Cinnamon and Sugar - What I'm baking in my kitchen and mystery books I'm reading

Pecan Jazz Tarts

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I’m delighted to be participating in the Great Escapes Book Tour introducing MUMBO GUMBO MURDER! This sixteenth book in the popular Scrapbooking Mystery series by Laura Childs and Terrie Farley Moran is a fun romp through the streets of New Orleans during Jazz Fest. The author duo brings the French Quarter to life and the reader is treated to the sights, sounds, and tastes of this vibrant city. And oh the tastes… New Orleans is a foodie-lovers’ paradise and the protagonist, Carmela Bertrand, and her sidekick, Ava, eat and drink their way through the festival making me wish I could be there with them. I also enjoyed the parade scenes with the Beastmaster Puppets. The tidbits of information the authors provide on how the puppeteers manipulate them, especially the jumbo-sized puppets, was quite interesting. The reader is also treated to the creepy side of New Orleans through the vampire society and the voodoo shops. Ava, owner of one of the voodoo shops, adds zing to the antics she gets into with scrapbook shop owner Carmela. As a team their capers spice up the pages of this entertaining read and while it’s a mystery with murder, they often reminded me of a younger Lucy and Ethel.

While the settings, tastes, and zany antics contribute lighthearted fun, the authors still deliver a solid mystery for Carmela and Ava to solve. The action starts with a literal bang from the very beginning and continues with page-turning intrigue. Even though Carmela is engaged to Detective Edgar Babcock, who begs her not to get involved, she still manages to insert herself into the thick of the investigation. This time it’s her antiques dealing friend who is murdered and after rescuing the dead man’s adorable pug, she can’t help but want to find out who ended his life. Could his death be related to the rumors swirling around that he owned a piece of President Lincoln’s coat, worn on the night of his assassination? Or was there something of value hidden away in his shop that was worth killing for? As Carmela asks questions and listens to gossip, while eating her way through town, the suspect lists grows. With an action-packed conclusion, Ms. Childs and Ms. Moran provide a satisfactory end to a highly entertaining read.

Like I mentioned before, New Orleans is a food-lovers’ paradise. Fortunate for the reader, the authors include several recipes at the back of the book along with scrapbooking tips and craft ideas. One of the yummy recipes is a cookie recipe title Pecan Jazz Tarts. While I’m not clear why it’s called a tart, I can say that these cookies are scrumptious! Loads of buttery pecans are mixed with a shortbread-style cookie dough, rolled into an oblong shape, and after baking, rolled in sweet powdered sugar. These crunchy cookies are sturdy enough to transport making them ideal for gift giving.

Amazon Synopsis

It’s Jazz Fest in New Orleans, and the giant puppets from the Beastmaster Puppet Theatre are parading through the French Quarter. Some are very spooky and veiled, others are tall and gangly, like strange aliens.

As the parade proceeds, Carmela Bertrand and her best friend, Ava, follow behind, down Royal Street and past the food booths. Suddenly, they hear a terrible crash from Devon Dowling’s antiques shop. They rush inside to find Devon collapsed with blood streaming down the side of his face. Has he been shot? Stabbed? 911 is hastily called, and the police and EMTs show up. After the police examine Devon’s body, they tell Carmela and Ava that their friend was murdered with an icepick. They’re shocked beyond belief—and now Mimi, Devon’s little pug, is left homeless.

Carmela and Ava are determined to catch the murderer, but the list of suspects is long. How long do they have before they find themselves on the killer’s list?

A special thanks to Laura Childs and Terrie Farley Moran for providing two giveaway copies of MUMBO GUMBO MURDER. Contest ends October 15, 2019 at 11:59 pm PST and limited to U.S. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. The contest is administered by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours and the winner will be announced on this page as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

Pecan Jazz Tarts

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
5 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups chopped pecans
Additional powdered sugar to roll cookies in

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
Mix together butter, powdered sugar, flour, vanilla, and chopped pecans.
Roll out in small oblong balls and place on lightly greased (or parchment paper-lined) cookie sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.
Roll still-warm tarts in additional powdered sugar.

Notes

Yields 15 to 20 cookies

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

October 1 – Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder – REVIEW
October 2 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT – Sapphyria’s Books
October 2 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
October 2 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT
October 3 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
October 3 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
October 4 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
October 4 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT
October 5 – MJB Reviewers – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
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Oct 6 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST
October 6 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
October 7 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW
October 7 – Reading Is My SuperPower – GUEST POST
October 8 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW
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October 9 – eBook Addicts – SPOTLIGHT
October 9 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
October 10 – Mysteries with Character – REVIEW
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October 11 – A Holland Reads – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
October 12 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
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October 15 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW
October 15 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
October 15 – Sapphyria’s Books – REVIEW

I was provided an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Cranberry Walnut Cookie Balls

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HAVE YOURSELF A BEARY LITTLE MURDER by Meg Macy is the third book in the Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear Mystery series. Any book with a tag line of shamelessly adorable and a most darling book cover will grab my attention. Ms. Macy stays true to that promise by penning an adorable cozy mystery. The stage is set at the family owned Silver Bear Shop and Factory at Christmas time. The protagonist, Sasha Silverman, and her family are actively involved in the Silver Hollow annual tree light and Festival of Lights Parade. This highly popular village event gives the author plenty of opportunities to make the reader feel the spirit of the Christmas holiday with the various festivities, costumes, food, and fun, which I greatly enjoyed. The only downside, for me, is that too many characters were introduced because of the festival, and I had a hard time keeping track of who was who for a time. However, once Sasha got involved in trying to figure out who would want to murder the polar Santa-bear-costume-wearing mayor, the pace picked up and got back on track.

While on the surface the mayor seemed to be beloved by all, Sasha digs deeper and finds he had another side that was hidden from his constituents. This opens her investigation to many suspects, prompted, for once, by her own mother to find the villain. There were clues planted throughout which kept me guessing and turning pages until the heartwarming ending. I greatly enjoy how Sasha has a close relationship with her entire family and they work together to support and encourage each other. This, along with (need I say it again?) the adorable teddy bear shop brings a delightful cheer to an endearing holiday cozy read.

One of the events Sasha and her family are hosting during the festivities is a cookie competition. One of the entries is a Cranberry Walnut Cookie Balls and Ms. Macy was kind enough to provide the recipe for me to share. I loved the crunch of the walnuts in the cookie along with the tart sweetness of the cranberries. Easy to mix up and festive with the red cranberries dotting the shortbread-style cookie rolled in fluffy mounds of powdered sugar, this will be sure to add holiday cheer to any cookie platter!

Amazon Synopsis

This holiday season, teddy bear shop manager Sasha Silverman must solve the slaying of Santa Bear . . .

Sasha and her sister Maddie are thrilled that the Silver Bear Shop and Factory has won the Teddy Bear Keepsake Contest, which means they get to produce a holiday specialty toy, a wizard bear named “Beary Potter.” Promising to be just as magical is Silver Hollow’s annual tree-lighting ceremony and village parade. Only one hitch: the parade’s mascot, Santa Bear—played by Mayor Cal Bloom—is missing.

After a frantic search among the floats, Bloom is found dead. When the outfit is removed, it’s clear the mayor’s been electrocuted. Who zapped hizzoner and then stuffed him into his Santa Bear suit? While the police investigate the grisly crime, Sasha attempts to track down the murderer herself, with some help from the Guilty Pleasures Gossip Club. Can they wrap up this case in time for Christmas—or will Sasha meet her own shocking end?

A special thanks to Meg Macy for providing one winner with a copy of HAVE YOURSELF A BEARY LITTLE MURDER. Contest ends Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. residents. 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!)

Cranberry Walnut Cookie Balls

Ingredients

1 cup butter softened
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped into small pieces
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F).
Beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract.
Gradually add the flour and salt and mix just until blended.
Stir in walnuts and dried cranberries.
Using a small cookie scoop, roll dough into 1" balls and place on ungreased baking sheet, or on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Keep at least 1 inch space between cookie balls.
Bake for 15-18 minutes. The bottoms should be lightly browned.
While cookies are baking, pour confectioners' sugar into a shallow bowl or pie plate.
Roll 4-5 hot cookie balls at a time into the confectioners' sugar until each cookie is well coated.
Place the coated cookies onto a wire rack to cool completely.

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Greek Salad Skewers

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WORD TO THE WISE, the tenth book in the Library Lover’s Mystery series by Jenn McKinlay, weaves in the creepy issue of stalking into a well-plotted mystery. It’s always a pleasure sitting down and catching up with the characters in this long-enduring series and this new release didn’t disappoint. Protagonist Lindsey Norris is the library director at the Briar Creek Public Library in Connecticut. I so enjoy the interaction she has with her staff, all well-developed characters on their own. Sweet Beth, the children’s librarian, brings lighthearted fun to the story and I admire the close friendship she has with Lindsey. It’s been rewarding watching the characters grow and develop, especially Mrs. Cole, aka The Lemon.

When the stalker increases his attentions toward Lindsey as she plans her wedding, her friends and co-workers provide support and try to protect her from harm. Ms. McKinlay ups the suspense by portraying the ways people can excuse or dismiss the behavior of stalkers and how it can turn deadly for the victim. Except in this story, the stalker ends up being murdered and Lindsey’s fiancé, Mike Sullivan, becomes a suspect. While the perpetrator wasn’t difficult to guess, there were some twists that kept the book entertaining and kept me turning pages.

One of the fun events included in each of the books in this series is the library’s Crafternoon events: a combination of crafts, book club, and shared food all in one. It’s a time for friends, new and old, to come together and forge stronger bonds. I love how Ms. McKinlay includes a book club list of questions for a book the group reads, directions for a craft, and a couple recipes at the back of the book. I decided to make her appetizer recipe for Greek Salad Skewers. Light and refreshing, these mini appetizers are quick to make and provide a fun, healthy way to satisfy guests’ appetites before serving a meal. Simple ingredients threaded onto cute bamboo skewers make presentation a snap, and since they can be done ahead of time, frees up your time to spend with friends.

Amazon Synopsis

Lindsey Norris is finally getting married to the man of her dreams–but it’s not all roses for Briar Creek’s beloved library director, as gardening enthusiast and town newcomer Aaron Grady gives the term “book lover” a whole new meaning. Inappropriate looks and unwelcome late-night visits to Lindsey’s house have everyone from the crafternooners to Lindsey’s fiancé, Sully, on edge.

When Grady’s dead body is found staged outside the library and all the clues point to Sully, Lindsey knows it’s up to her to dig through the hidden chapters of Grady’s previous life to find the real culprit and clear Sully’s name. But becoming a thorn in the killer’s side is not without its consequences, and the closer Lindsey gets to the truth, the more determined the murderer is to make her just a footnote.

A special thanks to Jenn McKinlay for providing one winner with a hardcover copy of WORD TO THE WISE. Contest ends Sunday, September 22, 2019 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. residents. 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!)

Greek Salad Skewers

Ingredients

1 big block of feta (about 12 ounces), cut into 12 cubes
1 bottle Greek salad dressing
12 pitted Kalamata olives
12 cherry tomatoes
1 cucumber, cut into 12 large cubes
12 6-inch wooden skewers
Flaky sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh dill

Instructions

Marinate the feta cubes in the Greek dressing.
Take a skewer and slide on a cube of cheese, a Kalamata olive, a cherry tomato, and a cucumber cube.
Make 12 skewers. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dill to taste. Offer extra salad dressing on the side.

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Ninette’s Rum Raisin Cake with Rum Frosting

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FATAL CAJUN FESTIVAL, the fifth book in the Cajun Country Mysteries by Ellen Byron, is another entertaining addition to an award-winning series! The reader is treated to a music festival, Cajun-style, in Pelican, Louisiana. Ms. Byron is effective at writing highly visual scenes that tantalized my senses as I turned the pages. The sounds of the zydeco bands, the tastes of the Cajun food served at the festival booths, the sights of the bayou and plantation homes, and the sticky feel of humidity in the hot months of summer were brought to life. The protagonist, Maggie Crozat, and her family own the Crozat Plantation turned bed and breakfast. Local girl turned famous and her backup band have taken over the Crozat’s B & B while in town to perform. The Pelican native, Tammy Barker, seems to have let fame go to her head, yet she can’t let go her grudge against a high school mate, one of Maggie’s close friends. This ramps the drama up and provides a subplot that weaves together with the mystery.

Despite the angst going on in the story, the author manages to create humorous scenes to lighten the mood involving Maggie’s family. I especially loved Maggie’s feisty grand-mère, who just so happens to be the instigator of the festival and has been known to quote, “It’s Louisiana chère. When do we not celebrate?” I appreciate that Ms. Byron has created a close-knit, supportive family for the protagonist, with both her parents and grand-mère, and captures the vernacular of the characters. And of course I can’t pass up mention of Maggie’s fiancé, Bo, Pelican’s handsome detective. It was refreshing to see that Bo respects Maggie’s intelligence and actually asks for her input, realizing she has access to information that people won’t share with him.

I’ll have to admit I thought I knew who the victim was going to be, but Ms. Byron threw in a twist that kept me on my toes the rest of the book. Not only was I uncertain if the victim was the intended target, but who were viable suspects. The twists and turns kept me glued to the pages to see how the author would fit the puzzle pieces together in a convincing mystery. And fit them together she did, with an unforeseen curveball that left me thinking about the story long after it was over.

Maggie’s mother creates quite a few delectable dishes to serve at the family’s B & B, plus Maggie herself is in charge of creating the pralines to serve at the family’s booth at the festival. So many mentions of yummy regional food had my mouth watering. Luckily for the reader, Ms. Byron includes several recipes at the back of the book, including one laugh out loud mention of her attempts at making Sweet Potato Pralines. (I’ll admit, I am intrigued by the elusive confection!) I was drawn to the Rum Raisin Cake with Rum Buttercream for a couple of reasons. I love any recipe that starts with a cake mix because I know it’ll be an easy, no-fail recipe. And second? Well, rum… lots of rum! This deliciously light cake is a yummy treat that will impress dessert lovers!

Amazon Synopsis

Louisiana B&B owner Maggie Crozat kicks up her heels at a country music festival–but she’ll have one foot in the grave if she can’t bring the killer of a diva’s hanger-on to heel.

Grab your tickets for Cajun Country Live!, the pickers’ and crooners’ answer to the legendary New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Maggie Crozat, proprietor of the Crozat Plantation B&B, plans to be in the cheering section when her friend Gaynell Bourgeois takes the stage with her band, Gaynell and the Gator Girls.

The festival’s headliner, native daughter Tammy Barker, rocketed to stardom on a TV singing competition. She has the voice of an angel…and the personality of a devilish diva. But Maggie learns that this tiny terror carries a grudge against Gaynell. She’s already sabotaged the Gator Girls’ JazzFest audition. When a member of Tammy’s entourage is murdered at the festival, Tammy makes sure Gaynell is number one on the suspect list.

Gaynell has plenty of company on that list–including every one of Tammy’s musicians. Posing as a groupie, Maggie infiltrates Tammy’s band and will have to hit all the right notes to clear her friend’s name.

A special thanks to Ellen Byron for providing one winner with a hardcover copy of FATAL CAJUN FESTIVAL. Contest ends Wednesday, September 18, 2019 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. residents. 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!)

Ninette's Rum Raisin Cake with Rum Frosting

Ingredients

The Cake

1 cup golden raisins
1 cup rum
1 box white cake mix
1/4 cup water
3 egg whites

The Frosting

1 cup softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons rum
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 - 3 tablespoons milk (or use rum, if you like your frosting boozier)
4 cups confectioners' sugar

Instructions

The Cake

Soak the golden raisins in rum for thirty minutes to an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
In a mixer on low speed, blend together the cake mix, water, and eggs. Turn off the mixer and add the rum and raisins. Set the mixer to medium and blend all the ingredients for 2 minutes.
Pour the batter into 2 greased 8-inch cake pans.
Bake for 20 - 30 minutes, making sure to check at 20 minutes because the layers cook faster with liquor substituted for water as the batter liquid. If you insert a toothpick into the middle, it should come out clean. Do not overbake! The cake will dry out.
Cool cakes in pans for 5 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack.
Let the cake layers cool before frosting.

The Frosting

Cream the butter with the vanilla, rum, salt, and 1 tablespoon of milk.
Slowly add the confectioners' sugar, blending it well with the other ingredients. If you need to thin the frosting, add another tablespoon or two of milk - or rum. Add additional confectioners' sugar if frosting needs thickened.

Assembly

To assemble the cake, slice a thin layer off one of the cake layers so that it will be level on the bottom, then invert the cake layer onto a plate so that the flat side - the bottom - is facing up. (Feel free to eat the thin slice!) Frost this layer.
To add the second layer, invert it onto a plate, then place it on the frosted layer with the flat side down. (This is how you get a professional-looking cake - placing flat side to flat side, that is, bottom of the layer to bottom of the layer. Frost the rest of the cake.

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Mulberry Thumbprint Cookies

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I’m delighted to be participating in the Great Escapes Virtual Book tour, introducing MULBERRY MISCHIEF! This fourth book in the Berry Basket Mysteries by Sharon Farrow is a berrylicious addition to an entertaining series. The protagonist, Marlee Jacob, is a sweet young woman who has close friendships with her employees and gives of her time to make the town’s numerous events a success. As owner of the yummy Berry Basket shop, Marlee is well-versed in the properties of a multitude of berries. I enjoyed the bits and pieces of health benefits available by consuming berries that is shared in the story. While facts are woven in, they never detract from the pace of the tale.

The town is gearing up for the Haunted Halloween Harvest Health Fair, showcasing top celebrities in the fields of health and beauty. With the volunteers in costume and the decorations celebrating the spookiness of the season, the author captures the spirit of the holiday and the event. The town’s eccentric woman, Leticia, the Lady of the Lake, requests Marlee to sell her bags upon bags of mulberries to protect her and her “ghost”. This adds an element of Halloween as Marlee tries to find the ghost. As the story unfolds, an influential family and a long ago murder converges with a falsely accused teen and a new murder caused by a mulberry wood arrow. There were plenty of suspects that kept me guessing and plenty of action to keep me turning pages. As Marlee closes in on the identity of the killer, the suspense ratchets up until the final, edge-of-your-seat conclusion is reached.

Marlee’s Berry Basket chef, Theo, bakes all sorts of berry and mulberry-themed treats, such as Mulberry Thumbprint Cookies. When Ms. Farrow sent the recipe to me, I was excited. I’d never tasted mulberries, much less cooked with them and I was anxious to try. However, here in California I couldn’t find mulberries, no matter the season. I didn’t realize how regional this fruit is. Fortunately, I found some mulberry jam online and bought a jar. What I found is that while mulberries look very similar to blackberries, they are much sweeter. The mulberry jam pairs beautifully with the shortbread-style cookie dough and provides an enticing dark purple jewel in the middle of the baked cookie. Rest assured that if you don’t have access to mulberry jam, any of your favorite flavors will work in this recipe.

Amazon Synopsis

Autumn has arrived on the shores of Lake Michigan, but Marlee Jacob, proprietor of The Berry Basket, is feeling a chill for other reasons …

With the Harvest Health Fair in full swing, Marlee makes sure to stock up on elderberry products for cold and flu season. But this year there’s also a run on mulberry when an eccentric customer wants to use the dried berries to ward off evil forces. True, it’s almost Halloween, but something else seems to be spooking Leticia the Lake Lady, Oriole Point’s oddest resident. She believes someone plans to kill her—and the ghost. Only mulberries can protect them. Marlee doesn’t take her fears seriously until a man named Felix Bonaventure arrives in the village, asking questions about a mysterious woman.

The next day, Marlee finds Bonaventure dead on Leticia’s property—shot through the heart with an arrow made of mulberry wood. And Leticia has disappeared. Marlee soon learns the Lake Lady has a deadly past that is connected to the famous Sable family who are in town for the health fair. A bunch of clues start to come together—and figuring out what’s going on puts Marlee in a real jam …

A special thanks to Sharon Farrow for providing six giveaway copies of MULBERRY MISCHIEF. Contest ends September 8, 2019 at 11:59 pm PST and limited to U.S. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. The contest is administered by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours and the winner will be announced on this page as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

Mulberry Thumbprint Cookies

As cookie fans know, thumbprint cookies are a longtime favorite at Christmastime. However, I love thumbprint cookies so much, I’d happily eat them year round. And in MULBERRY MISCHIEF, Marlee’s baker Theo makes mulberry thumbprint cookies for the festivities leading up to Halloween. Using The Berry Basket’s own mulberry jam, naturally. Of course, this classic recipe can be used with any number of berry jams, not just mulberries.

Ingredients

1 -1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup mulberry jam

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well.
In another bowl, beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients to the sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla mixture. Stir until blended.
Shape dough into small 1-inch balls. Place on cookie sheets 2 inches apart.
If the dough is too sticky, refrigerate 45 - 60 minutes before shaping into balls.
With your thumb, indent each cookie center about 1/2-inch deep.
Spoon jam or preserves into each thumbprint.
Bake 13-14 minutes, or until cookie edges are golden. Makes 3 dozen.

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

August 26 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
August 26 – I Read what You Write – SPOTLIGHT
August 27 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
August 27 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT, RECIPE
August 28 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
August 28 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – GUEST POST
August 28 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT
August 29 – Curling Up by The Fire – REVIEW
August 29 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
August 30 – The Avid Reader – READER
August 30 – eBook Addicts – SPOTLIGHT, RECIPE
August 31 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW
August 31 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
September 1 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 1 – LibriAmoriMiei – REVIEW
September 2 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
September 2 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 3 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
September 4 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
September 4 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 5 – Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder – REVIEW, RECIPE
September 5 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 6 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW
September 6 – Teresa Trent Author Blog – SPOTLIGHT
September 7 – Teresa Watson’s Blog – REVIEW
September 7 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
September 8 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW
September 8 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

I was provided an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Livvie’s Pumpkin Bread

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HAUNTED HOUSE MURDER by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, and Barbara Ross is the third anthology book the three talented authors have teamed up for. With three Halloween-themed novellas to provide short, goosebump-worthy reads, each author spins tales based on their much-loved characters from their long-enduring series. As you would expect, each novella has different characters and much different storytelling styles.

Leslie Meier writes a soft mystery intertwining a social issue. I like how she uses the grandson of the protagonist, Lucy Stone to increase the suspense. Lee Hollis takes the reader back in time to when the protagonist, Hayley Powell, has her young children at home. Halloween, especially when kids are involved, tends to not be quite so scary. Still the author manages to insert references to old-school horror movies and characters that had me chuckling. Barbara Ross ramps up the spookiness factor with a ghost tour in which she relates local ghost stories of Busman Harbor. As a longtime fan of the Maine Clambake Mystery series, I appreciated the peek into a different view of the town’s history and setting. I also appreciated her tale adhering to the title of the book by including a murder and not just a mystery. Despite the short novella length, Ms. Ross manages to make the story feel full length with good character development, a crime, great settings and Halloween flavors, and a complete resolution.

There are a few recipes included in HAUNTED HOUSE MURDER. I couldn’t wait to make Livvie’s Pumpkin Bread recipe provided by Barbara Ross. I loved that this is a recipe the author made for her own children throughout their childhood, and for good reason. Tender and moist, this pumpkin bread is full of warm spices that enhance the pumpkin. I appreciate that the recipe uses whole wheat flour and doesn’t use as much vegetable oil as some recipes I’ve tried. I’ll be making this yummy bread again and again for my own granddaughters, especially as autumn and Halloween approaches.

Amazon Synopsis

Tricks and treats keep the Halloween spirit alive in coastal Maine. But this year the haunted house theme is getting carried a little too far . . .

HAUNTED HOUSE MURDER by LESLIE MEIER
Newcomers to Tinker’s Cove, Ty and Heather Moon have moved into a dilapidated house reputed to be a haven for ghosts. Now strange noises and flickering lights erupt from the house at all hours and neighborly relations are on edge. And when a local boy goes missing near the house, it’s up to Lucy Stone to unravel the mystery of the eccentric couple and their increasingly frightful behavior.

DEATH BY HAUNTED HOUSE by LEE HOLLIS
For the past two years, the house next door to Hayley Powell has sat abandoned after the owner died under mysterious circumstances. The Salinger family has recently taken possession of the property, but the realtor behind the deal has vanished—after a very public and angry argument with Damien Salinger. If Bar Harbor’s newest neighbors are murderers, Hayley will haunt them until they confess.

HALLOWED OUT by BARBARA ROSS
With its history of hauntings and ghost sightings, Busman’s Harbor is the perfect setting for Halloween festivities. But when a reenactment of a Prohibition-era gangster’s murder ends with a literal bang and a dead actor from New Jersey, Julia Snowden must identify a killer before she ends up sleeping with the fishes.

A special thanks to Barbara Ross for providing one winner with a hardcover copy of HAUNTED HOUSE MURDER. Contest ends Sunday, September 8, 2019 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. residents. 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!)

Livvie's Pumpkin Bread

In the story, Julia's sister, Livvie, makes this pumpkin bread for the people on the Halloween Haunted House tour. In reality, it's a recipe I often made in the fall for my children when they were young. Made with canned pumpkin, it is simple and practically foolproof.

Ingredients