I have been a fan of the Candy-coated Mystery series by Nancy Coco since her first book released a few years ago. I was delighted to find out that she was releasing a new one this summer so I made sure I secured a copy. ALL YOU NEED IS FUDGE is the fifth book in this series and it’s as delectable as the recipes Nancy includes with her book.
Synopsis
Allie McMurphy is in her first year of running her grandparents’ historic hotel and fudge shop on MacKinac Island. She’s not finding it easy to be accepted by the locals and it doesn’t help that her adorable bichonpoo puppy, Marshmallow (or Mal for short) keeps finding dead bodies. With the beginning of yacht club race week on the island, no one is happy when Allie and Mal come across another body. The murdered young woman, Carin Moore, is from a prominent, very wealthy MacKinac Island family but has the reputation for being mean. Most of the islanders know about Carin’s long-time rival with Paige Jessop and several people witness a very verbal argument between the two women the day before the murder.
Paige just so happens to be one of Allie’s good friends and the sister of Trent…the man Allie is dating and falling in love with. When Paige is arrested for the murder, Trent and his family completely shut Allie out. She’s not a local and to make matters worse, Trent tells her to leave the investigation alone and go back to making fudge. Only Allie can’t do that. She must show that she belongs on the island and can be a part of Trent’s family by helping prove Paige is innocent. Will she be able to work things out with Trent or will the hunky cop, Rex, finally get a chance with Allie? Can she get the locals to open up to her and help her find information to solve the murder and clear Paige’s name?
My Review
ALL YOU NEED IS FUDGE starts off with a bang from the very first page and the mystery had enough twists and turns with several suspects for an enjoyable who-dun-it read! The undercurrent of relational subplots added to the book’s appeal. I enjoyed how Allie’s best friend and event planner, Jenn, seems to be making friends and fitting in with the islanders and how she nudges Allie to do the same. It creates scenes that make Allie move out of her comfort zone and gives more insight into other people living on MacKinac. Her other friends, elderly Frances Wentworth who manages the McMurphy reception desk, and Douglas Devaney, the handyman, also force Allie to see that she hasn’t done her part to really get to know them. It gives Allie a chance to grow and not be so focused on herself and her business.
While the book has some scenes of making fudge (which I thoroughly enjoyed and made me want to make candy right then and there!) it doesn’t detract from the pace of the story. Nancy offers numerous delectable recipes, including those for fudge, and she graciously allowed me to share one of them with you. Since I had a house full of guests coming and going this summer, I chose to make her Fudgie Cheesecake Brownie recipe with the help of my niece, Nicole. (Thank you, Nicole!) A super chocolatey, decadent brownie base is topped with rich and creamy, fluffy cheesecake, which is then topped with dark chocolate candy…a chocolate lover’s dream dessert! Trust me, my dinner guests swooned!
A very special thank you to Nancy Coco for providing an autographed copy of ALL YOU NEED IS FUDGE for one winner. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. Contest is open to U.S. residents only and ends Monday, August 29, 2016 at 11:59 pm PST. Winners will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)
Fudgie Cheesecake Brownie
Ingredients
Brownie
1/2 cup butter, melted
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup flour
Cheesecake
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Topping
2 cups dark chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
Brownie
Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F).
Butter an 8-inch round pan.
In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt.
Stir the eggs and vanilla into the butter, sugar, cocoa mixture. Do not over beat the eggs.
Gently add the flour and stir until all lumps are gone.
Pour into the pan and bake for 20 minutes until center is set.
Remove and cool.
Cheesecake
In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar.
Pour the heavy whipping cream into a clean, cold bowl and whip until stiff peaks form.
Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture and spread over cooled brownie.
Refrigerate for at least an hour. Longer is better.
Topping
In a microwavable bowl, add the chocolate chips and the butter.
Microwave on 50 percent power for one minute. Stir until smooth.
Pour over the chilled cheesecake covered brownies and spread.
Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Slice and serve. Enjoy!
Tips
To easily remove the Fudgie Cheesecake Brownie from the pan for serving, line the cake tin with parchment paper, overlapping sides to make “handles” to help lift from the pan.
The chocolate topping is a wonderfully thick slab of dark chocolate. To cut, dip a chef’s knife in very hot water, dry, then slice. Repeat with each cut.
Half of my guests loved the thick topping while the other half thought it was a bit much for the delicate cheesecake. The next time I make this I will try using only 1/3 cup of the dark chocolate chips melted together with 2 teaspoons of butter and then drizzle lightly over the top, Jackson Pollack style.
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I received a copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Whenever we are at the Outer Banks of NC, we always visit the fudge shoppe. I am not sure of the name of the shoppe, but, their fudge is delicious. We always get several varieties to try.
We don’t have any small family-owned fudge shops in our area, they are all large chain shops. If I see a quaint one when I’m on vacation, I do like to stop by and purchase some to take home.
There are no fudge shops nearby. Thank you for the giveaway!
I like to go to Laura Little’s Candies which has 26 flavors of Laura’s fudge. It also has the best chocolate covered strawberries! Your recipes are always soooo yummy! I can’t wait to read this book!
No favorite fudge shop but I love to bake! And I love to read books with chocolate in the story. Thanks!
there is one in amish country in sugarcreek, ohio we love.
No, I don’t, but I sure wish there was one nearby! Thanks!
No fudge shop near me but if you go to the Fall fairs, you will see local fudge makers.
scarletbegonia5858@gmail.com
Oh my, oh my!
That sounds wicked good!
Oh how I wish we had a fudge shop in town! If I want fudge, I have to make it myself and I LOVE fudge!
Merry – Northstarvance@gmail.com
Don’t have a fudge shop close by. But I visit the one at the beach when I’m there.
elainehroberson@gmail.com
We have a small little tea room here in town that is know for their homemade desserts. They make the most Delois fudge I have ever tasted. My favorite flavor is mint fudge.
No close fudge shop that I am aware of. pwtish171@gmail.com
Fudge Shop? Does my Mom’s kitchen count? She makes the best milk chocolate fudge with walnuts, marshmallows, and sometimes an added treat of white chocolate chips….yummmmmm!
Yes it is in Santa Cruz, Ca and they make the best. There is a little lady that had been there for many years and makes the candy right in the window but the fudge is such a sin ! peggy clayton ptclayton2@aol.com
This recipe looks amazing!!! And because I know I’d eat it all myself I can’t make it. haha! I gave the beginning of this series to a friend for her birthday. It will be great to add to it since her birthday is coming up!
My favorite fudge shop was my mother’s homemade chocolate marshmallow fudge and my mother-in-laws peanut butter fudge. Living in a small town doesn’t provide for anything but the necessities. robeader53@yahoo.com
The closest fudge shop to me is Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and it is pretty good, but these fudge cheesecake brownies look better than anything I’ve seen there!
The recipe sounds so good, and so does the book. I make pretty good fudge, but not often. I have the bad habit of eating it!
We don’t have any fudge shops in our area so there isn’t any one I can visit. I actually love homemade fudge the best and I have it once a year, Christmastime. Now if there was a fudge shop somewhere close, I just might visit that! 🙂
When I lived in Pennsylvania there was a fudge shop in a small town near us that I loved to stop at, they always made some seasonal fudge that constantly changed, I loved their pumpkin fudge, *sigh* I miss that place, I haven’t found one around here…yet.
No fudge shop near where we live.
For good fudge I order on line from
Vermont Country Stones. They have
The best Orton’s Cooper Kettle Fudge.
Oh dear… now I’m going to have to order some for myself and try it out!!!
We don’t have any fudge shops in our area, and I’m glad we don’t, it would be much too tempting for me to buy a piece of everything in the shop!
Recipe sounds delicious!!
My favorite fudge shops are in Gatlinburg, TN.
No, favorite fudge shop, but there is one in next town. I have gotten divinity there
Oh it looks so delicious!
Love Mackinac Island and it is portrayed so well in this series. I love this series! I can smell the fudge in the air when reading the books in this series. Can’t wait to read “All You Need is Fudge”. The cheesecake recipe looks amazing. Will have to give it a try.
I don’t have a favorite Fudge shop to visit. But I would love to win a signed copy of All You Need Is Fudge. Thank you for the chance.
No fudge shop near by so I have to make my own!
Connie
cps1950(at)gmail(dot)com
I visit. A fudge shop every summer in Ocean City New Jersey. Its small but Georges is the best and their macaroons are to die for. Definitely going to try this recipe. Thank you for this opportunity.
No fudge shop nearby, but I have a colleague who makes great fudge!
I love fresh fudge! There is a place at the Emerald Isle in NC called Elly’s Gifts that makes the BEST fudge. We haven’t been down there in a few years but every time we go, we pop in there and buy fudge for everyone to bring back home with us. So many flavors and it is SO GOOD!
We don’t have a fudge shop but all that chocolate is making me hungry…the book sounds great.
Marilyn ewatvess@yahoo.com
No fudge shop but, homemade is delicious too! I love this series, and the dogs name too! Donamaekutska7@gmail.com
There are no fudge shops nearby. 🙁
no fudge shops around me either! Books sounds great!!!
I don’t have a fudge shop near me but I do love chocolate fudge would love to win your book
When I lived in WA there was a little bistro downtown. The owner manager’s parents immigrated here from France. Their signature dessert was a fudge cake. Real butter, real natural cream, eggs, very little flour and sugar. don’t remember what all. It was about 2 inches thick and a chocolate, fudge lovers dream. I wish I could remember that place. Not sure I really ever knew the name. It was on the route we traveled often and we would just go in and eat. sometimes take a whole fudge cake with us, so creamy.
Wish I did. My brother loves fudge and mom can’t make her fudge anymore. I have her recipe, but haven’t gotten the courage to make it. Maybe I will this Christmas. She only made it at Christmas. But I will be making the Fudgie Cheesecake Brownies. They sound awesome and look delicious.
There are numerous fudge recipes that are simple to make and Nancy Coco includes several in her book that would be worth trying out! Good luck!
I love this series and I have from the first book.
Don’t have a fudge shop. this book is being added to my TBR.
I want to read this book but will see if I can read the ones before. There is a Fudge Shop in Old Sacrament that I always go to
I always like to get peanut butter fudge when I visit Pier 39 in San Francisco
I wish we had a fudge shop near by. Whenever I see fudge I buy it, I love to try different flavors.
unfortunately I live very close to Laura’s Fudge shop here in Kansas City….and I do love that fudge!
I don’t go there very often but, there is an old style candy store in the old part of our town that sells really good fudge. I can’t eat it too often or I would gain too much weight. Just looking at it packs the pounds on.
There is a fudge shop in North Georgia I like to visit when we head that way. Thanks for the great recipe.