvienna.com/original-viennese-apple-strudel/

Black Forest Cupcakes

Click on book to visit Amazon

WEDDING CAKE CRUMBLE, the tenth book in the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries by Jenn McKinlay is a delightful addition to her very entertaining series! I’ve been waiting on pins and needles from her release last year to find out what new escapades protagonist, Mel (Melanie) Cooper and her best friend, Angie DeLaura find themselves in. Ms. McKinlay does not disappoint and I was glued to the pages, even forgetting to take notes for my review! The story picks up with Angie getting ready to marry their friend, Tate, who is also co-owner of their Fairy Tale Cupcake Shop in Scottsdale, Arizona. But of course the wedding plans aren’t going smoothly, especially when the two women find Angie’s photographer murdered seven days before the wedding.

As Mel and Angie start looking into the murder (because they just can’t help themselves) the author throws in several twists. Could it be that Angie is actually the target? I love the cast of characters working at Fairy Tale Cupcake, especially octogenarian Marty. Mel and Angie have taken him in and made him one of “their people”. The friendship between Mel, Angie, Tate and the crew is admirable and heartwarming, bringing a sentimental note to the story. As the plot progresses many suspects come to light while the body count starts rising and more twists are thrown in. The ending wraps up the threads nicely while leaving the reader waiting to see what new adventure awaits the gang at the Fairy Tale Cupcake Shop!

Reading about the cupcake shop will leave you craving some sweet treats. Luckily for the reader, Ms. McKinlay provides several delectable cupcake recipes at the back of the book. All sound amazing and it was very difficult to choose just one to try for this blog post. In the end I decided on Black Forest Cupcakes, which Jenn has graciously allowed me to share with you. The rich, dark chocolate cupcakes are supremely moist but the surprise is the cherry filling hiding beneath mounds of fluffy vanilla buttercream. One bite and you’ll think you’ve stepped foot into the delightfully yummy Fairy Tale Cupcake Shop!

Amazon Synopsis

With Angie and Tate’s wedding just around the corner, it’s a happy time for Melanie Cooper and the bakery crew. Not only are they finessing the last minute details of the big day, but their bakery, Fairy Tale Cupcakes, has just been hired to bake cupcakes for the blockbuster book signing of a controversial author who wrote a steamy bestseller filled with juicy local gossip.

But one by one, the people Angie has hired to work at the wedding begin turning up dead. As the body count rises, the bestselling author is the next to bite the dust. Mel quickly realizes she needs to figure out how the murders are connected and why–before the killer brings the entire cupcake crew crumbling down. After all, Angie and Tate deserve their sweet happily ever after.

A special thanks to Jenn McKinlay for providing a print copy of WEDDING CAKE CRUMBLE plus fun measuring spoons for one lucky winner. Contest is limited to U.S. residents only and ends Sunday, April 8, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

Black Forest Cupcakes

A rich chocolate cupcake with cherry filling and vanilla cream frosting.

Ingredients

Cupcakes

1-1/3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teapoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk

Filling

1 can cherry pie filling

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk

Garnish

Chocolate shavings
12 fresh cherries with stems (if unavailable substitute maraschino cherries)

Instructions

Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line cupcake pan with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar, adding eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla.
Add in the flour mixture alternately with the milk until well blended.
Fill paper liners two-thirds full. Bake 18 - 22 minutes. Remove to wire rack and cool completely.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

In a large bowl, cream butter and vanilla. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed and adding milk as needed. Scrape sides of bowl often. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Makes 3 cups of icing.

Assembling the cupcakes

Using a melon baller, scoop out the center of the cooled cupcakes no more than halfway down. Spoon in the cherry pie filling. Using a pastry bag, pipe the vanilla buttercream over the top of the cupcake. Garnish with chocolate shavings and a fresh cherry on top.

Notes

Makes 12 cupcakes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pin to Pinterest:

If you receive my blog post via email you will need to visit my website to view the video.

I was provided an advance copy with the hopes I would review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Empire Biscuits

I am so happy to have Paige Shelton on my blog today to share an amazing shortbread recipe and celebrate her upcoming release, LOST BOOKS AND OLD BONES, with you! Be sure to check out her giveaway below the recipe, too!

* * * * * * * * * *

Of course, shortbread direct from Scotland is the best shortbread in the world. Except for your grandmother’s. No one can beat your grandmother’s anything. Having said that, I do love shortbread. Known by a number of different names in the UK, I was first introduced to these cookies as Empire Biscuits. They are addictive. So, no matter if you call them Imperial Biscuits, Double Biscuits, German Biscuits, Linzer Biscuit, or Empire Biscuits, they are delicious. And pretty easy to make. If you’re craving something sweet, these are the way to go. Also, if you’d just like a yummy recipe for shortbread, this one is good.

I found a tip somewhere on the Internet, and I have really enjoyed what this ingredient does to shortbread. Bird’s Custard Powder.

Instead of 4 cups of the flour, I use 3 cups flour, and one cup of the custard powder. If you don’t want to track down some Bird’s, just use 4 cups flour. I ordered mine from Walmart.com. This recipe should yield about 24 sandwich cookies (more might be possible if you make small, thin cookies), but I make my cookies bigger than the normal “biscuit” size, so I only get about 18.

Empire Biscuits

Ingredients

For the biscuits:

2 to 2-1/2 cups butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup Bird’s Custard Powder (or substitute with flour)

For the filling and topping:

1 cup raspberry preserves
12 or more maraschino cherries

For the icing:

4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For the biscuits:

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Gradually stir in the flour and custard powder until well blended. Start with 2 cups butter. Add more if you can’t keep the dough together enough to roll it out. It takes some work and some getting used to. If your dough seems too sticky, add a bit more flour at a time until it can be rolled out.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to ¼ inch thickness. Cut into rounds using a cookie cutter.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Sandwich one teaspoon of preserves between two cookies. Repeat until all cookies are used, or all jam is gone, and remaining cookies must be sacrificed to the baker for all her hard work.

For the icing:

In a medium bowl, gradually stir the milk into the confectioners’ sugar until the icing is of a spreadable consistency. Spread on top of the sandwiched cookies. Top each cookie with half a cherry while the icing is till wet. If you’re feeling like a rebel, go ahead and top with something else. Anything you like would work just fine.

Cinnamon & Sugar's Notes:

Here is a recipe for making your own custard powder to use:
1 cup confectioners' sugar;
1/2 cup powdered milk;
1/2 cup cornstarch;
1 teaspoon vanilla powder (if you don't use, add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to shortbread recipe);
1 teaspoon salt;
Whisk together and then measure out 1 cup to use for shortbread recipe.
If you substitute flour for the custard powder, but sure to add 1 teaspoon of salt to the shortbread recipe.

Thanks to Kim for letting me stop by today! See you all in the bookstores.

A special thanks to Paige Shelton for providing a hardcover copy of LOST BOOKS AND OLD BONES for one lucky winner. Contest is limited to U.S. residents only and ends Wednesday, April 4, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pin to Pinterest:

If you receive my blog post via email you will need to visit my website to view the video.

My Review

Click on book to visit Amazon

I’ve been a fan of the Scottish Bookshop Mystery series by Paige Shelton and was excited to read an advance copy of her third book, LOST BOOKS AND OLD BONES. Not only did it meet my high expectations but I think it’s the best book in the series so far! Ms. Shelton captured my attention starting with her Acknowledgments and continuing all the way through to her list of real-life victims at the back of the book. I couldn’t put the book down and devoured it in one sitting while neglecting to pause to even take a single note for my review. I greatly admire the protagonist, Delany, from Kansas in America, as the Scottish people are prone to call her. She has an adventurous spirit, enjoys researching historical books and items, and has a kind, friendly heart to those she meets… even to those who might not seem to deserve her compassion. She is surrounded by a wonderful cast of characters that greatly add to the enjoyment of the story. I adore The Cracked Spine, the delightful bookshop with its mysterious treasures and tomes! It’s a place I could spend days and days exploring and wish it were a real location. It’s also the perfect setting from which to feature Delany getting involved in murder mysteries.

Ms. Shelton weaves an intriguing plot incorporating not only a modern day murder but a murder that spans a decade and several historical murders from the early 1800’s! While the plot lines are intricate, the author writes skillfully so that the reader never feels lost. In fact, the suspense kept me on the edge of my seat, turning pages faster and faster to see how she would tie the seemingly unrelated deaths together. Ms. Shelton deftly brings the threads of the story together in an exciting and very satisfying conclusion that leaves me pleading for the next book to release soon!

Amazon Synopsis

Delaney Nichols, originally of Kansas but settling happily into her new life as a bookseller in Edinburgh, works at The Cracked Spine in the heart of town. She’s recently befriended a few medical school students after they came into the shop to sell some antique medical tomes. But when one of the students’ friends is found murdered outside in the alley, Delaney takes it upon herself to help bring the murderer to justice.

During her investigation, Delaney finds some old scalpels in the bookshop’s warehouse―she finds out that they belonged to a long-dead doctor, whose story might be connected to the present-day murder. It’s all Delaney can do to race to solve this crime before time runs out and she ends up in danger herself.

I was provided an advance copy with the hopes I would review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hope’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Click on book to visit Amazon

THE UNINVITED CORPSE, the first book in the brand new Food Blogger Mystery series by debut author Debra Sennefelder, was such a fun read for me as a fellow blogger! Protagonist Hope Early writes the blog, “Hope at Home”. I so enjoyed seeing her blogging process along with her ideas for creating recipes. Hope has some baggage that she’s brought back to the small Connecticut town and she’s learning to move past her perceived failures. But trying to settle in “back home” has its own problems and among them, her sister being accused of murdering the real estate agent she’s in competition with. It doesn’t help that Hope was the one to find the body and as she starts asking questions around town, finds that her sister had several reasons to kill the victim. Despite that, Hope is loyal and learns how important it is to take time to connect with her family and friends without having ulterior motives. There is also humor interjected via the character of Hope’s former reality show manager and his ideas he pitches to her for new reality shows. I’ve never been a fan of reality shows aside from Cupcake Wars and the cake challenges on the Food Network and Ms. Sennefelder brings to light what I’ve always envisioned them to really be: contrived contentious situations having nothing to do with reality.

Being the first book in a new series, the author introduces many characters all at once. I’ll admit I had a hard time following who was who at the beginning of the book but once the murder happens the story falls in place and the pace picks up. In addition to Hope’s sister being a viable suspect, Ms. Sennefelder weaves in several other suspects who wanted the abrasive real estate agent dead. The climatic ending brought good resolution to the mystery and wrapped up the subplots nicely.

One of the scenes in the book revolves around Hope creating a blog post for celebrating National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. She develops five recipes for her blog post in the story (and they all sound amazing). Ms. Sennefelder shares two of those chocolate chip cookie recipes at the back of the book plus other delectable sounding treats. I chose to make Hope’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies because these generously-sized cookies are thick and soft with just a bit of chewiness thanks to the addition of a bit of bread flour. While I’ve never met a chocolate chip cookie that I didn’t like, these are perfection!

Amazon Synopsis

Leaving behind a failed career as a magazine editor and an embarrassing stint on a reality baking show, newly divorced lifestyle entrepreneur Hope Early thought things were finally on the upswing—until she comes face-to-face with a murderer . . .

Hope’s schedule is already jam packed with recipe testing and shameless plugs for her food blog as she rushes off to attend a spring garden tour in the charming town of Jefferson, Connecticut. Unfortunately, it isn’t the perfectly arranged potted plants that grab her attention—it’s the bloody body of reviled real estate agent Peaches McCoy . . .

One of the tour guests committed murder, and all eyes are on Hope’s older sister, Claire Dixon—who, at best, saw Peaches as a professional rival. And suspicions really heat up when another murder occurs the following night. Now, with two messy murders shaking Jefferson and all evidence pointing to Claire, Hope must set aside her burgeoning brand to prove her sister’s innocence. But the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she gets to a killer intent on making sure her life goes permanently out of style . . .

Thanks to Debra Sennefelder for providing a print arc copy of THE UNINVITED CORPSE for one lucky winner. Contest is limited to U.S. residents only and ends Sunday, April 1, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

Hope's Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted by Hope Early: I know it's wrong to have a favorite cookie. As a food blogger, I shouldn't play favorites with recipes but I can't help myself with these cookies. Loaded with chocolate chips, these buttery, thick, soft chocolate chip cookies are heavenly. You won't want to miss out on these. Seriously.

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup bread flour
3/4 teapoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1-2/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F) and line cookie sheet pans with silicone baking sheets. (Or line with parchment paper.)
Cream butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, about 3 - 4 minutes. Scrape sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed of mixer and then add in the egg and egg yolk, one at a time, beating well to incorporate into mixture.
Beat in vanilla.
Whisk together flours, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Slowly add flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Scoop dough by rounded tablespoon and drop onto prepared pan, 2-inches apart to allow room for spreading. Then drop another scoop (approximately 1-1/2 teaspoons) of dough onto top of each cookie. Press lightly together making sure to not flatten the cookie.
Bake for 9 - 12 minutes, rotating half-way through baking, or until cookies have spread out and the edges are golden, but the center of the cookie still looks soft and just slightly undercooked. Every oven is different, so I like to bake two cookies first to get the timing down correctly and then fill up the next cookie sheet.
Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Notes

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pin to Pinterest:

If you receive my blog post via email you will need to visit my website to view the video.

I was provided an advance copy with the hopes I would review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Potato Sausage Soup with Egg Dumplings

Click on book to visit Amazon

WHO MOVED MY GOAT CHEESE? by Lynn Cahoon is the first book in the brand new Farm-to-Fork Mystery series and one not to be missed! The premise is based on the farm-to-fork restaurant, The County Seat, that protagonist Angie Turner is opening with her best friend in rural Idaho. I enjoyed reading about the issues Angie faces in making sure her restaurant procures local produce and food and what it takes to open an eatery. I would love to tag along with her, visiting the farmers’ market and various farms! The theme of being an outsider after being away for many years and finding your place in the community is also a part of the story as Angie settles into her deceased grandmother’s farm house. She also has to find a way to win over the townspeople who express their opposition to her new restaurant, since many don’t want changes coming to their small village. Angie’s sidekicks, a St. Bernard puppy, a baby goat, and a hen, make for some entertaining and heartwarming reading. The reader is able to see Angie’s personality as she interacts with the animals in her care and made me want to know more about her.

When the goat dairy farmer, Old Man Moss, is found murdered shortly after Angie visits him to procure cheese for her restaurant, she feels a responsibility to find justice for him. I’ll have to admit I was saddened that the elderly, secretive man was the victim… he was a strong character that I thought would be a good sounding board for Angie in future books. Unfortunately it’s not always the mean person who gets killed in our cozy mysteries and the author has set the series up with many more memorable characters. The mystery itself was intriguing although the suspect pool wasn’t large. The suspenseful ending wrapped up the plot and subplots while setting the stage for the next book, which I’m eagerly waiting for!

Reading about all the dishes Angie creates for her restaurant will have you drooling! Ms. Cahoon shares her family recipe for Potato Sausage Soup with Egg Dumplings at the back of the book. I enjoyed that she shares insight into her family as she describes the recipe. Many thanks to Lynn for allowing me to share her recipe with you! The overwhelming description about this dish is that it is truly “comfort in a bowl”! Warming and filling, the chunky potatoes give support to rich sausage and cream while simple egg dumplings add texture and substance. I chose to make it with mild sausage and cut back on the red pepper flakes since my granddaughters were eating the soup as well. And for the one granddaughter who detests any kind of soup, she said it was like thin mashed potatoes with sausage and it was much better than she expected…as she ate every drop in her bowl. Trust me, that’s high praise from a thirteen-year-old, lol! I’ll definitely be making this again while the weather is still chilly.

A special thank you to Lynn Cahoon for providing one lucky winner an e-book copy of WHO MOVED MY GOAT CHEESE? Contest ends Wednesday, March 28, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

Potato Soup with Egg Dumplings

Ingredients

Soup

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound fresh sausage (sweet Italian or spicy, your choice)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 quart (4 cups) chicken stock
4 - 6 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into small pieces (about 2-1/2 pounds)
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced, including the leaves
1 teaspoons salt
A few grinds of fresh pepper
Water as needed
1 cup heavy cream
whole milk, as needed

Egg Dumplings

1/2 cup flour
Dashes of salt, pepper, garlic salt and/or seasonal salt
1 egg

Instructions

Soup

Coat the bottom of a large, heavy stockpot with olive oil. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook until lightly browned.
Add the fresh sausage to the pan and sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Cook until the meat is done but not overcooked and dry. Drain the sausage mixture in a colander, discarding all the fat. Set sausage mixture aside.
Pour 1 quart of chicken stock into the empty stockpot. Don't worry that there might be bits and pieces from the sausage mixture still in the pan.
Add the chopped russet potatoes and the celery into the pot. Add enough water to cover the potatoes and add salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes, checking the water level occasionally. You don't want this to dry out and burn so add water if needed. When potatoes are soft, mash up some of the potatoes. Not all of the pot. You can also do this by inserting an immersion blender, but it seems a bit fancy for this recipe.
Return the drained sausage mixture to the stockpot along with the heavy cream and enough milk to make the soup appear creamy. Bring to a very low simmer, stirring often.

Egg Dumplings

In a separate bowl mix the flour and seasoning together. Crack an egg and place in the middle of the flour mixture. Mix together in the bowl, then drop by spoonful into the soup. If there are leftover crumblings, add those as well as the flour/egg mixture will thicken your soup.
Put a lid on the soup and heat until the egg dumplings are cooked through before serving, 12 minutes. Don't lift the lid. Dumplings should float to the top of the soup.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pin to Pinterest:

If you receive my blog post via email you will need to visit my website to view the video.

I was provided an advance copy with the hopes I would review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Tagliarini Pasta with Brown Butter, Sage, and Porcini Mushrooms

Click on book to visit Amazon

DEATH AL FRESCO, the third book in the Sally Solari Mystery series by Leslie Karst, is a delightful addition to Sally’s story. I enjoy that each book (all can be read as a stand-alone) focuses on a sense: the first book is taste, the second is sound, and this third book is sight. Ms. Karst weaves in plein air painting* into Sally and her dog discovering the body of an elderly Italian fisherman which had washed up on the beach. When she realizes the man frequented her father’s Italian restaurant, Sally feels a personal connection to the death. I found the bits and pieces that are provided about the Italians settling in the Santa Cruz area in the early 1900’s very interesting and it piqued my curiosity. The descriptions of the sea side setting made me feel like I was on vacation at this popular tourist destination. Sally Solari is a likeable character. She is one busy woman though, running her own restaurant, Gauguin, and helping her father as his restaurant prepares for a huge banquet to welcome an Italian mayor who is coming for a visit. There is also a hint of romance to come and I, for one, am hoping things work out between Sally and her ex in future books. I’ve always enjoyed the way they work together in the previous books and this one is no exception.

With so much responsibility demanding her attention, Sally doesn’t have much extra time on her hands. But when people start blaming her father for the death of the fisherman and she finds incriminating evidence, she knows she needs to start asking questions to clear his name. The action starts off early in the story with a good build-up to a satisfying conclusion. There are plenty of suspects to keep the reader guessing and I found the reason for the murder quite unique. It wasn’t at all what I had anticipated which added a nice twist to the mystery.

With Sally working at two restaurants in this book, there are so many delicious dishes mentioned! It made me want to visit Santa Cruz and track down both Solari’s and Gauguin… if they really existed. Fortunately, Ms. Karst has included a few recipes at the back of the book. All sound exceptional and since the author graduated from culinary school, you can count on them being delicious. Ms. Karst has graciously allowed me to share her recipe for Tagliarini Pasta with Brown Butter, Sage, and Porcini Mushrooms. Butter, cheese, sage and mushrooms don’t seem like many ingredients, yet they combine to create an amazing delicious pasta dish! The earthiness of the mushrooms and sage are complemented by the richness of the butter and Parmesan. I found some gluten-free tagliatelle pasta and I’ll admit I was a bit worried there wouldn’t be any pasta left over for me to photograph… once I started eating, I really didn’t want to stop! I also couldn’t find porcini mushrooms. I’m going to keep my eyes open at my local farmers’ market and snatch them up and make this dish again. In the meantime, supermarket cremini mushrooms worked well.

*According to Artists Network “Plein air painting is about leaving the four walls of your studio behind and experiencing painting and drawing in the landscape. The practice goes back for centuries but was truly made into an art form by the French Impressionists.”

Amazon Synopsis

It’s early autumn in Santa Cruz and restaurateur Sally Solari decides an open-air painting class is the perfect way for her to learn more about Paul Gauguin, the inspiration for her the restaurant she has recently inherited. But the beauty of the Monterey Bay coastline is shattered when Sally’s dog Buster sniffs out a corpse tangled up in kelp.

The body is identified as Gino, a local fisherman and a regular at the Solaris’ until he disappeared after dining there a few nights before. Witnesses claim he left reeling drunk, but his waitress swears the old man only had two beers with his meal. And then the fingers begin to point at Sally’s dad for negligently allowing an inebriated customer to walk home alone at night.

From a long menu of suspects, including a cast of colorful characters who frequent the historic Santa Cruz fisherman’s wharf, Sally must serve up the tall order of clearing her father’s name in Death al Fresco, Leslie Karst’s third delectable Sally Solari mystery.

A special thank you to Crooked Lane Books for providing one lucky winner a hardcover copy of DEATH AL FRESCO! Contest ends Thursday, March 22, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. residents only. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

Tagliarini with Brown Butter, Sage, and Porcini Mushrooms

Tagliarini is an egg pasta from Northern Italy, similar to its wider and more famous cousin, tagliatelle (the name comes from the verb tagliare, to cut). These thin, flat ribbons are often served with butter and truffles, but Mario prefers the earthy notes supplied by porcini mushrooms and sage. If you can't find tagliarini, feel free to substitute tagliatelle or fettuccine.

Note that unlike many other pastas, tagliarini cooks extremely quickly - in three or four minutes for dried, one or two minutes for fresh.

Porcini means "little pigs" in Italian and is their name for the sumptuous mushrooms known as the "king bolete" in the U.S. and as cèpes in France. You can substitute dried porcini for this recipe (soak them in boiling water for twenty minutes before using), or use cremini- those small, brown button mushrooms - if you can't find porcini.

Ingredients

1/4 pound (1 stick) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound porcini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup sage leaves, coarsely chopped if large (plus extra for garnish)
1 pound tagliarini pasta
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Melt the butter in a thick-bottomed pan over low heat. Continue cooking, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until the foam subsides and the butter begins to turn brown - about 5 minutes. (Watch carefully, as it can burn quickly.)
Add the sage leaves and stir, and continue to cook another five minutes or so. Once the butter starts to release a nutty aroma and the sage becomes crisp, the sauce is done. Take the pan off the heat and set aside.
In a separate large frying pan, heat half the olive oil over medium heat and, when shimmering, add half the mushrooms. Spread them out in one layer and let sit without stirring until they turn a golden brown. Then stir and cook another minute or two, till cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl and repeat with the rest of the oil and mushrooms. Return the cooked mushrooms to the pan and set aside. (The brown butter/sage and the mushrooms can be prepared up to several hours in advance.)
Bring a large (at least 4 quart) pot of water to a boil.
Add the tagliarini and salt to the boiling water, and cook over high heat until al dente (still slightly firm in the center, 3 - 4 minutes if dried), stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. (If using dried fettuccine, it will take 10 - 12 minutes to cook.)
While the pasta is cooking, reheat the brown butter/sage and the mushrooms over medium heat.
Drain pasta and place into a large serving bowl (without rinsing). Add the brown butter/sage and toss, then add mushrooms and half the cheese and toss again. Add salt to taste.
Serve garnished with the rest of the grated cheese, a few fresh sage leaves, and freshly ground black pepper.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pin to Pinterest:

If you receive my blog post via email you will need to visit my website to view the video.

I was provided an advance copy with the hopes I would review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Mabel’s Chocolate-Covered Cherry Bonbons

Click on book to visit Amazon

PLAYING WITH BONBON FIRE, the second book in the Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery series by Dorothy St. James is a sweet addition to a yummy series! Protagonist Charity “Penn” has been in Camellia Beach for five months, learning to make the decadent chocolates her maternal grandmother was famous for. Except it’s not as easy as it appears and Penn is struggling to become the chocolatier her deceased grandmother wanted her to be. Penn has had an emotionally devoid life having been abandoned as a newborn by first her unwed mother (and the mystery of who her mother is, is a theme that runs through both book one and two) and then her young father. Raised by her wealthy paternal grandmother who wanted nothing to do with her, Penn has learned to protect herself with a prickly exterior and hasn’t ever made friends. However, being in Camellia Beach has softened her some and the townspeople are teaching her to open up and accept their friendship and help. But she obviously has lots of baggage and I’m glad to see that the author is allowing Penn to grow.

Penn is also getting involved in her town’s inaugural Summer Solstice Beach Music Festival. She has convinced her half-sister’s ex-boyfriend, Bixby, to headline the music show but trouble seems to have followed him in to town. When one of the town’s older band singers is found murdered, Penn is sure Bixby was the target. After all, he has a stalker that has followed him across country. With the success of the town’s festivities on the line and her determination to keep Bixby alive, Penn starts asking questions, trying to find out who killed the singer. As she digs deeper, a forty-year-old mystery comes to the forefront that might shed light on who her mother is. But so many of the older townspeople are closing ranks and hiding secrets that Penn feels like an outsider again. With time running out and her chocolate shop a target for vandals, can Penn find the truth? There were plenty of viable suspects and I enjoyed how the old mystery was woven into the current day mystery. I loved getting to know the characters surrounding Penn and the southern sayings they throw out. The sayings puzzle Penn and I have to admit me too, but there’s always someone willing to translate and clarify what was meant… that provided some laugh out loud moments. The finale was a surprise and the author pulls the various threads together and answers the questions Penn has, yet leaves a door open for more changes coming to Penn’s life. I’m anxious to find out what happens next and if Penn’s chocolatier ability will blossom.

While Penn may be struggling with the art of chocolate, there are several townspeople who were each taught a recipe by Penn’s grandmother and they in turn are trying to teach her. There are so many delectable chocolates and truffles mentioned… it will be difficult for a die-hard chocoholic to read through the book without having a few pieces of chocolate close by. Fortunately, Ms. St. James includes several recipes at the back of the book. Chocolate-Covered Cherry Bonbons are quintessential to any assorted candy box so I couldn’t wait to try these and share with family and friends. I found them even easier to make than I thought they would be after reading the recipe. And while I’ve never been a huge fan of this type of candy (I’m more of a dark chocolate with nuts and crunchy stuff type of gal and typically skip the chocolates with fruit) Mabel’s Chocolate-Covered Cherry Bonbons converted me! Maybe it’s the freshness of the fondant covered cherries that are enrobed with chocolate, or the fact that the fondant isn’t chemical laden but instead relies on sweet butter and corn syrup. Whatever the reason, I’m happy that this recipe is now a part of my repertoire of candies and I’ll be making them again and again for special occasions or to treat myself!

Amazon Synopsis

Chocoholic Charity Penn must smoke out the killer to stop her newly inherited beachside chocolate shop from going up in flames in Dorothy St. James’ decadent follow-up to Asking for Truffle.

Chocolate shop owner Charity Penn is finally settling into life in the quirky South Carolina seaside town of Camellia Beach cooking up chocolate treats. She’s even helped organize the town’s lively beach music festival which has brought rollicking crowds eager to dance the Carolina shag. That is, until one of the band’s lead singers is found dead beside a beach bonfire.

While also trying to balance the amorous attention of music star Bixby Lewis, in town for the festival, and her quest to perfect a new hot flavored bonbon, Charity dives into the investigation. Though it’s more spice than sugar when she discovers a threatening note, comes across decades of age-old secrets, and Bixby comes into the line of fire when a gas grill explodes on the deck of a beachfront house.

Now Charity must turn up the heat and catch the killer before her chance melts away in Playing With Bonbon Fire, the delightful second Southern Chocolate Shop mystery served up just right.

A special thank you to Dorothy St. James for providing one lucky winner a hardcover copy of PLAYING WITH BONBON FIRE! Contest ends Monday, March 19, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. residents only. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

Mabel's Chocolate-Covered Cherry Bonbons

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 pinch salt
2 cups 10x powdered sugar
36 maraschino cherries
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Combine butter, corn syrup, and salt. Add sugar and mix until smooth. This makes a fondant. Chill in refrigerator for 1/2 hour.
Drain cherries and let dry on paper towels.
Flatten a small amount of fondant in your hand and wrap around a cherry (completely cover the cherry or juice will leak out and make dipping difficult). Repeat with remaining fondant and cherries. Refrigerate fondant-covered cherries and let harden.
Melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave. (To melt in microwave: In microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate in batches on 50% power for 2 minutes. If not melted, continue to heat for 30-second intervals. It won't look completely melted. Stir until smooth.)
Dip fondant-wrapped cherries into melted chocolate. Coat completely. (Gently reheat chocolate as necessary if it thickens too much while dipping.)
Set on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour to set.
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Makes about 36 bonbons.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pin to Pinterest:

If you receive my blog post via email you will need to visit my website to view the video.

I was provided an advance copy with the hopes I would review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sinfully Chocolate Tea Bread

Click on book to visit Amazon

Congratulations and happy release day to Laura Childs! It’s always a pleasure visiting Charleston, South Carolina on the pages and catching up with Theodosia Browning and the crew at the Indigo Tea Shop! From the inviting cover of PLUM TEA CRAZY, the nineteenth book in the Tea Shop Mystery series by Laura Childs, to the very last page, this brand new release kept me entertained and reading late into the night. This latest installment finds Theodosia and her good friend and tea sommelier, Drayton Conneley, participating in the city’s Gaslights and Galleons Parade event. Sailing ships from around the world are converging on Charleston and the pair have a bird’s-eye view at one of the spectacular mansions situated on the route. When a gruesome tragedy happens during the event, Theodosia jumps in right away. She is a take charge type of gal and the action starts right off the bat. When it’s determined that it was a murder and not a horrible accident, Theodosia gets involved in solving the case after her host begs her to.

Her hunt takes her on searches for antique weapons, high society fashion shows, a Japanese art gallery, and a “Hair Ball” black-tie event benefiting homeless cats. Theodosia is one busy woman with all the special events going on all over the city along with hosting several events at the Indigo Tea Shop, including the Plum Blossom Tea event! I enjoyed the descriptions of the events and could envision the settings perfectly. Theodosia’s supportive friends are there to help her out from Drayton to Haley, the talented shop’s chef, and Haley’s young nephew, Jamie. The supporting characters are well thought out and add fun to the storyline. Theodosia’s relationship with Detective Pete Riley is progressing and I find it refreshing that he doesn’t demand that she stop snooping. He accepts her for who she is… although I wish he’d tell her to stop running down dark alleys late at night! The exciting, suspenseful reveal surprised me with how it played out but it wrapped up the plot and subplots nicely. I was greatly entertained by this newest installment in this series and look forward to the next one!

Ms. Childs provides several delectable tea time recipes at the back of the book along with Tea Time Tips and links for Tea Resources (which you’ll want to bookmark). She has graciously allowed me to share her recipe for Sinfully Chocolate Tea Bread. This super easy to mix up quick bread is a delightful treat and perfect with a pot of tea! I loved the crunch of the walnuts with the dark chocolate bread. The use of cake flour kept the crumb nice and light along with a judicious hand on the butter. Not only is this a yummy afternoon tea time snack, I decided that Sinfully Chocolate Tea Bread is delicious toasted and enjoyed at breakfast too.

Amazon Synopsis

While viewing the harbor’s Gaslights and Galleons Parade from the widow’s walk of Timothy Neville’s Charleston mansion, local banker Carson Lanier seemingly tumbles over a narrow railing, then plunges three stories to his death. But a tragic accident becomes something much more sinister when it’s discovered that the victim was first shot with a bolt from a crossbow.

At the request of the mansion owner, Theodosia investigates the tragedy and is soon neck deep in suspects. An almost ex-wife, a coworker, a real estate partner–all had motives for killing the luckless banker, but one resorted to murder to settle accounts.

A special thank you to Laura Childs for providing one lucky winner a hardcover copy of PLUM TEA CRAZY! Contest ends Monday, March 12, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. residents only. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

Sinfully Chocolate Tea Bread

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup powdered cocoa, unsweetened
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Instructions

Cream together butter, sugar, and egg.
Sift the cake flour, baking soda, salt, and powdered cocoa.
Gently stir in the flour and cocoa mixture, the buttermilk, and walnuts.
When ingredients are well mixed, pour into a greased loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until silver knife comes out clean.
Yields one large loaf.

Optional Drizzle

If you wish to drizzle a glaze over the Chocolate Tea Bread, mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons water until smooth. Drizzle and let set for 15 minutes before slicing.

Note

You may also bake the batter in mini loaf pans. Divide the batter between 3 mini pans and bake 35 - 40 minutes.
I think some mini chocolate chips would be yummy in this recipe too!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pin to Pinterest:

If you receive my blog post via email you will need to visit my website to view the video.

I was provided an advance copy with the hopes I would review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lucy’s White Almond Cookies

Click on book to visit Amazon

It’s a pleasure to be hosting HUMMUS AND HOMICIDE by Tina Kashian with the Great Escapes Blog Tour! This first book in the brand new Kebob Kitchen Mystery series is a delightful insider’s view into a first generation American growing up in the household of immigrant parents and their Mediterranean restaurant in Ocean Crest, New Jersey. Lucy Berberian “escaped” from her upbringing after earning a law degree. While she loves her family she also felt the need to get away from their traditional views, especially on marriage, after her failed relationship with Azad Zakarian while in college. But after losing her job in Philadelphia, she ends up back in her family’s restaurant, put back to work the minute she returns. She’s never been able to tell her parents “no”. It doesn’t take long for Lucy to have a run-in with the new health inspector, who just so happens to be her high school nemesis. When the health inspector dies shortly after eating at the Kebab Kitchen, Lucy’s father begs her to clear their name and save the family business, because “family helps family”.

HUMMUS AND HOMICIDE is a story about coming home and discovering yourself. It’s a story about finding happiness where you least expect it. And a story about accepting your family for who they are and not for who you’d like them to be. I enjoyed learning about the different culture that Lucy grew up in and I loved all the mentions of Armenian and Mediterranean foods! Lucy and her family have good character development and made me want to spend time with them to get to know them better. Lucy’s best friend, Katie, is a worthy side-kick and provides great support. The mystery was well plotted and had a good pace. There were several people who had good reason to want the health inspector dead and the author explores the potential of each suspect. With an exciting finale, each of the threads of the plot and subplots are woven together leaving the reader well satisfied.

The author, Tina Kashian, actually grew up in her family’s Armenian restaurant. She shares several of her family’s recipes at the back of the book, all which sound fabulous. Of course being the cookie type of person I am, I was drawn to Lucy’s White Almond Cookies. These shortbread-style cookies only have 4 ingredients, plus whole almonds for garnishing and are a breeze to mix up. I was lucky enough to have been the recipient of fresh-roasted almonds from one of the staff at my granddaughter’s school (his family owns an almond orchard in Northern California!) and I loved the extra crunch they provided to the cookies. If you wanted to make these “all white”, blanched almonds would be nice too. Don’t miss out on trying these melt-in-your-mouth White Almond Cookies!

Amazon Synopsis

When Lucy Berberian quits her Philadelphia law firm and heads home to Ocean Crest, she knows what she’s getting—the scent of funnel cake, the sight of the wooden roller coaster, and the tastes of her family’s Mediterranean restaurant. But murder wasn’t on the menu . . .

Things are slow in the off-season in this Jersey Shore town, but Lucy doesn’t mind. She doesn’t even mind waitressing at the Kebab Kitchen. Her parents have put in a new hummus bar, with every flavor from lemon to roasted red pepper. It’s fun to see their calico cat again, and to catch up with her old BFF, who’s married to a cop now.

She could do without Heather Banks, though. The Gucci-toting ex-cheerleader is still as nasty as she was back in high school . . . and unfortunately, she’s just taken over as the local health inspector. Just minutes after eating at the Kebab Kitchen—where she’s tallied up a whole list of bogus violations—she falls down dead in the street. Word on the grapevine is it’s homicide, and Lucy’s the number one suspect.

A special thanks to Tina Kashian for providing one winner with a $10 Amazon Gift Card and a print copy of HUMMUS AND HOMICIDE. Contest ends Sunday, March 11, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. residents only. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. The contest is administered by the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour and the winner will be announced on this page as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

Lucy's White Almond Cookies

Ingredients

3/4 cup (6 ounces) unsalted clarified butter (ghee)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1-1/4 cups sugar
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Almonds

Instructions

Preheat oven to 275 degrees (F).
Combine butter, shortening, and sugar and mix.
Add flour and mix well.
Take two full teaspoons of dough and roll into a rope, then make a circle and pinch the seam together.
Lightly press an almond into the seam. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Arrange on cookie sheets and bake for 20 minutes until lightly golden on the bottom.
Transfer cookies from baking sheet to cooling racks to cool.