#COOKING WITH CLORIS--ROMANCE AND MYSTERY AUTHOR KATIE GRAYKOWSKI OFFERS UP CINNAMON ROLLS AND A FREE HOLIDAY ROMANCE BUNDLE

The Christmas Network

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Katie Graykowski. I write romantic comedy, cozy mysteries, and my YA novel is coming out early next year. Among my family and friends, I’m known more for my baking and less for my writing. Notice I said baking … not cooking. Another dry and terrible Thanksgiving turkey, but this year I’m proud to say that a fire extinguisher wasn’t necessary. Believe me, that’s a vast improvement. 

 

Today, I’m sharing my Christmas morning orange cinnamon rolls. No matter if we’re home for Christmas or in Grand Cayman, these cinnamon rolls are as much a part of Christmas as my grandmother’s manger scene and fighting over who has to clean up all of that wrapping paper. 

 

Usually, I make the cinnamon roll dough on Christmas Eve and let it rise in the fridge overnight. If you choose to do that, make the dough, then put it in the fridge. Take it out the next morning and let sit on the counter for at least 30 minutes before baking.

 

Merry Christmas to you and have a Happy New Year.

 

Katie’s Orange Cinnamon Rolls

 

Dough

3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)

1 cup milk

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon sugar

1-1/4 teaspoons salt

3-1/4 ounces active dry yeast (7 1/2 teaspoons)

1/2 cup orange juice

5 large eggs

Zest from 2 oranges

8-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (may need up to 9-1/2 cups depending upon the weather)

 

Filling

2lb. bag light brown sugar

4 sticks of butter

1/4 cup cinnamon

 

Icing

2--8 oz. bricks cream cheese at room temp.

zest of 2 oranges

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted (may use up to 4 cups)

 

For the dough, heat the butter with the milk, 3/4 cups of the sugar and the salt in either a small saucepan or in the microwave, until the butter is melted. Set aside to cool. 

 

In a large mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm orange juice and add the remaining teaspoon of sugar, stir and set aside for 10 minutes, until the mixture is bubbly. 

 

Add the lukewarm milk mixture, orange zest, and the eggs, beating until well combined. 

 

Add the flour a cup at a time, stirring and using enough flour to form a stiff dough. 

 

Turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth and satiny, approximately 10 minutes. (Or place in the bowl on a heavy-duty electric mixer and knead with a dough hook until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl, approximately 5 minutes). 

 

Place the dough in a very large buttered bowl, turn to butter the top and allow to rise, covered loosely with a kitchen towel, in a warm place until doubled in bulk, approximately 1 hour. 

 

Punch the dough down and roll out to a large rectangle, 24" x 36". 

 

Butter two 9" x 13" baking dishes.

 

For the filling, beat together the brown sugar, butter and cinnamon until well combined. Spread evenly over the surface of the dough. 

 

Roll up lengthwise and cut at 2" intervals to make 12 rolls. Place 6 rolls in each buttered dish. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour.

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the rolls for about 20-30 minutes or until puffed and browned. Cool to room temperature on racks.

 

For the frosting, beat the cream cheese, orange zest and vanilla until well combined. Add the confectioner’s sugar and beat until smooth and soft, not stiff. 

 

Frost the rolls and serve immediately.

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Welcome to Christmas, Texas

Christmas, Texas has as much magic as it has charm and only reveals itself to those who need it. The town was settled 1820 by the original Winter Texan, Santa Claus. He kissed the snowy North Pole goodbye and moved his whole operation to the sunny Texas Hill Country where there are never blizzard warnings and the only thing icy is his iced tea.

 

When Lana Green crashes her car into the Welcome-to-Christmas-Texas-you’re-not-lost-you’re-exactly-where-you’re-supposed-to-be, sign she doesn’t necessarily agree with the town slogan. She was on her way to Fredericksburg for a business meeting when she got lost in a thunderstorm. Since she has no intention of sleeping in her car during a thunderstorm and she has zero cell reception, she pulls her suitcase out of the trunk and marches toward town. When it comes to hating Christmas, she could give Ebenezer Scrooge a run for his money so visiting Christmas, Texas the week before Christmas is bound to be a lesson in torture.

 

Sheriff Nick Van De Berg is out on patrol when he runs across a Lexus wrapped around the Welcome sign. But the car’s empty. Surely the driver didn’t walk to town through the thunderstorm. As the storm gathers in intensity, so does his fear that something bad has happened to the driver. After checking the fast-swelling river, lower water crossings, and every single road in town, he stops by the Christmas Tree Inn where he finds Lana Green, his college sweetheart and the one that got away, sipping a mug of hot chocolate.

 

His Christmas wish every year since they broke up has been a second chance with Lana. 

 

Now his wish has finally come true.

 

Can he convince Lana to take a chance on him and on Christmas, Texas?

 

Return to Christmas, Texas

When veterinarian, Jules McCowan’s best friend marries Santa Claus’s oldest son, Jules has no idea that her life is about to change forever. It’s been less than a year since she found out that Santa is real, reindeer can fly, and that Santa Claus traded in the snowy North Pole for the sunny, mostly snow-free Texas Hill Country.

 

Chris Van De Berg likes being Santa’s second son. He’s inherited all of Santa’s charm with none of the responsibility. When St. Nicholas blessed his family with eternal life, he was also blessed Chris with the gift of compassion. He can look into a person’s heart and feel what they feel … except for Jules McCowan. When he looks at her, all he sees is the person with whom he’d like to spend the rest of his life.

 

His Christmas wish has always been to find his soulmate. 

 

Now that he has, how’s he supposed to get Jules to fall in love with him? Around her all of the charm he’s used to get people to do exactly what he wants is completely gone. In fact, he can barely get two coherent words out so how’s he supposed to convince her that they belong together? Plus, if they do get married, she’ll have to leave her life in the real world behind forever.

 

When Santa asks Jules and Chris to fly to France to check on Pere Noel’s donkey, they leave immediately.

 

Chris has forty-eight hours outside of Christmas, Texas to persuade Jules that she’s his destiny. If he doesn’t return to Christmas, Texas within forty-eight hours, he’ll never be able to return again and The Spirit of Christmas will die.

 

Will Jules take a chance on Chris and leave her life behind? Or will Chris have to choose between her and The Spirit of Christmas?

 

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--MYSTERY AUTHOR KATIE GRAYKOWSKI TAKES US ON A BAKING JOURNEY

Bestselling author Katie Graykowski has published more than twenty novels. She likes sassy heroines, Mexican food, glitter nail polish, and red velvet cake—even if she fails at baking them. Today she joins us to share a successful cake recipe. Learn more about her and her books at her website.

When Mustang Ridges, my heroine, needs comfort food, she turns to cupcakes. As long as they aren’t vegan, any flavor will do. But her favorite is red velvet. 

 

Just like my heroine, I love red velvet cupcakes. So why, do you ask, is the recipe below for strawberry cupcakes? 

 

The truth is … I make the worst red velvet cake in the world. As an amateur baker, I’ve tried dozens of red velvet cake recipes, and they all end up dry, flavorless, and dense. 

 

My husband’s grandmother, Nell Deplantis, made the best red velvet cake ever. We lost her a few years ago, and she took her red velvet cake recipe with her to heaven. I did get her potato salad recipe, so there’s that.

 

In my ever-ending quest for the perfect red velvet, I combined several different recipes. Normally, this yields fantastic desserts like double cheesecake brownies, chocolate rum tres leches cake, and chocolate covered strawberry custard parfaits. 

 

So armed with my Frankenstein-ed red velvet cake recipe, I committed one entire Sunday to the creation of red velvet perfection. 

 

Just look at the fantastic cake above.

 

I even made extra frosting.

 

And then I cut a piece. Not only was it dry enough to suck the spit out of my mouth, but it tasted like vinegar and salt. Here’s what happened to that cake.

 

To add insult to injury, I managed to get red food coloring on the bottom of my shoes so my kitchen floor looked like a murder scene. Did I mention I have concrete floors? Anyway, red velvet is permanently off my baking list.

 

Moving right along … strawberry cupcakes. This is what I make for myself on my birthday.

 

Strawberry Cupcakes

 

Ingredients:

I cup frozen strawberries*

2-1/2 cups flour

1-1/4 cups sugar

3 oz. box strawberry Jello

4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

12 tbsp. butter (softened to room temperature)

3/4 cup juice from frozen berries

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

4 large eggs

 

Frosting ingredients:

2 sticks butter, softened

10 oz. frozen strawberries, drained

2 lbs. powdered sugar

 

* NOTE: Defrost strawberries ahead of time and allow to warm to room temperature. Drain berry water but retain for recipe.

 

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour three 8-inch pans.

 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, Jello, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add softened butter to the dry ingredients. Mix until butter is incorporated and soft crumbs form. It will look like sand. Add water from frozen strawberries, buttermilk, and vanilla to the crumbly mixture and mix to combine. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well. Scrape down sides of the bowl as needed. DO NOT OVERMIX.

 

Divide evenly between the 3 pans. Bake 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Or if you're making cupcakes, line the cupcake tins with cupcake wrappers and remember to grease those too. After baking, for layer cakes, remove from pans, cool and then frost. It's okay to leave the cupcakes in the pans to cool.

 

To make frosting, dump everything in a bowl and mix well. Spread on cooled cakes.

So what if my birthday is next month. Birthday candles are always a good idea.

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Rest In Pieces

Mustang Ridges isn’t a town, a stripper, or some old western movie. She’s a feisty, single mom living in the small town of Lakeside, Texas where money does buy happiness and keeping up appearances is much more important than the truth. Six months ago on her thirtieth birthday, her husband decided that married life, fatherhood, and his job as the Lakeside Chief of Police weren’t as exciting as a permanent vacation to Grand Cayman with his mistress and a million dollars in diamonds he stole from the police evidence lockup.

 

This makes Mustang a pariah in a Lakeside full of piranha. But she refuses to leave. If she can’t join them, then she’ll beat them at their own game. With a little luck, some intimidation, and the help of her good friends Monica and Haley, Mustang presides over her own little slice of Lakeside, the Bee Creek Elementary Parent Teacher Organization.

 

All is quiet in Lakeside until Molly Miars, the kindergarten teacher, is found dead. According to the new police chief, she overdosed on heroin. That doesn’t explain why her head was the only body part to make it to her funeral.

 

Vowing to do right by Molly, the PTO decides to investigate.

 

What do money laundering, a castor oil plant, gold coins, and a kindergarten teacher have in common? Mustang must figure it out before the killer finds her.

 

Blown To Pieces

After restauranteur, Big Tommy Prather, is blown to pieces in his front yard, Mustang Ridges and her two best friends are on the case. While the local police have ruled the death an accident, Mustang and the girls suspect murder. They can prove it…sort of.

 

As the small community of Lakeside, Texas mourns the loss of one of its most beloved citizens, Mustang, Haley, and Monica do their level best to find someone who might want Big Tommy dead. Only…every single person they interview, loves Big Tommy.

 

What do missing people, a chili parlor, and audio cassette tapes have in common? Mustand must figure it out before her best friend is blown to pieces.

 

Just One Piece

When Mustang Ridges receives a severed penis in the mail, she knows it's going to be a bad day. She's sure there's a body to go along with the penis, but she can't find it.

 

While on the hunt for the owner of the penis, she stumbles across a dead body. It's Jane Dough, a substitute teacher at Lakeside Elementary. The Lakeside Elementary PTO is on the case. It appears that Jane might have been a prostitute who supplemented her income with a little substitute teaching on the side. After vowing to vet substitute teachers more carefully, Mustang goes head-to-head with the brothel’s madam.

 

What do a severed penis, a dead body, and a brothel have in common? Mustang must figure it out before the killer sends her another body part.

 

Bits And Pieces

When Mustang Ridge’s son goes off to middle school, all she wants to do is drown her anxiety with a gallon of coffee and a dozen red velvet cupcakes. Unfortunately, someone has bought all of the cupcakes at Lakeside Cupcakes except for the nasty vegan ones. She may be desperate, but she’s not that desperate. As she walks back to her car, something large falls from the sky and crashes onto the roof of her car. 

 

It’s a body.

 

It seems like she’s always stumbling over bodies, but now they’re falling from the sky?

 

The body currently acting as her new hood ornament turns out to be Marty Smith, the man everyone hates … especially, Jill, the owner of Lakeside Cupcakes. After she’s arrested for his murder, she offers Mustang a lifetime supply of free cupcakes if she finds out who really killed Marty.

 

Mustang and the girls are on the case. They start questioning suspects and have a hard to finding anyone who doesn’t want Marty dead. 

 

What do a Voodoo Priestess, a possible serial killer with a Barbie fetish, and the island of Bonaire have in common? Mustang must figure it out before Marty’s killer finds her.

 

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