ROMANCE AUTHOR COURTNEY J. HALL TALKS COOKIE DAY

Courtney J. Hall writes contemporary romance. Her novel A Holiday Wish is the first in the Silver Bells series of sweet Christmas romances. Today she joins us to talk about one of her favorite holiday traditions. Find out more about Courtney and her books at her website. 

Christmas is the one time of year where no matter how old you are, no matter where or how you live, chances are good that you have traditions. Maybe it’s a Secret Santa at work or a White Elephant Gift exchange with your friends. Maybe it’s dinner at a nice restaurant with out-of-town relatives come to visit, or a small house party with your nearest and dearest. No matter what it is, nine times out of ten, it will involve food. Which brings me to one of my favorite holiday traditions…

Cookie Day

Cookie Day usually falls on the Sunday before Christmas. In the weeks leading up to it, my sister and I pore over recipes from previous years and search Pinterest for new recipes. While we usually stick with the tried-and-true, those traditional cookies, which never fail to please—like chocolate chip and oatmeal—we also like to branch out and go a little more adventurous to keep it interesting. She adds bourbon and toffee to her chocolate chip cookies, while I like trying different variations on the cookie version of gooey butter cake. Almond is always a big hit, but gingerbread has gotten the most rave reviews. 

And for a pop of color on our cookie trays, I love making batches of cherry gems with green and red candied cherries, while my sister’s claim to fame is raspberry almond shortbread thumbprint cookies. If we’re feeling really brave, we’ll even attempt candy—mint, raspberry, or orange truffles for me, and slow-cooked candied pecans for her. 

The day begins with me packing a giant bag with my supplies and heading over to her house, where we inevitably forget to coordinate oven temperatures and wind up trying to bake one recipe that needs 325 and one that needs 375 at the same time. 

With a Christmas playlist going in the background, we sample each other’s recipes, trying not to eat more than one—four at the most—and drink wine out of the Christmas wine glasses we only break out on Cookie Day. 

My sister actually doesn’t like baking all that much, so typically after a few hours she’s bored so we break for a quick dinner. Then, after cleaning up, I pack my cookies into the tins I’ve brought and cart them home, where they’ll sit until I divide them into smaller tins for my neighbors and hide the rest from my husband so I have something to serve as dessert when I host Christmas dinner.

We can all agree that the holiday season has become commercialized to the point where its original meaning is almost unrecognizable, but it’s still a time of year to do fun things with the ones you love.

A Holiday Wish

Silver Bells, Volume 1

Noelle Silver has been a wedding planner for six years, and in all that time, the only bride she’s failed to get down the aisle is herself. Abandoned by her fiancé and disillusioned with love, Noelle is ready to pack it in and leave town when Brooke St. John, orphaned heiress, offers her a staggering amount of money to organize Brooke’s Christmas Eve wedding to a much older man.

Noelle is reluctant at first, but the payment Brooke offers is more than enough for Noelle to start a new life. It’s also an opportunity for Noelle to prove to herself—and her former fiancé—that despite her broken heart, she still has what it takes to pull off a wedding worthy of an heiress in the two months Brooke has given her. 

But the best man, Brooke’s older brother Everett, is dead-set on stopping the nuptials. Will he succeed, driving the final nail into the coffin of Noelle’s career as a wedding planner—and shattering what’s left of her expectations of love?

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--HOLIDAY FAVORITES WITH GUEST AUTHOR BARBARA WHITE DAILLE

(Recipe and photo sources:  pillsbury.com)

Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom. Barbara also loves writing, reading, and chocolate. Come to think of it, she enjoys writing about those subjects, too! Learn more about Barbara and her books at her website. 

Hi! I’m happy to be visiting again and am twice as happy that I’m sharing another multiple Favorites post.

First—and no surprise, I’m sure—my favorite hasn’t changed from the last time I dropped in. Yes, I’m still all about the chocolate. :) 

And as the holiday season will soon be upon us, I’m now all about the fave chocolate cookie:  Peanut Blossoms, the cookies topped with a Hershey’s Kiss. Although really, holiday or not, it doesn’t matter. I can eat these little bites of perfection any day of the year. I will admit, though, they do make my holidays a little more festive.

In case you’d like to try the cookies yourselves, here’s a link to the easy-peasy recipe.

Second on my list today is my favorite holiday. Christmas is my number-one, for so many reasons. The family get-togethers, the food, the fun. The movies. The music. And most of all, the spirit of the season.

Now, I know in “real life” our troubles don’t all just magically disappear because we’re celebrating the holiday. But at Christmastime, I think we make a special effort. We focus on the good rather than the bad, the positive rather than the negative.

Maybe it’s just that we’re bombarded by holiday images everywhere we turn, and we choose to think about those uplifting images instead of dwelling on the often darker and depressing news. In any case, I think the combination of our focus and attitude during the holiday season does make our hearts seem lighter and life seem brighter.

It’s probably because I love the holidays so much that I came up with a story idea about a town that celebrates Christmas three hundred and sixty-five days a year. Snowflake Valley is a wonderful place to spend my writing time, especially as I’m doing my best to help my heroines—known as the three “bad-luck Barnett” sisters—find their true loves.

I must say I’ve had the most fun ever writing my new release, a Cinderella vs. Scrooge story about one of these sisters, a single mom who’s madly crushing on her boss!

One Week to Win Her Boss

a Snowflake Valley novel

Single mom Amber Barnett loves family, kids, Christmas…and unfortunately, her boss, confirmed bachelor Michael DeFranco. It's a crush she really needs to get over. Except, when she’s temporarily forced from her apartment, her only option is to stay at Michael’s private ski lodge, where she's the housekeeper. No problem. Her handsome boss rarely visits Snowflake Valley unexpectedly, plus he’s spending the holidays with his family. Or so she thinks…

A stormy Christmas Eve reunion leaves Michael seeking the solitude of his lodge, where he finds Amber in residence—and in trouble. Attempting to save her from her matchmaking family, he announces they’re a couple. His good deed backfires when they’re instantly included in each and every holiday event in town. So much for solitude. 

Only the more time he spends with the beautiful, cheery brunette, the more he yearns to make things real between them. But he and Amber want different things, and Michael could never be the family man she's looking for. 

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Note: For a limited time only Snowbound With Mr. Wrong, the first book in the Snowflake Valley series, is available for only .99 cents. 

#COOKING WITH CLORIS--GUEST AUTHOR JUDY PENZ SHELUK AND ALMOND CRESCENT #COOKIES

Judy Penz Sheluk’s debut mystery novel, The Hanged Man’s Noose was published in July 2015. Skeletons in the Attic, is the first book in her Marketville Mystery Series. Her short crime fiction appears in several anthologies. Learn more about Judy and her books at her website/blog. 

I love cookies. There I’ve admitted it. I can pass up a piece of cake (okay, maybe not carrot cake with cream cheese icing, but surely that could be counted as a vegetable?), and I’ve been known to exhibit moderate willpower when it comes to pie. Potato chips? Yes, I can actually stop at one. But cookies…love them. I’ve even been known to eat an entire box of Girl Guide cookies over the course of a weekend.

My passion for cookies probably stems back to my childhood. My mom wasn’t much of a cook (a trait I have sadly inherited), but she did make the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever tasted.

In my recent release, Skeletons in the Attic: A Marketville Mystery, my protagonist, Calamity (Callie) Barnstable, is searching for clues that might help her find out more about her mother—a woman who disappeared thirty years earlier, when Callie was just six-years-old. As Callie digs through a box of her mother’s belongings, she finds a peanut butter cookie recipe that bears a striking resemblance to the recipe my mom used.

But this is Christmas time, and it seemed only fitting to share a Christmas-y cookie recipe. For that, I went to The Hanged Man’s Noose: A Glass Dolphin Mystery, where Glass Dolphin antiques shop owner Arabella Carpenter is known for her love of Scottish shortbread. I also love shortbread, though my particular passion is for Almond Crescents. My mom used to make these every Christmas. She would let me twist the dough into crescent shapes, and if I was really, really good, she’d let me sprinkle powered sugar over them after they were freshly baked.

PS: if you really want the Peanut Butter Cookie recipe, email me at judy@judypenzsheluk.com and I’ll send you the PDF!

Anneliese’s Almond Crescents

Makes 45 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (the real deal, not the artificial kind)

2 teaspoons almond extract

2-1⁄3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup ground almonds (bulk food stores are a good place to find these)

1 cup powdered sugar (put in a sifter for best results)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets (enough for 45 cookies.)

Mix together butter with sugar and beat with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and almond extract. Continue beating until incorporated. Stir in the flour and almonds. Work flour mixture into a firm dough.

Working with 1 tablespoon of dough at a time, shape into logs. The log should be slightly thicker in the middle than at both ends. Bend into a crescent shape. Place on greased cookie sheets.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until light brown. While the cookies are still warm sift crescents with powdered sugar. Cool on racks.

Skeletons in the Attic

What goes on behind closed doors doesn’t always stay there…

Calamity (Callie) Barnstable isn’t surprised to learn she’s the sole beneficiary of her late father’s estate, though she is shocked to discover she has inherited a house in the town of Marketville—a house she didn’t know existed. However, there are conditions attached to Callie’s inheritance: she must move to Marketville, live in the house, and solve her mother’s murder.

Callie’s not keen on dredging up a thirty-year-old mystery, but if she doesn’t do it, there’s a scheming psychic named Misty Rivers who is more than happy to expose the Barnstable family secrets. Determined to thwart Misty and fulfill her father’s wishes, Callie accepts the challenge. But is she ready to face the skeletons hidden in the attic?

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--#CHRISTMAS #COOKIE TIME WITH DEBRA SENNEFELDER

Aspiring author Debra Sennefelder has two constant writing companions, her Shih-Tzus, Susie and Billy. She's been an avid reader since childhood and found writing came naturally for her. When she's not writing, she loves to cook, exercise (yes, really) and read. Learn more about Debra at her website.

There are a few things I share in common with Hope Early, the amateur sleuth in my mystery series. One of those things is the love of baking, and Christmas is my Super Bowl. The other thing Hope and I share is that we are extremely busy, so we look to streamline as many things as possible. Since I love to bake cookies at Christmas and I work a full-time job and I am writing and I have a home to maintain and I ... you get the picture...I've come up with a method to bake batches and batches of cookies without having to spend countless hours in the kitchen.

I've been baking Christmas cookies for over 20 years and I've learned a thing or two about the process. This baking obsession started innocently enough with a cake when I was about twelve years old. My mom wasn't a baker so she used boxed mixes and I made a simple one-layer cake and covered it with white frosting and added some Christmas decorations to bring to our family's holiday dinner.

I was greeted by oohs and ahhs and I admit, I liked it. Watching everyone enjoy my cake made me feel happy, accomplished and proud. Over the years I traded in the Christmas cake for cookies because everybody loves a cookie and they're easy to make. But since I usually bake 10-12 different types of cookies for the holiday season, I needed to find a way to streamline the process. I've experimented with a few ideas - fewer cookies (not a good option), freezing baked cookies (not every cookie freezes well) or adding mini-cakes to my cookie trays (the people in my life want Christmas cookies, end of story). And over the past few years it's become more important to me that I not spend hours every night after work baking because I need to use that time writing. And weekends? Well, errands need to be run and the house needs to be cleaned and I need to write.

So how do I manage to deliver dozens of cookies to friends, family and co-workers?

#1 - Plan

#2 - Prep ahead

#3- Freeze the dough

#4 – Bake

Here's how I pull it all together.

In October I pull out my planner, and I list all the cookies I want to bake. There are some that I bake every year--Ginger Crackles, Double Chocolate Crescents, Rugelach, Sugar cookies, Chocolate Chip (the only cookie my husband eats), and Cranberry Drop cookies.

Then I decide on 4-6 other cookies I'd like to bake. With my list completed I create my shopping list. I review each recipe for the ingredients, and over the next few weeks I spread those purchases out during my regular shopping trips so it’s a little easier on the budget and I can take advantage on any sales. I also make sure to include gallon sized zip lock bags.

I then schedule my baking days. Since I gift these cookies, I usually bake ahead of Christmas Eve so I have time to make deliveries. I base the baking days on when I plan on delivering the cookies. I identify which cookies can be held the longest (it's usually no more than three-four days) and work down to the cookies that need to be delivered within 24 hours of baking (my Double Chocolate Crescents are those type of cookies, best served right after they’re baked).

Then I set the dates for my prep work.

The prep period is usually Thanksgiving weekend. I settled on this period a few years ago. I used to do the prep work in the evening after work but between working all day and writing at night, I couldn't continue to do that. Thanksgiving weekend gives me 3 full days to dedicate to prepping all of my baking bags.

On prep days I prepare all the dry ingredients for each cookie. It's that simple. Scoop, measure and dump into a re-sealable gallon sized bag and label. Then I move on to the next recipe. By the end I have all of the dry ingredients ready to go for baking. At this point, you can make the cookie dough and freeze it for baking at a later date. Depending how many cookies I have to bake, I will do this.

On my baking days all I have to do is grab a bag and then pull together all of the wet ingredients and mix, scoop and bake. Or, if you’ve frozen the dough, defrost in the refrigerator and bake.

I use more re-sealable bags and containers to store the baked cookies.

Just before I deliver the cookies, I bring out my trays (everyone on my cookie delivery list returns my trays and cookie tins so they can be reused) and cookie tins and begin assembly. I typically post on Facebook my baking progress so friends and family eagerly await their gift. It's so awesome to see their faces light up when I hand over my cookies. It never gets old. And the added bonus is that I am still able to balance everything that I need to do, which includes writing the second book in my series this holiday season.

At this time of the year we’re all in a time crunch and this is one way I found to help ease the stress of the season. Do you have a tip or two that helps lessen the stress of the holidays? If so, please share.

Before I go I’d like to share the recipe for my Double Chocolate Crescent Cookies. They are my favorite cookies and it’s very, very hard to resist devouring them just after they’ve come out of the oven. As I mentioned earlier, these cookies do not do well stored and should be baked within 2 days of sharing.

Double Chocolate Crescent Cookies

Yield: approximately 2 dozen

Ingredients

1 ¾ cup flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ pound butter, at room temperature

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (in a pinch you can use regular chocolate chips)

Confectioners’ sugar for dredging

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Combine flour, cocoa and salt.

With an electric mixer set at medium-low speed, beat butter and sugar until fluffy and light in color. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Reduce speed and beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Dough will be crumbly and dry. That’s okay.

Scoop dough into approximately 1-1/4” balls (you can use a tablespoon measure spoon for this part or an ice cream scoop). Roll each ball into a log about 3” long and taper ends. Bend each log into a crescent shape. (I use a donut cutter for uniform crescents, gently shape the log inside the cutter). Place about 2” apart on a silicone sheet lined baking sheet pan and bake until the edges are set and the bottoms are dry but corners are slightly soft, 10-15 minutes.

Remove from the cookie sheet carefully as to not break the cookies and immediately dredge in confectioners’ sugar. Continue to handle the cookies gently. Let them cool completely and dredge a second time in confectioners’ sugar.

COOKING WITH CLORIS - HOLIDAY CRANBERRY-ALMOND-WHITE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Holiday Cranberry-Almond-White Chocolate Cookies

Makes approximately 6 dozen cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1-1/2 cups brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup slivered almonds

1 cup white chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add gradually to butter/sugar mixture. Fold in cherries, almonds, and chips. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto parchment covered cookie sheets. Bake in 350 degree oven 10-12 minutes. Cool slightly before removing from cookie sheets.

COOKING WITH CLORIS -- CHRISTMAS CUT-OUT COOKIES

Yesterday we used cookie cutters to make Christmas ornaments. Today Cloris presents her recipe for for using those cookie cutters the traditional way. -- AP 

CHRISTMAS CUT-OUT COOKIES

Ingredients:
1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter

3/4 cups sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour
1 can each chocolate and vanilla icing
 Christmas sprinkles

Bring butter and eggs to room temperature. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Mix together dry ingredients. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing well. Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.

Roll out dough to 1/4” thickness. Cut out shapes. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees.

After cookies cool, ice tops with frosting. Dip in sprinkles. Allow icing to harden before storing cookies in tins.

COOKING WITH CLORIS--TRIPLE CHIP COOKIES

Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies, right? Today Cloris presents us with a recipe for Triple Chip cookies. Enjoy! -- AP

TRIPLE CHIP COOKIES
Makes approximately 6 dozen cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup white chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add gradually to butter/sugar mixture. Fold in chips. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake in 350 degree oven 10-12 minutes. Cool slightly before removing from cookie sheets.

Okay, I’m in cookie heaven. How about the rest of you? We have a very crafty giveaway this week from our special Book Club Friday guest author. Leave a comment to be entered in the drawing.-- AP

COOKING WITH CLORIS--HOLIDAY SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Cloris returns today with another of her favorite Christmas cookie recipes. This time it’s Holiday Shortbread. Enjoy! -- AP

HOLIDAY SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Makes approximately 3-1/2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

2-1/4 cups sifted flour
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
Christmas sprinkles (optional)

Cream butter, gradually adding sugar until mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in flour until well blended. Cover with wax paper and chill for several hours. Work with half the dough at a time, keeping remainder chilled. Roll dough out to 1/2” thickness on floured surface and cut out with desired cookie cutters.  Place on ungreased cookie sheets 1” apart. Decorate with Christmas sprinkles if desired. Bake in 300 degree oven for 30 minutes or until cookies turn light brown around the edges. Cool slightly before removing from cookie sheets.

Optional baking idea: Use a stoneware shortbread cookie mold or pat dough into 9” round cake pans and cut into wedges.

The best part of shortbread? It gets better with age. So make it a few days ahead of time.

Thanks, Cloris! I can taste that shortbread melting in my mouth already! Yum! -- AP

COOKING WITH CLORIS--BUTTERSCOTCH PECAN COOKIES

What would Christmas be without Christmas cookies? It’s that time of year. From now until Christmas Cloris will be sharing some of her favorite Christmas cookie recipes. Enjoy! -- AP

BUTTERSCOTCH PECAN COOKIES
makes approximately 3-1/2 - 4 dozen

These cookies will melt in your mouth. The trick is to make sure you remove them from the cookie sheet while they’re still hot.
Ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter
1-1/8 cups packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 scant cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter, sugar, and egg together. Add flour, vanilla, and pecans. Drop by teaspoonful on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees approximately 8 minutes. Remove from pan with sharp spatula while cookies are still hot.

Thanks, Cloris! Those cookies did melt in my mouth. Then they traveled straight to my hips! But hey, it’s Christmas! Pass the cookies! Readers, do you have a favorite Christmas cookie recipe that you make each year? Post a comment to be entered in our drawing for a book from our Book Club Friday guest author. -- AP