HISTORICAL MYSTERY AUTHOR D.S. LANG SHARES A FAMILY FAVORITE SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE

D.S. Lang started making up stories to entertain herself as an only child, and she’s still making them up. Her historical mysteries are set in small-town Ohio after the Great War. They feature amateur women sleuths determined to catch the bad guys and gals. Learn more about her and her books at her website. 

In The Murdered Matron, the second book in my Doro Banyon Historical Cozy Mystery series, Doro helps plan her hometown’s annual Christmas celebration. A big part of the discussion revolves around refreshments. 

 

When I think of holiday treats, cookies come to mind—especially a family favorite sugar cookie. I do not know the origin of the recipe, but I recently found it handwritten in one of my mom’s old cookbooks. My mouth immediately watered! I have not made this cookie in many years, so I asked a friend who is a superb baker to help me figure how much flour is needed. The recipe, as you will see, calls for “enough to pat cookies out.” My friend has a similar old recipe, and she said about three cups should do the trick. 

 

In the novel, Doro and her best friend bake a batch to share with the town lawmen, who rave about the sweet treat. If you make them, I hope the cookies are just as popular with your family, friends, and neighbors!

 

Family Favorite Soft Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 cup butter

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

3 cups white all-purpose flour

 

Cream together the sugars, butter, and eggs. Add the buttermilk, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, salt, and nutmeg.

 

Add enough flour to spoon cookies into your hand and pat out. This is tricky! Have 

3 cups of white all-purpose flour ready.

 

Bake @375-400 degrees for 10 minutes, watching carefully.

The Murdered Matron

A Roaring Twenties Cozy Historical, Book 2

 

As the fall semester ends, Doro’s hands are full as a professor, librarian, and volunteer. She looks forward to planning and celebrating her hometown’s annual Christmas festivities, but her enthusiasm is tested when the chairwoman’s dictatorial ways create dissension among the committee members. Dissension soon turns to malice, and threats fly among the matron and several others. When she is found dead, unsettling questions arise—and so do longstanding grudges. Who caused the woman’s fatal fall from a ladder? After the chairwoman’s handyman disappears, anxiety escalates among townsfolk. Doro and her best friend, Aggie, along with two local lawmen, work together to investigate. Can they catch the killer in time to save the holiday celebration? Or will others fall victim to the perpetrator?

 

Pre-order (available 12/2/23)