by Frankie Love
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Cassie-Ann L. Miller
Easy Holiday Candied Pecans
From Cassie-Ann:
This is my Mister’s recipe for candied pecans. He picked it up while working as a sous-chef at a classy restaurant that serves ridiculously small portions of fancy food.
It makes a great topping for spring salad but it’s really a wonderful snack to have on hand, especially while the Christmas turkey is roasting away in the oven and the kids are getting hungry before Christmas dinner.
Recipe
2 cups pecans 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
A dash of cinnamon (optional)
1.Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat. If you’re using cinnamon, add it once the butter has melted.
2.Add sugar, stirring frequently as it dissolves. This will take about 3 to 5 minutes and will burn easily if you’re not careful. Put your Kindle down—don’t take your eye off that pot!
3.Once sugar is dissolved and bubbling, add pecans. Stir well to coat pecans in sugar mixture.
4.Transfer the mixture to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Make sure to spread the nuts evenly to avoid having big clumps.
5.Allow to sit for 10 minutes so that it dries.
Dirty Christmas
By Cassie-Ann L. Miller
amazon.com/dp/B0784GNMRW
Roast the chestnuts. Spike the eggnog. Break out the ugly Christmas sweaters…Shoot me now. I’ll be home for Christmas. Whether I like it or not. Reyfield, Illinois is the last place I want to be for the Holidays. Yet, here I am, headed that way in a car with my brother-in-law’s drop-dead gorgeous, certifiably insane secretary. One look at her luscious body in that sexy elf costume and I want to drag her behind the Christmas tree and have my way with her. One taste of that feisty mouth under the mistletoe and now I’m a goner. This was supposed to be a quick trip to my hometown to fulfill my family duty during the Holidays but I’ll be damned because with this girl in my arms, it’s starting to feel like a detour toward forever. Dirty Christmas is a 20,000-word holiday novella in the Dirty Suburbs, a series of steamy romantic comedies set in small-town Illinois. Each story is a standalone.
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Cassie Leigh
Butter Balls
From Cassie:
Sneaking butter balls while my mom wasn’t looking is part of my earliest Christmas memories, AND they’re really easy to make, which is always a bonus.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of butter
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar (plus enough for rolling the cookies in after they’re done)
- 2 cups of sifted flour
- 1 cup of chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter. Add vanilla and powdered sugar and mix. Add the flour and nuts and mix. Make small balls about one to two inches in diameter. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for approximately 15 minutes until balls are lightly browned. Roll in powdered sugar while still hot. Cool before storing.
You Can’t Eat the Pretty
By Cassie Leigh
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A cookbook for those who want to cook for themselves but would probably burn water if given a chance.
This is not fancy cook show cooking. It’s your basic guide to feeding yourself without burning the kitchen down. Hell, the first few recipes pretty much only require a spoon.
So if you’ve been thinking you should cook for yourself but haven’t known where to start and are intimidated by books that assume you know what you’re doing, this is the book for you.
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C. Coal
Peanut Butter Cookies
From C.:
It’s a perfect recipe for when I only have one egg left in the fridge and my dog loves them as much as I do.
Recipe
Ingredients:
- 8 Tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup peanut butter
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream butter. Add white and brown sugars and mix well. Add egg and vanilla and mix. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to other ingredients and mix until well blended. Add peanut butter and mix.
Roll dough into one-inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet approximately one inch apart. Use a fork to flatten the balls into round discs. Bake until light golden brown. Should take approximately five to eight minutes. Check halfway through and tap the center of the cookies with the back of a fork if they’ve puffed up.
Cool either on the cookie sheet or move to a cooling rack after a few minutes.
(Recipe adapted from Gale Gand’s Just a Bite recipe for peanut butter cookie-grape jelly ice cream sandwiches.)
Puppy Love Christmas Kiss
By C. Coal
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A short, sweet holiday story about puppies, finding love, and the families we make for ourselves.
Each Wednesday morning they take the bus—the lonely graduate student, the Marine trying to start a new life in the corporate world, the elderly woman on her way to the senior center, and the exhausted single mother and her daughter—but they never interact. Not until the day tragedy strikes and a dog is hit by a car, bringing these five strangers together.
This story is part of the Puppy Love series of short stories about puppies bringing two people together to find their happily ever after. Because it’s the season for it, this one is also about the families we find or make ourselves. If you need a short, sweet read between all the insanity of the season, this one’s for you.
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Deanna Roy
Rainbow Cupcakes
From Deanna:
In my upcoming book, FOREVER CHRISTMAS, Corabelle is expecting another baby after the loss of her first child. These children are called “rainbow babies,” the beauty after the storm.
For fans who have long awaited the characters from my Forever series to get their rainbow, these are the perfect celebration cupcakes!
1 White Cake Mix
3 Egg Whites
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
Four food coloring options (recommended, yellow, orange, blue, purple)
18-24 cupcake liners (optional)
Nonstick cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Blend cake mix, egg whites, water, and oil in a large bowl at low speed until moistened for about thirty seconds. Then beat at medium speed for two minutes.
Divide the batter into four bowls to create the colors. Make sure each color is vibrant and distinct from the others.
Line the cupcake tins with paper liners, or spray thoroughly with nonstick spray. I recommend spraying the bottom of the liners for ease in taking the cupcakes out of the liners.
Choose the order of your colors. I prefer to alternate bright and lighter colors rather than going with the traditional rainbow, such as purple, yellow, blue, orange for maximum impact.
Practice on your first cupcake, spooning each color one at a time until the liner is 3/4 filled. Once you are comfortable with how much of each color is necessary to fill the cupcakes, continue to fill each cupcake tin with all four colors.
Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees for about 18-21 minutes.
For extra fun, create t
hree or four colors of frosting and place all the colors in a single Ziploc bag. Cut the tip and allow all the colors to swirl together as you squeeze the bag over each cupcake.
Enjoy your rainbows!
FOREVER CHRISTMAS
By Deanna Roy
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They tell mothers like me, a woman whose baby has died, that a new pregnancy will bring a rainbow baby. You know, the beauty after the storm.
What they don’t say is how hard it’s going to be. How scary. How emotional. That at the lowest point, I will completely give up hope.
I do have a saving grace. Several, in fact. Gavin, my hot, sex-on-the-kitchen-counter, loves-me-on-my-bad-days husband. He’s been with me since the beginning. And I have Jenny and Tina, girlfriends I met along the way. They’re the good ones. The ones who bring you Kleenex and vodka.
But I also have you. Tens of thousands of you who read my story and have cheered me on, waiting for me and Gavin to have a healthy baby. It helps me, knowing you’re out there, waiting, hoping. Some of you have lost babies yourselves. You know what I’m about to endure.
So it’s time for the happiest happy ending of all. What better time than at Christmas?
(Don’t forget your tissues. And maybe the vodka too.)
Forever Christmas can be read as a standalone, but if this is your first introduction to the Forever novels, I recommend reading Forever Innocent to understand their backstory.
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Deanna’s Website: http://deannaroy.com/forever-family/
Don’t forget to join Deanna’s Newsletter! http://www.deannaroy.com/news
Jamie Garrett
Gingerbread Reindeer
From Jamie:
These are easy to make and a cute contribution to any Christmas party for kids or adults alike
without needing to buy cookie cutters you’ll only use once a year.
2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 stick salted butter, left at room temperature
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses
Icing:
5 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
Decorating:
Gingerbread man cookie cutter
Squeeze bottles
Chocolate chips
Red M&Ms or other red candy
Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl.
Then, using a stand mixer or large bowl, add the butter and brown sugar and beat until creamy.
Add the egg and molasses into the butter mixture and stir well to combine. Then add in the dry ingredients half a cup at a time, stirring well.
Split the dough into two balls, dust with extra flour. Wrap one in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.
Dust a piece of parchment paper with more flour, place the dough on the paper, and then top with another piece of parchment. Roll the dough out to a 1/8 of an inch thick. Place the flat piece of dough in the freezer for around thirty minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, remove the dough from the freezer and cut out your gingerbread shapes, rerolling to cut again until all the dough is used up. Place the cutouts on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for ten minutes, or until firm at the edges and just starting to darken in color. Once baked, allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Repeat with the second ball of dough.
To make the icing, whisk the whites until frothy, the add in the vanilla. Follow with the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, while mixing on low. Then turn the speed up to high for six minutes or until stiff peaks form.
Add the icing into a squeeze bottle and decorate your cookies with a face, ears, and antlers. Make a small circle of icing for the eyes and then add a chocolate chip in the center. The red candy is stuck on for the nose.
Allow the icing to set completely!
Dark Secret
By Jamie Garrett
An alpha male determined to protect what’s his.
Jackson Archer built his cyber security empire with a mix of street smarts and hard-won hacking skills. The former Navy SEAL isn’t one to fall for a damsel in distress.
Usually, he assigns cases to his trusted operatives, but the moment Mira Swanson walks into his office, the pretty blonde ignites every protective instinct inside his battle-scarred heart.
Maybe it’s the wild charges she makes against black-market arms dealers, or the complete disregard for her own safety. Maybe it’s her innocent gaze that makes his blood burn with lust. Regardless, he’s claiming Mira as his own, very special, very personal client. He’ll use his skills and stealth to not only keep her out of trouble but keep her in his bed.
But as Jackson uncovers more about the black arms dealers, it’s clear Mira’s in mortal danger.
He’ll need every shred of his skills and warrior stealth to protect her.
Jackson’s mission just got real.
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Newsletter: http://jamiegarrett.com/newsletter
J.H. Croix
Easy Coffee Cake
From J.H.:
This is my mother’s recipe. I chose it because it’s simple & delicious. We always have it at breakfast over the holidays, and it’s dangerously good. I love to give it away to others as well, which is simple if you bake it in small foil pans.
1.5 cups of flour
1 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1tsp baking powder
1 cup sour cream
1 beaten egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp flour
1 stick butter
Blend dry ingredients into sour cream. Add egg and vanilla. Pour into 9 inch greased pan. Melt butter and add topping ingredients to melted butter. Drizzle over the top. Bake 23 - 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Christmas on the Last Frontier (Last Frontier Lodge Novels Book 1)
By J.H. Croix
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A steamy, standalone holiday romance with a guaranteed HEA from USA Today Bestselling author J.H. Croix! If you like smoking hot romance with alpha men and strong women, you’ll love this series!
Gage Hamilton. Smoldering, sexy and single.
Entirely uninterested in anything resembling romance.
His hot new neighbor is definitely not part of his plans.
Marley Adams is way too sexy for Gage’s own good.
Control is the name of the game for an ex-military operative like Gage.
Yet, he finds control hard to come by with Marley.
In fact, he’d like nothing more than to get his hands on every inch of her.
Just once and that might be enough.
The last thing on Marley’s mind is romance.
She’s returned home to Alaska and is busy trying to forget the past.
Yet, the past comes knocking and puts her safety at risk.
Gage finds he’ll do anything to protect her.
He never considered his own heart might be at risk.
*All novels in this series are full-length standalone novels with an HEA.
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Newsletter link: http://jhcroixauthor.com/subscribe/
Rocklyn Ryder
“Way to his heart” Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
From Rocklyn:
Have you ever received a Ziplock baggie full of glue from a well-meaning friend, family member, or co-worker who called it “Amish Fr
iendship Bread Starter?”
The starter and its accompanying recipe make an appearance every few years around the holidays.
The bread is delicious and easy to make but if you’re wondering what else you can do with that starter, here’s a great recipe for sourdough cinnamon rolls that’s guaranteed to get the message through even the thickest skull when you’re trying to let him know you like him!
(Well, almost the thickest skull! These are the rolls Dorthy made for Bear in A Wise Investment.)
DOUGH:
1 cup sourdough starter freshly fed*
Like I said, the Amish Friendship Bread starter makes a delicious sweet dough! But of course, traditional sourdough starter will work.
¼ cup warm water
1 teaspoon yeast (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup sugar
¼ cup powdered milk
1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs, room temperature
2-3 cups all-purpose flour
FILLING:
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
¼ cup dried cranberries (optional)
¼ cup chopped pecans (optional)
FROSTING:
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature
½ teaspoon almond (or vanilla) extract
1-2 tablespoon milk
1 pinch salt
DIRECTIONS:
- Measure the sourdough starter into the large mixing bowl for a Kitchen aid Mixer. Add the salt, sugar, melted butter, dry milk powder and eggs and with dough hooks, combine well.
(I mix by hand and stick to the traditional no-metal rule for working with sourdough starters)
- If using the yeast, add to 1/4 cup warm water and allow to stand 5 minutes and then add to the sourdough mixture.
- Gradually add the flour till the dough forms a ball. It should be soft but not sticky.
- Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat. Allow to rise until double. The length of rise will depend upon how active your starter is and whether you used the commercial yeast.
