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Gingerbread Donuts

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DECK THE DONUTS is the sixth book in the Deputy Donut Mysteries by Ginger Bolton. With its inviting cover, the reader will be tempted to sit by a roaring fire while nibbling on all the delectable goodies the season has to offer. Cozy characters, chief amongst them protagonist Emily Westhill and her charming feline, Deputy Donut, have contributed to this series becoming a fan favorite. The author’s easy writing style, combined with the “niceness” of Emily, her family, friends, and community, makes it almost improbable that anything bad can happen in the town of Fallingbrook, Wisconsin. But it is a murder mystery after all, and Ms. Bolton does an admirable job of weaving the crime into the holiday setting, complete with a snowstorm and a Frosty the Donut ice snowman sculpture. With a strong descriptive voice, the setting comes to life and the reader will shiver from cold and fright alike.

A stranded tour bus load of passengers brings in a new flux of potential victims and suspects alike to Emily’s small town. When the tour bus driver is found murdered, buried beneath Frosty the Donut, it’s difficult for Emily to not get involved to find out the truth since one of the potential suspects happens to be staying at her house. Even despite the town’s detective (and her best friend and maybe wannabe love interest) asking her to stay safe and let him do his job, she can’t help herself. With twists and turns galore, the path to finding the killer turns out to be as slippery as a ski slope. The reveal caught me off guard but as the strands of the story came together, it all made perfect sense. The final conclusion brings a heartwarming scene with the promise of more good things for Emily and her friends.

Co-owning the Deputy Donut shop with her retired chief of police father-in-law, Emily is always creating and serving up delicious donuts in a wide variety of flavors. Given the Christmas theme, I was pleased to see that Ms. Bolton offers recipes at the back of the book, including one for Gingerbread Donuts. With the usual spices – ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves – providing the gingerbread flavor, it was the addition of candied ginger that made these donuts outstanding! The cakelike texture wasn’t overly heavy and the moist interior had a satisfying bite. These gingerbread donuts will surely be a welcome treat after a frosty day spent playing in the snow or for a tasty breakfast to start the day.

 

With the usual spices – ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves – providing the gingerbread flavor, it's the addition of candied ginger that make these donuts Gingerbread Donuts outstanding. Recipe shared with permission granted by Ginger Bolton, author of DECK THE DONUTS.

 

Amazon Synopsis

’Tis the season for the delectable desserts Emily Westhill and her cuddly cat serve up at Deputy Donut—but someone naughty on Santa’s list has come to town . . .
 
It’s Christmastime again in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin. Emily has truly decked the halls of her donut shop and decorated her donuts with festive designs from green and red frosting to snowflake sprinkles. For the annual Ice and Lights Festival, she’s commissioned a sculpture with three ice-carved donut shapes to form a holey snowman, Frosty the Donut. She has one Christmas wish this year—to spend some time under the mistletoe with a certain detective.

But the holidays just aren’t the same without an unexpected disaster or two. A tour bus on its way to the festival has crashed and a snowstorm has left all the shaken passengers stranded and shivering. Emily and her friends open their homes to shelter the traveling families, while the bus driver is admitted to the hospital for his injuries. But the following morning, Emily discovers his body—buried beneath Frosty the Donut.

The bus passengers show little sympathy for the man who dashed through the snow so badly, some claiming he was under the influence while behind the wheel. Emily also discovers that the driver had a history with folks in Fallingbrook. With multiple motives for murder piling up, it will take a Christmas miracle for Emily to solve this crime . . .

 

 

 

 

 

A special thanks to Ginger Bolton for providing one lucky winner with a print copy of DECK THE DONUTS. Giveaway is limited to U.S. residents. Contest ends October 27, 2021 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!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the usual spices – ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves – providing the gingerbread flavor, it's the addition of candied ginger that make these donuts Gingerbread Donuts outstanding. Recipe shared with permission granted by Ginger Bolton, author of DECK THE DONUTS.

 

Print
Gingerbread Donuts

Makes about a half dozen donuts and a half dozen donut holes.

Ingredients
  • 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons powdered ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 tablespoon candied ginger, chopped fine (Note: Candied ginger near the outsides of the donuts will become crunchy during frying.)
  • 2 egg yolks, beaten
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter
  • Vegetable oil with a smoke point of 400 degrees (F) or higher (or follow your deep fryer's instruction manual)
  • Confectioners' sugar or granulated sugar (optional)
Instructions

  1. Sift the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves into one bowl. Stir in candied ginger.

  2. In another bowl, mix the egg, molasses, milk, brown sugar, and melted butter.

  3. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until blended. If necessary, add flour by the tablespoonfuls until dough is just barely firm enough to handle. Do not overmix. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill several hours or overnight.

  4. Roll dough to 1/2 inch thick. Cut with donut cutter or one large round cutter with a smaller round cutter to make a hole in the center. Cover with damp cloth and allow to rest for 1/2 hour.

  5. Heat oil to 360 degrees (F). Gently slip the donuts and donut holes, a few at a time, into hot oil. Do not overcrowd.

  6. Cook for about 2 minutes until puffed and browning, turn, and cook for about one minute. Lift and drain on paper towels.

  7. When cool, sprinkle with confectioners' or granulated sugar if desired.

With the usual spices – ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves – providing the gingerbread flavor, it's the addition of candied ginger that make these donuts Gingerbread Donuts outstanding. Recipe shared with permission granted by Ginger Bolton, author of DECK THE DONUTS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

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With the usual spices – ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves – providing the gingerbread flavor, it's the addition of candied ginger that make these donuts Gingerbread Donuts outstanding. Recipe shared with permission granted by Ginger Bolton, author of DECK THE DONUTS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

With the usual spices – ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves – providing the gingerbread flavor, it's the addition of candied ginger that make these donuts Gingerbread Donuts outstanding. Recipe shared with permission granted by Ginger Bolton, author of DECK THE DONUTS.

 

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67 thoughts on “Gingerbread Donuts”

  1. “Do you ever attend holiday festivals?” I have not done that–maybe they should serve donuts!

  3. In the past, I have attended some holiday festivals. With present Covid exposure possible, I would not attend large gatherings held indoors.

  7. I adore this series! So well written and lovable characters! Esp. Dep! I love to attend holiday festivals! Esp. in a town not far from me Volant Mills. It is in Amish country and many Amish folks come into town to sell their baked goods. the DONUTS are AMAZING!! They are HUGE and so yummy! The shops are country cozy with a few of them located in old train cars! Such a quaint town that has a variety of different festivals for the holidays. They have a “Witches Night Out” one coming up soon! LOVE the recipe for the gingerbread donuts! I love anything gingerbread and a cup of hot coffee!

  11. They used to have a Christmas Tree Festival in the next town but they don’t anymore. It was fun!

  12. Before Covid, we did attend holiday festivities and greatly enjoyed them. I will say as we have gotten older we attended fewer but all were great fun. We’ve even held a few ourselves. Which only makes you appreciate those that hold them for knowing all the work involved leading up to and the clean up work afterwards involved.

  15. No, we don’t have any holiday festivals near me- too small. I wish we did, it would be fun.

    Love this series, super excited for this!

  17. Been awhile since I have attended a festival function. We used to often. But with the kids grown and gone.
    Just me and my sister. We rarely do any more

  18. Wow, the donuts sound delicious, thank you for sharing the recipe. Last time I attended a holiday festivity it was for a tree lighting here in our town and my husband played Christmas music, it was a lot of fun. Thank you for the chance. Have a great weekend and stay safe.

  19. I’ve attended many holiday parties in the past 60 years. Some for X-mas and most of them for Chanukah. All were fun and I enjoyed the interaction with friends who I don’t always get to spend time with.

  23. I love attending holiday festivals. Most have crafts, homemade foods, and music and are so much fun. I get a lot of my holiday shopping done then.

  33. Love this series. I can’t wait to try this recipe. Ginger is one of my favorite spices to use especially during the holidays. I think I might add a touch of ginger into the powdered sugar that I would roll them in!

  35. I’ve never attended a Christmas festival before but I dream of experiencing one that we see in all of the Hallmark Christmas movies. They always look like so much fun with loads of things to do and amazing places to shop. Thank you for the giveaway!

  36. Two years ago before covid, I attended two large Christmas fairs and sales with my two daughters and the adopted Mom of one. We had a great time looking at all the neat stuff and crafts.

  37. I would love to attend a holiday festival. The only one we have is centered around our town’s tree lighting

  38. We usually do a get together with our friends for Christmas Eve. But this year my daughter will be with her dance studio in the Christmas Parade. I really enjoy Christmas time.

  42. Yes, our family lives holiday festivals and our favorite one is in PA Dutch Country where every type of talented artisan in the country comes to this event and it’s just fabulous.

  44. We have some local holiday festivals around our town’s square…shop local before Thanksgiving and a Christmas walk in December. It’s nice to see most if not all of the businesses participate.

  46. I have been to several. One of my favorites was going to the Detroit Zoo and went through looking at all the spectacular lights for Christmas. It was absolutely beautiful, quite chilly but beautiful ❤️?

  48. I do we have a Charles Dickens Festival that runs thanksgiving – a week before Christmas. So fun carolers, carriage rides, roasted chestnuts, shopping .

  51. Yes! I love holiday festivals! Two of them I go to are Harvest Festival featuring Crafts and Pumpkins in the City and An Old Time Christmas At Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. Thanks for the chance!

  52. Oktoberfest and a few Christmas festivals here in town. Not now that our numbers are still so high in my state.

  57. It has been some time since I attended a Holiday Festival, but I sure would like to be an armchair attendee by reading this book!

  61. The older I get, the less well I do with crowds of people and traffic getting into and out of a venue. We do go to our local Renaissance Faire each year, though. They have delicious apple cider donuts!

  63. I am a believer that a holiday festival is one that celebrates the birth of Jesus. By worshiping His birth it is a
    very special festival. Thanks for the opportunity to have a chance at winning Ginger Bolton’s book.

  64. We don’t attend holiday festivities. We used to go to office parties, and ride around to look at lights in different parts of town. As we got older, we let the younger generation take our places. Thanks for the chance to win.

  66. I havent been able to since I moved away from Wisconsin. Now I just like to be cozy with coffee and a holiday movie or book.

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