#GINGERBREAD HOUSES, PART 2

Yesterday I featured my two favorite gingerbread creations from a local competition. Here are some more. After the bruising election season, I loved the sentiment of this gingerbread White House. Note the sign on the right: "Santa for President."

 This was a family entry of a Candyland board made out of gingerbread.

 A girl scout troop created with gingerbread globe with a plea to save the earth.

 This was one of the individual entries. I have a feeling it was created by someone who does a lot of cake decorating.

 Another individual entry went with a pet theme. The dogs and cats are all sculpted out of fondant. If you've ever worked with fondant, you can appreciate the skill of the person who created this entry. The wishing well is all gingerbread.

Finally, we have a farm scene, complete with bales of hay, chicks, and a vegetable garden.

#GINGERBREAD HOUSES, PART 1

One of my favorite things to do during the holiday season is to attend gingerbread house displays. Down the road from the headquarters of the magazine where I work is an arboretum. Each year they host a gingerbread competition. Entries are divided up into different categories: family, scout and school, and individuals. Attendees are asked to vote on their favorite. Today and tomorrow I’ll share with you some of the fabulous creations from this year’s competition.

My hands-down favorite was a family entry, "The Ugly Christmas Co." It features a display of ugly Christmas sweaters with gingerbread men salespeople. Have you ever seen anything so creative?

My second favorite display, also created by a family, was the rendition of Finding Nemo.

Check back tomorrow for more wonderful gingerbread creations.

#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--GUEST AUTHOR JACKIE KING AND CRANBERRY-NUT #COOKIES

Jackie King spent many years in the corporate world and now writes full time. Her apartment in Tulsa, Oklahoma looks out onto Riverside Parkway, and just beyond the treetops she can see the Arkansas River. Her latest hobby is watching the changes in foliage and the nesting of Eagles. Learn more about Jackie and her books at her website and the Murderous Musings blog.

One of the great joys of writing is recycling a happy memory from my own life in a scene I create. Like most authors, I use personal experience to spin my fictional stories. For example, I drew from my own blissful memories of cookie baking to portray Grace Cassidy’s pleasure when she baked cookies for her guests in a B&B.

I suppose that I’d better add (tongue in cheek) that all of my murders so far have been vicarious. I have enjoyed murdering my ex-husband several times on paper. And for anyone, male or female, who has been dumped unceremoniously by a long-time spouse (31 years for me), I must say that this is a most therapeutic exercise.

The Bed and Breakfast mystery series I write has the word “corpse” in the title of each book. In Book one, Grace starts out as a somewhat spoiled, very naïve woman from a wealthy background. When everything she depends on in her life is gone, necessity forces her to evolve into a stronger, more resourceful woman. She finds she never really knew her authentic self before, and sets out on a journey to explore her own strengths and weaknesses. She develops her skills with each book while dealing with murder and mayhem.

In The Inconvenient Corpse Grace finds a dead body in her B&B room. Stranded with no money, she turns to inn-sitting (temporary help for owners needing a break) to support herself. In the midst of a murder investigation, she rediscovers the satisfaction of baking cookies. (See her newest recipe below.)

With one solved murder under her belt Grace continues changing from the lady-like people-pleaser she has always been into someone she likes better. In The Corpse Who Walked in the Door her son is accused of attempted murder and rape; and Trouble, her cat, finds a dead body in the bathtub. As if that isn’t enough, her ex-husband Charlie returns and wants to reconcile.

Grace’s newest adventure takes her back to her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. In The Corspe and the Geezer Brigade Grace struggles through a quagmire of murder stemming from a 50-year-old agreement between her father and his buddies. She learns more than she ever wanted to know about her parents’ past and faces danger once again.

When dead bodies show up in Grace Cassidy’s life, she bakes cookies to relieve the stress. Like me, Grace’s specialty is chocolate chip-pecan cookies. However she also enjoys discovering new recipes. Below is her newest recipe, cranberry-macadamia nut cookies, the newest sensation at the B&B. She will bake a huge batch to serve on Thanksgiving.

Grace’s Cranberry-Nut Cookies

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 sticks butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. orange extract
2-1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
12 oz. pkg. white chocolate chips
1/2 cup macadamia nuts chopped
1 cup dried cranberries

Mix butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and orange extract. Add in flour, baking soda, salt, white chocolate chips, nuts and dried cranberries.

Beat until mixed. Bake at 325 degrees for 13-16 minutes or until golden brown.

Grace and I wish everyone in cyberland a very happy Thanksgiving!

The Corpse and the Geezer Brigade

In the heady atmosphere of testosterone and too much booze, ten new fathers make a solemn pact that benefits those who live longest. As the day of reckoning approaches, the survivors are being murdered one by one. Grace Cassidy’s son is on the list. Can she solve the mystery in time to save his life?

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COOKING WITH CLORIS--CHRISTMAS PUDDINGS WITH GUEST AUTHOR REGAN WALKER

Join us today for some Christmas Plum and Persimmon Puddings with author Regan Walker. A former lawyer in high levels of government, Regan loves to weave history and real historic figures into her romances. Learn more about Regan and her books at her website and blog.

Christmas Plum Pudding from Regency England

In both my new Christmas novella, The Twelfth Night Wager, and my short story, The Holly & The Thistle, the Christmas dinner served up in 1818 in London includes Plum Pudding. It’s a traditional accompaniment to a Regency holiday feast. But the making of it can be a chore. Should you want to try, here is the recipe, which can also be found on my blog.

Christmas Plum Pudding

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lb. suet
1 lb. Demerara (cane) sugar
1 lb. raisins
1 lb. sultanas
4 oz. citron peel
4 oz. candied peel
1 tsp. mixed spice
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 lb. breadcrumbs
1/2 lb. sifted flour
1 lb. eggs (weighed in their shells)
1 wineglassful brandy
1/2 pint milk

Prepare all ingredients, well whip the eggs, add to milk, and thoroughly mix. Let stand for 12 hours in a cool place, add brandy and put into well-greased basins and boil 8 hours or longer. Sufficient for twenty to twenty-eight people.

I know. I know. Who would do all that, right? Not me. So, if you’d prefer something equally seasonal, but a lot less effort and the Christmas dessert my son prefers to pie (it must be bathed in whipped cream, of course), I suggest my recipe for Persimmon Pudding. It’s moist and tasty:

Christmas Persimmon Pudding

Use only Hachiya persimmons (pictured) and make sure they are soft and ripe!

Sift these ingredients together:

1 c flour
1 c sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Add:

1 c persimmon pulp (about two persimmons)
1/2 c milk (or if you are feeling indulgent, half and half)
1 Tablespoon melted butter
1/2 c nuts (I use walnuts)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Bake at 325 degrees in a covered casserole set in a pan of water about 1/2" deep for 1 and 1/2 hours. Serve warm!

The Twelfth Night Wager

A Christmas Novella

THE REDHEADED RAKE

It was a dull day at White’s, the day he agreed to the wager: seduce bed and walk away from the lovely Lady Leisterfield, all by Twelfth Night. This holiday season, Christopher St. Ives, Viscount Eustace, planned to give himself a gift.

THE INNOCENT WIDOW

She was too proper by half—or so was the accusation of her friends, which was why her father had to find her a husband. But Lord Leisterfield was now gone a year, and Grace was at last shedding the drab colors of mourning. The house felt empty, more so during the coming Christmastide, and so tonight her coming out would begin with a scandalous piece of theater. The play would attract rogues, or so promised her friend the dowager countess. It would indeed. The night would bring about the greatest danger—and the greatest happiness—that Grace had ever known. 

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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.