This recipe has been handed down for generations. It's appropriate because it's a Christmas must around my house and it's English (which goes right along with my time-travel Victorian novel). And I saved the best for last. It is ridiculously easy.

~ ~ ~

English Toffee

• 2 cups chopped pecans
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 stick of margarine
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons water
• 12 oz. of chocolate chips (milk chocolate or semi-sweet. Choose your own adventure here.)

Spread chopped pecans on the bottom of a cookie sheet

Combine margarine, butter, sugar, corn syrup and water.  Bring mixture to boil over moderately high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved and it reaches a hard crack stage.

Pour over the pecans in the prepared cookie sheet.  Top with chocolate chips and swirl into tasteful shapes while you realize that you are an artiste and chocolate is your true medium.

Wait for it to cool, then break into chunks and boom goes the dynamite.

 

How to woo a gentleman—and weaponize dessert.

Romance novel junkie Eliza Pepper always thought she was born too late, but now she really is stuck in the wrong time. Tasked with mending a tear in the timeline, she’s trying desperately to fit into 1873 London. But dang it, mucking out a fireplace while looking like the lunch lady from hell is hard.

If she can just keep from setting the floor on fire and somehow resist her growing attraction to the master of the house, she’ll be fine. All she has to do is repeat her mantra:  “He’s nothing like Darcy. He’s nothing like Darcy.”

William Brown has always taken pride in his mastery of English decorum, but his new maid is a complete disaster, has thrown his household into chaos…and he finds her utterly captivating.

Though he’s willing to endure extreme physical discomfort to keep their relationship in proper perspective, her arrival has brought out a side of him he never knew existed. And Eliza has an innocently erotic knack for coaxing that decidedly ungentlemanly facet of himself out to play…

Warning:  A modern girl who knows bupkis about nursing and maiding in the 19th century, a gentleman poet with a repressed wild side, and inappropriate use of a pair of pantaloons.

~ ~ ~

terrimeeker.com

In The Duality Principle, Connor and Gabriella share a piece of strawberry shortcake on their first date. I am a terrible baker, but my husband loves strawberry shortcake, so my shortcake trifle recipe has turned out to be a good compromise in our house!

~ ~ ~

Shortcake Trifle

Ingredients:

1-2 loaves store bought shortcake (or make your own, if you’re brave!)

2 cups strawberries, halved (recipe as pictured includes blueberries, too)

1 can Reddi Whip

Cookie cutter in desired shape

Clear trifle dish

Slice cake into 1½ inch thick layers. Use cookie cutter to create desired shapes. Layer remaining pieces of cake onto the bottom of the trifle dish, and use any leftover pieces as filler for the middle. Begin stacking shapes along the side of the dish, adding fruit and whipped cream as you go. (I recommend Reddi Whip because it holds its shape much better than Cool Whip or homemade.) Continue adding until you have reached the top.

I used star shapes for mine, as this was a dessert I served on Independence Day. Heart shapes can be used to create a Valentine’s Day dish, or holiday shapes to create a festive Christmas dish.

Gabriella Evans’s life exists in terms of logic and definitions. She’s holed up in Portland, Maine, for the summer to work on her PhD thesis, but something is screwing up her concentration: the rumble of a motorcycle every time the embodiment of her rough-and-tumble fantasies rides down her street.

When her best friend talks her into a blind date, she finds herself out with the opposite of her fantasy. He’s polite and well-mannered, yet something behind his crisply tailored shirt doesn’t add up—a rebellious gleam in his eye that piques her curiosity.

Orphaned at fifteen, Connor Starks has finally put the years of failing grades, breaking laws and breaking hearts behind him. The only holdover? His penchant for getting down and dirty in public places. But Gabriella makes him want to prove he’s become a better man.

Nothing intrigues Gabriella more than a problem she can’t solve. But the more Connor tries to bury his past, the more determined she is to uncover it. And what she finds makes all her trusty logic begin to fail her.

~ ~ ~

www.rebeccagraceallen.com

I recently ordered a recipe book called The Cupcake Bible, and there’s a recipe sticks out to me as a Try-Soon-Please-And-Thank-You type of thing. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this makes it to some part of my Christmas baking fiasco that runs during December :) Here’s the general idea of what the book details:

~ ~ ~

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Ingredients for Cupcakes:

1 cup of creamy peanut butter, divided

¼ cup (or ½ stick) of unsalted butter, softened

1 cup of packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

2 cups of all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

½ teaspoon of baking soda

½ teaspoon of salt

1 cup of milk

1 ½ cups of mini semisweet chocolate chips, divided (plus more for the top, if you’d like)

Peanut Butter frosting (or, if you’re a Kentucky girl like me, “icing”) – instructions to come!

Instructions for Cupcakes:

1. Oven should to be at 350 degrees.
2. Clearly, you’ll need to use baking cups in the pan, use Pam, smear butter… Something to keep the cupcakes from sticking.
3. Use an electric mixer (on medium) to mix the butter and ½ cup of peanut butter together.
4. Add the brown sugar, and mix again – thoroughly.
5. Add one egg, then blend with the electric mixer.
6. Add the other egg, then blend with the electric mixer.
7. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a different bowl.
8. Add the mixture from step #7 into the peanut butter blend, but not all at once. Instead, alternate between adding that mixture and the milk.
9. Use the electric mixer on low until everything is blended.
10. Stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips.
11. Dip the batter into the pan.
12. Bake for about 15 minutes.
13. Let them cool while you prepare the icing (instructions to follow).
14. Spread icing over the cupcakes.
15. Heat the remaining peanut butter in microwave (on High) for about fifteen seconds – or until it’s melted – then pour over the iced cupcakes.
16. Heat the remaining chocolate chips in microwave (on High) for about fifteen seconds – or until it’s melted – then pour over the iced cupcakes.
17. Add additional chocolate chips to the top, if you’d like.

Ingredients for Icing:

½ cup (or 1 stick) of unsalted butter, softened

½ cup of creamy peanut butter

2 cups of sifted powdered sugar

½ teaspoon of vanilla

3-6 tablespoons of milk

Instructions for Icing:

1. Use electric mixer (on medium) to mix ½ cup (or 1 stick) of butter and ½ cup of peanut butter in a bowl.
2. Gradually add 2 cups of sifted powdered sugar and ½ teaspoon of vanilla.
3. Add 3-6 tablespoons of milk, one at a time until it’s smooth.

Preston and Nick endured the breakup of all breakups when Nick accused her of cheating on him. He insisted, and she denied while the rain pounded against her driveway and thunder roared in the distance. Then they both ran – Preston to a life of Rock and Roll, and Nick to a career in the Army.

Over four years later, they’re damaged and broken almost beyond repair. He’s carrying baggage from his military days, and she bears the scars of living a lifestyle she’s grown to hate.

When Preston’s label forces her to take time away from music, their paths cross in a parking lot not twenty-four hours after her hometown return, anger and sparks flying in a confusing blend. But regardless of the feelings neither has been able to shake, too many lies and secrets stand in the way of the one thing they need in order to recover.
Each other.

~ ~ ~

Main Site/Blog: http://clsmithbooks.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clsmithbooks

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7257320.Connie_L_Smith

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/conniel0194/

Readwave: http://www.readwave.com/connie.l.smith/

Christmas is my favorite season. I love the sights, the smells, and the tastes. One of my fondest memories is watching my grandmother make her pralines. Now my husband makes them for our holiday. I hope you enjoy the sweet southern confection as much as we do.

Happy Holidays!

~ ~ ~

Oma’s Pralines

1 ½ cups brown sugar

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

3 Tablespoons dark corn syrup

1 cup canned milk (Carnation or Pet)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups pecan halves

Butter sides of heavy 3-quart saucepan. Combine sugars, corn syrup, and milk.

Heat and stir over medium heat till sugars dissolve and mixture comes to boiling.

Cook to soft-ball stage (234 degrees), stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat, cool slightly, and add vanilla.

Beat by hand about 2 minutes before adding pecans then beat until mixture loses its gloss.

Drop by heaping tablespoons on buttered foil or waxed paper-lined cookie sheet. (If candy becomes too stiff to drop from spoon, add a teaspoon of hot water.)

Makes nine 3 ½ inch pralines.

He never doubted he’d find her.

She moved on without him.

Can he reclaim her heart before it’s too late?

Annie’s heart is torn between the man she'll always love and her promise to her fiancé’s young daughter.

A father’s lies. A first love’s determination to change her mind and her heart. A promise to . Annie is torn between the man she'll always love and the young daughter of her fiancé whom she’s promised never to abandon.

Her father’s lies. Her first love’s determination to change her mind and her heart. Annie’s heart is torn between the man she'll always love and the young daughter of her fiancé whom she’s promised never to abandon.

Her first love’s determination to change her mind and her heart. Her commitment to her fiancé and his child. Who will claim her heart?

Her first love’s return forces Annie to exam her commitment to her fiancé and his child. Who will claim her heart?

Her first love’s determination to change her mind and her heart forces Annie to exam her commitment to her fiancé and his child. Who will claim her heart?

~ ~ ~

http://www.judythemorgan.com/

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

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

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

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

At this time of year everyone's thoughts turn to …pumpkins! Some people focus on carving them but I prefer to eat them. J

I recently tried this recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins and they are delicious. I don't have time to spend hours in the kitchen as I'm usually busy writing, so I can assure you they are quick and easy to make. Enjoy!

~ ~ ~

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Makes 12

Ingredients

MUFFINS

1 15 oz can pumpkin

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

TOPING

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 large egg yolk (The white can be added to the muffin mixture.)

3 tablespoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In bowl one put the pumpkin, oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir thoroughly with a wooden spoon until well mixed.

In bowl two put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Mix with a fork.

Add the contents of bowl two to bowl one gradually, mixing well with a wooden spoon until thoroughly blended.

For the toping, mix together the cream cheese, egg yolk, sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy.

Grease a standard sized muffin tin.

Evenly distribute the muffin mixture between the twelve cups.

Add a small spoonful of the cream-cheese mix to the top of each muffin and swirl in with a skewer.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees, turning the tin halfway through cooking.

Store in an airtight container. Lasts for two to three days.

First in a Christmas trilogy set in Naples and the Amalfi coast 

Desperate to forget her controlling ex fiancé and have a fresh start, Claire goes to Italy to write about how the Italians celebrate Christmas. Leo has his own troubled past to overcome, but when he rescues Claire from the rain and takes her home to meet his daughter, the magical Italian Christmas offers them both a second chance at happiness.

~ ~ ~

www.helenscotttaylor.co.uk

 https://www.facebook.com/HelenScottTaylorAuthor

One of the things I loved best about visiting my grandmother’s farm in Arkansas was her cooking, and anything she made with muscadines was a special treat. If you’ve ever seen these grapelike berries, you know they’re a little tough on the outside. Homesteaders learned how to make the best of every part of the muscadine, letting nothing go to waste.

~ ~ ~

You will need:

• pastry for 2-crust 9-inch pie

• 2 quarts ripe muscadines

• lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 1/2 cups sugar

• 1 tablespoon butter, cut in small pieces

Line a pie plate with half of the rolled out pastry. Refrigerate the pie shell and remaining pastry until ready to fill pie.

Mash the muscadines. Separate hulls from pulp and set aside. Strain through a sieve to get juice. (You can use the pulp to make yummy muscadine jelly or discard along with the seed.) Cook the reserved hulls in juice until tender, adding a little water if needed.

Let cool, then add lemon juice, flour, and sugar. Put fruit mixture in the prepared bottom crust. Carefully arrange top crust over fruit, lattice style to allow steam to escape. Flute edge. Bake in a 400° oven for approximately 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 375° and bake 30 minutes longer.

She played right into his hands.

Possessing uncanny people-reading skills like her mama, Philadelphia “Dell” Samuels has spent thirteen years in her aunt’s rustic Ozarks home, telling fortunes over playing cards and trying to pass as white. But the treacherous Mississippi River childhood her mama dragged her away from finally catches up to her on a steamboat captained by her old friend Rory Campbell.

Known to his crew as the Devil’s Henchman, Rory is a gambler in need of a miracle. Following the cold trail of his boss’s wife and bastard daughter, Dell, Rory has only one goal in mind: saving his crew from the boss’s cruelty by ruining him. The only one who can defeat the Monster of the Mississippi is the man trained to take his place. Rory’s convinced he can lure his boss into a high-stakes game against a rival, and with Dell’s people-reading skills, the monster will lose everything.

Under Rory’s tutelage and protection, Dell agrees to the tortured captain’s plan. Passion and peril quickly bring them together as lovers. But when Rory’s plan goes awry, the lives of the innocent depend on Dell’s ability to read the situation correctly—and hopefully save them all.

~ ~ ~

www.sandrajonesromance.com

https://www.facebook.com/sandrajones.author

So how about some luscious and creamy tiramisu with an autumnal twist? It’s no bake, and so unbelievably simple, even I can make it. It’s decadently rich and sinfully sweet and will satisfy your wildest desires. Well, maybe not your wildest desires.

~ ~ ~

Sinful Pumpkin Tiramisu
Ingredients:
· 8 oz. mascarpone cheese

· 1 cup (1/2 of an 8 oz can) pumpkin puree (make sure you get the can of 100% pumpkin puree and not the pumpkin pie filling – they often look the same)

· 1 cup heavy whipping cream

· ½ cup sugar

· 1 tbsp. vanilla extract

· 1 tsp. cinnamon

· 1/8 tsp. nutmeg

· ¾ cup espresso or coffee (you can try this with the pumpkin spice coffees out now to make everything more pumpkin spicey, but I think they are pretty dreadful and, really, you  do want more of a coffee taste. I mean, don’t you? Set it aside until it cools to room temperature.

· 2 tbsps Tia Maria or Kahlua, dark room or other coffee liqueur. (Optional. If you don’t use it, though, you might want to add a smidge more espresso or coffee.)

· 2 packages soft lady fingers (the packages are 3 or 3.5 oz. each). They will be attached to each other in rows. Separate the rows, but do not separate the top and bottom of each  lady finger.

· 2 tsps unsweetened cocoa. (You might substitute cinnamon here, I think.)

Directions:
· Combine mascarpone, pumpkin, cream, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl, beating on low until the ingredients are mixed together, then beating on high until little peaks form. Don’t overbeat.

· Combine espresso and liqueur in a cup or small bowl and set aside until room temperature.

· Arrange half of the ladyfingers in an 8-inch square baking or serving dish. Evenly slosh half of the coffee mixture over them. Slather half of the pumpkin cream mixture on top. Add another layer of lady fingers. Drizzle the rest of the coffee over them. Then add the remaining pumpkin cream on top.

· Refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.

· Dust with the cocoa before serving.

Makes enough for 12 and can sit in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days.

Derek Dunne is a Cordon Bleu-trained food critic for the prestigious New York Monitor, whose scathing review of a popular Italian bistro has driven away all but the most loyal neighborhood patrons.

Lucrezia Serafina DiCicco is a clumsy business school drop-out, working as a chef and scrambling to keep her family's restaurant afloat, after her father develops diabetes and is banned from his kitchen for his own good.

Now, with The Monitor folding, Derek is searching for his next career path and longing to get back to his first love—cooking—while Lu is desperate for an influx of cash to save the struggling restaurant…even as her father puts his foot down about non-family employees.

Derek and Lu embark on a marriage of inconvenience to save the restaurant. But can Lu ever really trust the man who nearly destroyed her family, once noted her initials spelled “LSD,” and her food was like a “bad trip?”

Or will it be their hearts on the chopping block?

~ ~ ~

 Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

In LIAR, LIAR, by J.A. Coffey, Matteo knows there's so much you can do with a beautiful woman and chocolate. Here's the decadent soufflé that went untouched at the Horseshoe Lodge in Montana. Don't be afraid to try this super easy, yet so impressive dessert!

~ ~ ~

Chocolate Soufflé

Ingredients (serves 2)
• 3 tablespoons white granulated sugar, divided
• 2 1/2 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 large egg, separated, plus 2 large egg whites
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting (optional)

Preparation
1. Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 375°F. Lightly coat two 10-ounce ramekins with cooking spray; coat the insides of each with 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar.

2. Using a microwave melt chopped chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl on medium, stirring every 20 seconds, until melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes. Note: You may also use a double boiler, if you prefer.

3. Whisk egg yolk and cream in a medium bowl until combined. Temper by adding a small amount of melted chocolate and whisking, to bring to temperature. Then whisk in the remaining chocolate until smooth. Be careful not to dump it all, or you will have chocolate scrambled eggs!

4. Whisk flour and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to cream/egg/chocolate mixture until incorporated.

5. Using an electric mixer or hand held mixer (separate bowl), beat egg whites and salt in a on high speed until soft peaks form. Beat in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in four additions, until stiff, glossy peaks form. Egg whites should stand up when touched and not meld back into the bowl.

6. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold (a “bottom to top” motion—don’t stir!) half the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture until fairly smooth; then gently fold this combined mixture back into the remaining egg whites until no white streaks remain. Divide between the prepared ramekins and place on a baking sheet. Bake until puffed and firm to the touch, 18 to 22 minutes. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired. Serve immediately to your favorite sweetie!

-Based on the recipe at Eating Well, 2008

Certified fraud examiner Jessica Barlow catches liars for a living. After a sexless first year of divorce, she decides to branch out of the traditional dating scene to find romance at LoveLines, an upscale online dating service with a guaranteed success rate. Just when things get interesting, she’s assigned to snoop on the very company that might show her a good time.

Texan horse rancher Matteo Brandt is secretly the corporate owner and mastermind of LoveLines’ thirty-one point matching system. He suspects Jess might be a plant for a pending court case. She just can’t be as good as she looks. He’s determined to save both his company and his reputation-- even if it means seducing Jess himself.

Will it be all work and no play? It’s all clothes barred in this battle for truth and love.

~ ~ ~

www.JACoffey.com

The bread pudding which is posted here and the pecan pie (posted on my webpage today) figure in the first seduction scene of The Caretaker’s Lady, my spicy new release from Liquid Silver Books. Read the blurb that follows the recipe to meet John and Cathy, then check out the excerpt at ritabay.com to see how the meal and seduction progresses.

~ ~ ~

Rita Bay’s Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

3 Cups bread cut in one-inch cubes

2 Cups milk

3 eggs

1 Tbl vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

4 Tbl margarine, melted

1/2 C raisins (soaked in water with a little bourbon added)

1/2 C pecans (I soak the pecans with the raisins)

Directions: Heat oven to 350°. Combine milk, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter. Beat until well-mixed. Stir in raisins and pecans. Fold in bread cubes and set aside for ten minutes to allow cubes to soak up the liquid. Pour into buttered baking dish and bake for 45 minutes.

Sauce: Boil one stick margarine and one cup white sugar in saucepan until dissolved. Remove from stove and stir in a half-cup of whipping cream (can substitute a half-cup of vanilla ice cream) and a half-cup of bourbon. Serve over warm bread pudding.

Pass the grits and call me y’all. Jasmine Bloom, queen of the bodice rippers for three decades, never thought she would become a victim of writer’s block. When family stress causes Cathy Morrow, who writes as Jasmine Bloom, to miss a deadline, Blaylock Publishing accepts a mysterious invitation for Cathy to visit The Mountain Ridge Resort to revive her muse.

Divorced for two decades with three grown children and two grandsons living in her home, Cathy can’t find the inspiration she needs to write the sizzling-hot romances that gained her fame and fortune. At the resort, Cathy meets a hot maintenance worker who warms the cool nights. Will she be content to role-play his favorite scorching-hot love scenes from her novels then return home to her dull routine?

The caretaker’s job at the resort allows billionaire John Murdock to live the life he loves in the Blue Ridge Mountains and keep a centuries-old family vow. When Cathy Morrow arrives at the resort, she lights a fire he’d banked years ago. Will she look beyond his white hair and menial job to appreciate what he offers—passion with the prospect for love?

~ ~ ~

WEBPAGE & BLOG / FACEBOOK / PINTEREST / AMAZON

Much of the inspiration for the food in the Mistress of Fortune series comes from a 17^th century book by Hannah Wolley called The Queen-Like Closet or Rich Cabinet. It’s a collection of recipes, menus and household hints that 17^th century women used to run their households.

As you’ll see, baking in the 17^th century was somewhat less precise--and does that seem like a lot of sugar and flour to you? Still, I can almost smell the warm scent of freshly baked biscuits when I read this recipe!

~ ~ ~

The Best Biscuit Cakes (as made by a 17^th century housewife)

Ingredients:

4 new laid eggs
2 spoonfuls rose-water
1 pound sugar

1 pound fine flour

Put 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks into large bowl and beat them very well. Add the rose-water and sugar and beat for one hour. Add the flour and beat them together for a good while, then put them upon plates rubbed over with butter and set them into the oven as fast as you can. Have a care not to bake them too much.

London, 1679

Isabel, Lady Wilde, mistress of King Charles II, has made a good living disguised as fortune teller Mistress Ruby, counseling London’s elite. But after the murder of one of her customers, business has taken a downturn and Isabel is on the verge of accepting the king’s offer to move into the palace.

Isabel’s plans are interrupted when a beggar girl named Susanna shows up at her home, claiming to be her niece. Isabel always believed that her older brother, Adam, died alone during the plague. When Susanna reveals that Adam was actually murdered, Isabel is compelled to take up an impossible task: discover the truth about her brother’s death, twelve years after it happened.

Isabel’s investigation leads her through the gamut of London society, from bear-bating matches and brothels to the realm of wealthy bankers. But as she uncovers her brother’s dark secrets, Isabel begins to wonder whether the past is better left buried—especially when uncovering the truth could lead to her own funeral.

~ ~ ~

http://hollywest.com

My pie crusts aren’t as good as the ones Bridget eventually learns to make (I use mostly store bought crusts these days) but I can still make a mean pie. I love this pie filling recipe not only because it’s absolutely delicious, but also because it came to me from my mother. Every time I make it from the rhubarb growing in my garden, I think of her.

~ ~ ~

Rhubarb Pie Filling

2 ½ cups rhubarb

1 cup raisins (optional)

1/3 cup flour

1 cup sugar

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup sweet heavy cream or whipping cream

1 egg

Mix all ingredients together and pour into unbaked pie shell. Cover with more pastry. Bake at 350 degrees F in the middle of the oven for about 1 hour or until fruit is soft and pastry is lightly browned. Makes one pie.

Bridget Grant is back in Paradise. Paradise, North Dakota, that is.

She’s swallowed her pride and moved back to her hometown with her daughter after her divorce and the loss of her catering company. Now she’s trying to navigate the strained relationships she’d left behind – including her first love, Jack Davison.

Jack never forgot Bridget, or the day she left town – and him. When Bridget caters a lunch at Jack’s tourist ranch, old flames reignite. They have more in common than ever – Jack’s also a single parent. Though they both try to keep things casual, Bridget, Jack and their girls are starting to look a lot like a family.

But Bridget’s only planning to stay in Paradise until she’s saved enough to relaunch her business. Jack’s invested too much in his ranch to leave. And with their daughters involved both have a lot more at stake than heartbreak. How can they risk falling in love?

~ ~ ~

http://www.janarichards.com

http://www.facebook.com/JanaRichardsAuthor

This time of year my children and grandchildren all come home to celebrate the Jewish New Year. The celebration wouldn't be complete without some traditional food. My recipe is Noodle Pudding. Many ethic groups have a pasta and cheese dish. Mine is from Eastern Europe.

~ ~ ~

Mom's Noodle Pudding

Ingredients – Serves 6

½ lb thin noodles, cooked and drained

½ lb cottage cheese

½ pint dairy sour cream

¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter at room temperature

2 eggs

1/3 cup of sugar

1 cup of milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Cinnamon-sugar to garnish

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Turn warm, drained noodles into a bowl and add cottage cheese, sour cream, and butter. Mix well.

3. Pour into well-greased 1 ½ qt glass baking dish.

4. Beat eggs well. Beat in sugar, milk and vanilla. Pour evenly, over noodle mixture in baking dish.

5. Sprinkle top with cinnamon-sugar.

6. Bake in preheated 350 degrees F oven for 1 hour.

Note: This is a short story anthology

Timeless Treasures: Stories of the Heart
A special wish of hope, strength, and love brings five couples what they treasure most in this heartwarming collection of short stories.

Ruth A. Casie ~ Whispers on the Wind

A newly minted knight plans to secure his place in his adoptive family through marriage. But the fates have other plans for him. Will he be willing to give up the life he’s always wanted to be with the woman he loves?

Lita Harris ~ Trusting Kindness

Former lovers are reunited one winter night on a boardwalk at the Jersey Shore. Will a common cause reignite their passion or extinguish it forever?

Emma Kaye ~ Losing Patience

When a wish sends a man back in time, can he save the woman he loves, or is he doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past?

Nicole S. Patrick ~ The Colors of Courage

Can a midnight kiss on New Year’s Eve lead a US Marine and struggling artist toward more than they’d ever dreamed of for the future?

Julie Rowe ~ Medal of Honor
When a Chicago surgeon is informed her homeless father has been murdered, she’s shocked to discover he won the Medal of Honor years ago in Vietnam. Now the killer has her in his sights, but the detective on the case has no intention of letting anyone hurt her. Ever.

~ ~ ~

www.RuthACasie.com
www.TimelessScribesPublishing.com

Who says vegan and wheat free desserts can't be delicious? These delightful, crunchy cookies are perfect with a cup of spiced tea!

~ ~ ~

Pamela Aares' Home Run Shortbread Almond Cookies

(wheat and dairy-free)

 

1 cup roasted almonds

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup canola, sunflower or safflower oil

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Optional: 1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 cup amaranth flour

1/2 cup rice flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Process almond and oat flour in food processor until they resemble a coarse flour. Transfer to a big bowl and set aside.

In a smaller bowl stir together the maple syrup, vanilla (and almond if you choose to use it) extracts, and the oil.

Sift the remaining dry ingredients into the almond oat mixture.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until well mixed.

Using 2 spoons, scoop out cookie mixture onto well-greased or parchment lined baking sheets (I prefer parchment lining).

Use a glass (dip in warm water to prevent sticking) and flatten each cookie-- they should be about bite size. Or you can flatten with your oiled finger, up to you!

Bake for 11mins, turn baking sheets at 5mins and peek at around 10 mins.

Cookies should be a golden brown. Cool on sheets for 5 mins, then remove to a cooling rack.

Store in an air-tight container.

Enjoy with a cup of spiced or herbal tea or lemonade.

In AIM FOR LOVE, rising movie star Sabrina Tavonesi has only three weeks to heal her shoulder before shooting her next film. Sexy baseball pitching phenom Kaz Tokugawa has a solution—a mysterious Japanese healing method she’s too desperate to turn down. Soon, they’re not just working on her shoulder; they’re falling in love.

But Kaz has made a promise he’s not sure he can keep, and Sabrina faces inner demons that threaten to overwhelm her. When violence strikes, their secrets may destroy their dreams, their love…and their lives.

~ ~ ~

http://www.PamelaAares.com

I hope you enjoy the cake. And since I don’t have a picture of the cake I’ve attached a picture of my butter tarts, which if you’d like the recipe let me know in the comments below. I’ll choose one and send the winner a copy of my erotic romance Hot Fusion.

~ ~ ~

Plum Cake

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare an 8-9 inch spring form pan.

· 1/2 C butter

· 3/4 C plus 1T sugar

· 2 eggs

· 1 T baking powder

· Pinch salt

· 5 to 6 large plums [or more if you want more fruity] cut in half and pitted. My dad uses prune plums in the recipe, but when I did it I just used black plums

· 1 T cinnamon

· icing sugar

 

• Cream together butter and sugar
• mix dry ingredients together
• add eggs and beat well
• stir in dry ingredients
• spoon batter into pan
• arrange plums skin side up on hand surface. If plums are really big you can always quarter them
• Sprinkle lightly with 1 T sugar and cinnamon

Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until done, toothpick comes out clean. Let sit for a minute in the pan before removing.

Enjoy!

After fleeing her hometown years ago, Kara Sinclair has returned to breathe life back into the bakery her deceased grandmother left behind. She has a history in this town—one that involves her one true love. A boy she’d thought she’d give her life to before circumstance got in the way. She needs to focus on her task, but one look at Maxwell Stone and all the old feelings return. And it isn’t long before she can think of nothing else but reigniting the passion they once shared.

Max never understood what drove Kara away all those years ago, and once she returns to their Canadian hometown, he’s hell bent on getting her back into his life…and his bed. But when he uncovers the reason she left him behind, he must decide if he can move on from the past and trust his heart with the only woman he’s ever loved.

~ ~ ~

You can find me at:

www.cristalryder.com

https://twitter.com/#!/CristalRyder

https://www.facebook.com/cristal.ryderauthor

All Romance ebooks

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Goodreads

Sybarite Seductions

Ellora’s Cave

When I decided to write a love story about a chef and a restaurant reviewer, several of my own infatuations came into play. Shoes and dessert. My chef is famous for his Drunken Cupcakes so of course I had to test them--all in the name of research mind you. This is my favorite.

~ ~ ~

Jack Daniels Whiskey Cupcakes and Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup strong coffee
1/2 cup Jack Daniels Whiskey
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, stir the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, coffee, whiskey, buttermilk and oil. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and whisk until smooth. Spoon the mixture into prepared cupcake wrappers.

Bake for about 18-20 minutes until the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Cool completely + frost!

Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting

6 tablespoons butter, softened
cocoa powder, see below
2 2/3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
For light chocolate frosting use 1/3 cup cocoa powder. For medium chocolate frosting use 1/2 cup cocoa powder. For dark chocolate frosting use 3/4 cup cocoa powder

In mixer bowl cream the butter. Add the cocoa and powdered sugar alternately with milk. Beat to spreading consistency adding more milk if needed. Blend in vanilla.

Is there anything more pathetic than a food critic who can’t cook? That’s Holly Darcy—secret socialite, wannabe author, lousy chef and “The Covert Connoisseur.” Feeling like a fraud for critiquing restaurants when she can’t boil a pot of water, Holly joins a cooking class for beginners…and quickly cooks up serious chemistry with the sexy instructor.

Mark Bennett was born to be a chef, but his foray into restaurant ownership fell far short of his dreams thanks to a scathing review from The Covert Connoisseur. Now teaching is the closest he will venture into a kitchen. Luckily the job comes with an unexpected perk: the attraction simmering between him and a curvy, clever writer with pinup-girl looks.

Flirting over pasta soon leads to passionate kisses and a sizzling relationship. But how can Holly be honest about her job when Mark blames his restaurant’s failure on her review? And when Holly’s secret is exposed, how will Mark be able to forgive her for ruining his life?

~ ~ ~

http://thequillsisters.com

Hi Guys and Gals, I wanted to share the "cake" I made for my birthday this year out of a lot of improvisation because I was too lazy to go the store. It came out as more of a bread/cake, but it's my favorite thing to have in the house, DH isn't happy if it's not around for breakfast.

~ ~ ~

Banana Cocoa Cake On Easy Mode Recipe:

1 cup sugar (I normally use half brown and half white, but with either choice it will taste good)

2 bananas, slightly overripe

2 eggs

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder (I use hot chocolate mix sometimes, the marshmallows give it a little extra something, something *wink*)

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix all your dry ingredients with your wet ingredients and mush up the banana enough to use it as an oil replacement, but there can still be banana chunks in the batter if you prefer, I like it extra banana-riffic. Pour the batter in a 9 inch cake pan and pop up in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. That's it, no muss, no fuss. Unless you don't like peeling bananas.

For millennia Megaera, a Fury, has functioned as Hades right hand by passing judgment on demons who break the sacred laws. Stalwart in her moral compass, but harboring a curse triggered by rage, she walks a thin line between perfection and destruction. But when she digs into a case uncovering a string of demon rapes, she incites a war with Mount Olympus that could ripple chaos throughout the ages.

Omen Cole was demon made during the Civil War after repeated torture at the hands of his enemies. Sentenced to an eternity as watchdog over his emotionally frail, once human ex-wife, he’s haunted that he couldn’t save her from a brutal assault.

Now it’s happened again. And Megaera needs his testimony. Omen will sell his body—and anything else—to avenge his fragile ex-wife. If that means an alliance with Megaera, he’ll make it the most memorable of their eternity.

~ ~ ~

www.elisehepner.com