My mom rarely baked when I was a child – she was too busy working – but the one thing she made on a pretty regular basis was Snickerdoodle Cookies. Probably because they were my dad's favorite. Like my mom, I don't have a lot of time to bake – and I find cookies too time consuming. Luckily, I discovered this wonderful recipe.

~ ~ ~

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

· 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

· 1/2 C white sugar

· 2 1/2 C flour

· 1 t baking powder

· 1/2 t baking soda

· 1/2 t salt

· 1 C butter, softened*

· 1 C sugar

· 1 C brown sugar

· 3 eggs

· 2 t vanilla

· 1 C full-fat sour cream*

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Generously grease or spray the inside of your bundt pan.

In a small bowl combine the first two ingredients until well mixed. Generously dust the inside of your bundt pan with cinnamon sugar (you want it to form a crust when it bakes). Shake out extra. Save some for the middle of the cake.

Next, mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt) and set aside.

In a third, larger, bowl, mix butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla.

Then alternate adding flour mixture and sour cream to your sugar, butter, and eggs, mixing after each addition.

Pour enough batter into your bundt pan to coat the bottom.

Sprinkle in a (not too) generous layer of cinnamon sugar (if you use too much, the cinnamon sugar layer turns hard after the cake cools).

Add the last of the batter. Do NOT mix.

Bake at 325 degrees for 55-65 minutes. Allow to cool for 30-45 minutes (I find it comes out better if it's almost cool). Invert onto a plate or wire rack and allow to finish cooling—or eat warm :D

(*I have subbed out non-fat greek yogurt (Fage) for half the butter and half the sour cream with good results. )

Betsy Henley has sworn off cowboys for good, and only an invitation from a long-time crush could draw her back in to the rodeo world she left behind. She accepts, eager to find out if Alex Lucero sees her as more than his former team- roping partner’s little sister.

There’s only one problem. . . Alex is now roping with her ex-boyfriend, who also wants her back. How can she choose between the man she’s lusted after for years and the man she has a history with?

Then again, maybe Betsy doesn’t have to.

~ ~ ~

http://amiestuart.com

My family loves green beans so I’m always on the hunt for new ways to cook them. Sautéing them has become my favorite method, as they turn out so tasty.

~ ~ ~

Gourmet Green Beans

1 1/2 - 2 pounds green beans, ends trimmed

2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and fresh black pepper

Option 1 - Herb Butter:

•    1/4 cup fresh herb* leaves, roughly chopped

•    1 large lemon, zested and juiced

•    2 garlic cloves, smashed

•    1 stick unsalted butter, softened

•    Salt and pepper

*Use herb of your choice such as sage, rosemary, basil, chives

In a food processor, pulse together the herbs, lemon zest and juice, and garlic. Once coarsely chopped, add the butter and pulse until combined. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Use 1/3 of the herbed butter for this recipe and freeze the rest for another use.

Option 2- Vegie Dressing:

•    2 ounces salted butter, melted

•    1 tablespoon soy sauce

•    1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Whisk all ingredients together. May double recipe if desired.

Sautéing Green Beans:

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the green beans in an even layer and cook without disturbing for one minute. Add the herbed butter or vegie dressing and sauté for 1-2 more minutes or until beans are crispy and still bright green. Season with salt and fresh black pepper as needed.

Christmas in Sugar Land contains four romantic and heartwarming Christmas themed stories featuring fictional residents of Sugar Land, Texas:

THE CHRISTMAS STAR – Under the glow of a magical Christmas star, two lonely people find each other and learn that the true meaning of the holiday does indeed entail family and love.

A HOLIDAY SURPRISE – After divorcing fifteen years ago, can two mature and successful adults overcome the differences that forced them apart and then succeed together at love a second time?

CHRISTMAS BY CANDLELIGHT – With the company of a clever puppy, a widowed freelance writer falls for a hunky landscaper as feelings of loyalty to her dead husband threaten her chance at happiness.

ROCKIN’ JINGLE BELLS – Can high school sweethearts now in their mid-thirties, a coffee café manager and a famous rock singer, overcome the dissimilarities in their lives and build a relationship based on love and trust?

This collection has additional Enriched Content that includes pictures, recipes, and author notes for each story with access or a notation to it throughout each story.

~ ~ ~

www.karensueburns.com

Many years ago I attended a Christmas Party that had a cranberry dish that I loved. I asked the person for the recipe several times through the years but she would never share! I finally found it!

~ ~ ~

Cranberry Cloud

2 cups fresh cranberries

2 cups miniature marshmallows

¾ cup sugar

2 green apples

1 cup seedless green grapes

½ cup toasted chopped walnuts

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Put cranberries in food process and pulse until they are chopped in slices.

Add cranberries, marshmallows and sugar in large plastic container and shake until mixed.

Set aside for an hour in the fridge. The sugar will turn a delightful pinkish color.

Chop the apples, slice the green grapes and toast the walnuts in oven for ten minutes at 350 degrees.

Whip the heavy whipping cream until peaks form.

Add apples, grapes, walnuts to cranberries along with the whipped cream.

Fold with rubber spatula, then chill the mixture for at least an hour.

About every fifteen minutes, turn the container over and shake a bit to mix the flavors.

That’s it. Delicious, simple to make and men like it. Enjoy!

Adopted!

In the Deep South, one of the first questions asked when meeting someone new in a small town is, “Who’s your daddy?” The answer defines you as a person. Not knowing is disheartening.

Sara McLaughlin never knew she was adopted and is stunned to realize that if she wants to find out the questions burning in her brain as to the ‘why’ she was given up at birth, and who her father might be, she has to live in her birth mother’s apartment for the next six weeks.

Grant St. Romain, attorney, is supposed to be helping, but the hunky dimpled devil is making her mind think of other things.
Can she find the truth? Or will she break her heart trying to find out the answers in Boggy Bayou, where many secrets are hidden?

~ ~ ~

http://pepper.phillips.com

Next week, my debut sexy contemporary romance series, Texas Nights, will conclude with the release of Designed for Love. And to thank my writer gal pals, fabulous readers and Carina Press for supporting and loving this series, I wanted to share a delicious hot chocolate recipe that will warm you up on these chilly November nights when you’re curled up reading stories by your favorite authors.

(Originally published in Southern Living—I think!—but I’ve tweaked the instructions over the years.)

~ ~ ~

Mexican Hot Chocolate

• ¼ cup cocoa

• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1 − 14-ounce can (fat-free) sweetened condensed milk

• 4 cups (low-fat) milk

Stir together dry ingredients in a small bowl. (I actually like to make up several batches of this dry mixture early in the season and keep them in plastic containers or baggies. That way, I can get straight to the hot chocolate making with no measuring.)

Heat a cup or so of milk over medium heat. Whisk dry ingredients into the milk. Make sure the cocoa and spices are well incorporated. Then add remainder of milk and the condensed milk and whisk well. Cook until the whole chocolaty yumminess is heated through.

Pour it up into four or five cups and share with the folks you’re most thankful for!

NOTE: This hot chocolate is killer top offed with a little shot of Jameson Irish Whiskey. :-)

Ashton Davenport: Hot blonde. Old Money. Off-limits.

That’s how Mac McLaughlin sees her, anyway. And now that he’s enduring a temporary self-imposed exile in tiny Shelbyville, Texas, he’s seeing her way too often. Mac only wants to succeed as the contractor for the Lily Lake development in order to rebuild his reputation and return to Dallas, pronto. A sexy distraction like Ashton was not in the plans.

Mac McLaughlin: Hot builder. Cash poor. Hands-on.

Ashton kissed her trust fund goodbye and left her life as a society princess to prove she could make it on her own. Developing Lily Lake is her big chance, but it’s hard to stay focused working side-by-side with bossy, rough-around-the-edges Mac. Especially when he pulls off his shirt.

When the discovery of an endangered species derails the project, Mac can’t afford to stick around for a stalled job. His and Ashton’s explosive chemistry aside, he’s outta there…unless she can convince him that they just might be able to build something together.

~ ~ ~

Connect with Kelsey: Email / Website / Newsletter / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Pinterest

I think every great Christmas story has some baking going on, as it is a big part of the season. In my Christmas Novella, A Little Bit of Christmas, a tradition the Lewis family has is to make a gingerbread house together. I'm going to give you a recipe that is one of my own family traditions, buckeyes.

~ ~ ~

 

Easy Buckeye Recipe

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup margarine

1 t. vanilla

Chocolate fudge magic shell

Mix peanut butter, powdered sugar, margarine and vanilla until semi-dry. Shape into bite sized balls. Place balls on wax-papered covered cookie sheet. Freeze 1 hour. Dip into Chocolate fudge magic shell, leaving top uncovered to resemble a buckeye. Freeze until serving.

A Christmas Novella

After a tragic accident that brought the small town of Wynter Haven to their knees, Claire Belmont and Nick Lewis went in opposite directions coping in very different ways. Three years later, Claire gets a call urging her to come back to help her friend move past his grief.

It will take more than a little hot cider, gingerbread and mistletoe to bring back Nick’s holiday spirit. He hasn’t celebrated Christmas since his twin sister died. In fact, he’s mastered locking up his feelings so he will never be hurt again.

Claire has a secret and hopes that somehow she and Nick can both get a Christmas miracle this year. After all, Nichole would want them to be happy and cherish the holiday that had been their favorite. Maybe a little bit of Christmas is just what they both need.

~ ~ ~

www.christynewton.com

Cold nights call for a comforting warm dish that’s super easy to make. A chicken pot pie and a prepared salad makes a great meal whenever you're called upon to bring a meal to someone in need. They’ll ask, so make sure to include a copy of the recipe.

~ ~ ~

Down Home Chicken Pot Pie

makes 2 pies (cook one now and freeze one for later). Each pie serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 2 packages pie crust (found in the refrigerated section of your grocery store)
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 29oz can of veg-all homestyle large cut vegetables OR cut up your favorite veggies. Approx. 3 1/2 cups. try carrots, potato, asparagus and green beans

Directions:

1. season the chicken breasts with lemon pepper or McCormick montreal chicken seasoning and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until no longer pink. cut into bite-sized chunks.
2. mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
3. in a deep dish pie pan, press crust down and fill with half the chicken/veggie mixture. Top with another pie crust, crimping edges together. Pierce the top of the crust with a fork in several places.
4. Repeat for 2nd pie.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. 
6. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. Note: If you only want to cook one pie, either half the recipe or freeze the second chicken pot pie after assembling to cook at a later date.

BORN IN SHADOW This short novella is a prequel to the series. It tells the legend of how the Shadow Walkers came to be.

TWO BROTHERS BORN TO A GODDESS…

Thorne and Dayne. Brothers. Sons of the goddess Terya. Rivals who will become bitter enemies because of a woman.

FORGOTTEN BY TIME…

Luna is the fairest maiden in Arcadium. As Thorne falls hopelessly in love with her, events are set into motion that will change their lives and the lives of everyone around them, sending Arcadium to its destruction.

RISE TO CREATE THE SHADOW WALKERS…

Punished for their crimes, Thorne and Dayne are imprisoned for a thousand years, forgotten by time. Until one day, a handmaiden to the fates frees them both. For she has foreseen what will happen if she releases the gods from their prison in the nether realm.

If you enjoy persnickety gods, supernatural creatures and ghosts with the ability to manifest physical bodies, then BORN IN SHADOW is for you.

~ ~ ~

website: http://cluhrs.com

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cynthialuhrsauthor

My sister made this cake and posted a picture of the gorgeous end product on Facebook. She started with a recipe she found at Epicurious.com but made a few changes, reduction of calories not among them.

~ ~ ~

Triple layer banana chocolate chip cake with peanut butter icing and chocolate shavings

Ingredients

Cake:

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups mashed very ripe bananas
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 10-ounce bag mini chocolate chips

Frosting:

• 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Mini chocolate chips, crushed chocolate bars or shavings for garnishment

Equipment: Three 8" round cake pans, parchment paper

Preparation

For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat cake pans with nonstick spray. Line bottom of pans with parchment; coat paper. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, and brown sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions and occasionally scraping down sides and bottom of bowl. Beat in vanilla.

Add dry ingredients; beat on low speed just to blend. Add bananas and sour cream; beat just to blend. Fold in mini chips. Divide batter evenly among pans; smooth tops.

Bake cakes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto racks; peel off parchment and let cool completely.

For frosting:
Using an electric mixer, beat first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl until light and fluffy, 2–3 minutes.

Assemble:
With a bread knife, even out the layers as needed to create level surfaces. Place one cake layer on a platter. Spread one fourth of the frosting over that layer and repeat for layer two. Place the third cake layer on top. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining frosting. Garnish with chocolate chips, crushed / shaved chocolate.

Cake can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.

An all expenses paid, trans-Atlantic cruise has romance written all over it...unless you’re the poor sap who has to inspect the toilets and time the cafeteria lines. As if secret-shopping her company's failing cruise ship isn't bad enough, Lydia Johnson is forced to bring along a "top talent" new hire as her assistant. With a heart barely healed from her ex-fiancé’s deceit, she's in no mood to train a man who might cheat her out of an overdue promotion.

Paul Thomas may be new to J.P. Theriot Enterprises, but he certainly knows his way around cruise ships. The Cajun charmer also isn't shy about pursuing his desires, including his wary, but oh-so-sexy-when-she lets-her-hair-down manager. He's shared more about himself with Lydia than any other woman...except who he really is--J.P. Theriot.

~ ~ ~

Claire Gillian Website

After I got married, my MIL introduced me to pumpkin bread. Oh my, it’s so good, a perfect side to my favorite cup of coffee and the story I’m writing. I make double batches because it freezes so well. For this, I use real pumpkin.

~ ~ ~

Mrs. Maylee’s Pumpkin Bread

Makes two loaves

Sift together:

3 cups all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cloves

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon ginger

In a bigger bowl beat together:

16 oz. can pumpkin

¾ cup canola oil

2 ¼ cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring until well blended. Spray non-stick loaf pans with cooking spray and fill with the batter. Bake for about 50 minutes at 350 degrees F or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the loaf.

Jane thinks she’s ready to take the risks her business and love life desperately need. Rob’s still punishing himself for a broken relationship that wasn’t meant to last. When the pair let an opportunity pass them by, fate steps in and throws them back together.

An evening of pitch black unrestrained passion at Club Blind opens her eyes to life’s possibilities. Now, if they don’t fight past their personal demons, they might never truly discover what they need most. If they can open their hearts, it might lead them directly to each other where they can discover their truth. If not, they may forever stay in the blind.

~ ~ ~

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads