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Today is National Bake Cookies Day. Seems to me we just celebrated cookie day. *scrolls back through previous posts and discovers it was Homemade Cookie Day*
Not that I’m complaining, mind you. One can never have too many cookies. Unless one eats too many and one feels ill afterward. Glad that’s never happened to me. Certainly never the still-warm cookies that require taste testing. This is prime baking season in my house. My fruitcake was baked a month ago and has been “fed” with whisky every Wednesday since. Why Wednesday? Why not? I’ve baked these chocolate chip cookies twice in the past month. I’ve also baked a test recipe for America’s Test Kitchens, and a batch of Pecan Fingers. Yesterday I baked Swedish Christmas Cookies and a second batch of Pecan Fingers. I predict there’ll be at least one more batch of Pecan Fingers before the end of the year. They’re hubby’s favourite. I don’t often veer from the tried and true cookie recipes. They’re part of what makes this season so special. A real tree in the corner, a turkey in the oven, and a plate of sugar cookies, shortbread cookies, and Pecan Fingers all combine to make the season bright. <grin> Do you have foods that scream “Christmas” to you? Cheers!
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Book launch day! Love and Turmoil is available for purchase! At The Wild Rose Press, Amazon and at Barnes & Noble.  Is any day more fabulous than this? Aside from giving birth, of course. And getting married. That was a fabulous day. Also when our kids graduated from high school and university. More fabulous days. But after all that, seeing my book out in the real world is pretty darn special. Knowing that other people are going to meet the characters and hopefully enjoy their antics is thrilling. But also a little nerve-wracking. Like sending your kid off on the first day of school and hoping they make friends. The characters in my books are very real to me and hold a special place in my heart and I want other people to like them as much as I do. Or hate them as much as I do if the character in question is a bad guy/gal. I still think about the characters in my previous books and wonder how they’re doing.
I can’t wait for you to meet Arabella and Sam and discover how they met, why they’re attracted to each other, and witness the troubles they face. Boy oh boy, they face some tough times. <insert maniacal laugh> I’m guest blogging at Night Owl Reviews today and sharing an old family recipe for the most delicious cookies. Stop by to grab the recipe and whip up a batch. Your friends and family will think you’re more brilliant than usual! Here’s the last excerpt I’ll be sharing for Love and Turmoil (NOW RELEASED!!!) “Please stay a bit longer. This will take but a minute, and then we will find somewhere to be alone.” He touched her cheek. “You haven’t eaten your supper.” He rested his hand on her waist and pulled her close. “I could survive feasting on you.” He kissed her neck, his warm breath heating her entire body. She leaned into him, turned her head, and captured his lips. He was indeed hungry, and she gave him all she could, teasing his lips with her tongue, biting his lower lip before sucking it into her mouth. She grasped his shoulders and pressed closer, wanting to absorb him into her skin. He trailed his kiss along her jaw and nipped her earlobe. “Yes?” She nodded before resting her head on his chest. She’d been seconds away from pushing him to the ground and mounting him like a horse. Here’s the story premise, aka the blurb, aka the back-cover copy: Six months after burying her wastrel husband, Lady Arabella Woodbridge has resigned herself to a lonely life in the countryside with only her two adopted nieces for company. Being a young, respectable widow is – frustrating. Then the charming and wickedly handsome Samuel Payn takes up residence in the neighboring manor house. Retired explorer and occasional pirate Samuel Payn is on a two-fold mission – retrieve buried loot, and locate the father who abandoned his mother to a life of poverty. But a gang of murderous villains is also after the buried treasure. And someone is threatening to tear apart the lovely widow’s family. Will Sam’s single-minded determination to uncover his true identity threaten Arabella’s happiness - and his life? Cheers! Happy December! How did that happen? said everyone everywhere.
As you read this (provided you’re reading this on Friday) I’m on my way to the mainland for a much- needed haircut. Also to conduct house business, and to visit friends. Hopefully, I’m also celebrating my “winning” of NaNoWriMo. (I’m writing this blog post early so all I can say is if I didn’t “win”, I came mighty close.” We’re approaching intense baking season, at least in my house. All the seasonal recipes are being dusted off – cookies and cakes and breads. ‘Tis the season to get fatter, fa la la la la, la la, la la. Ah, but it’s only once a year and we all deserve a treat. Especially after this past year of craziness, national, international, and personal. Just remember moderation in all things. In the spirit of sharing, I’m a guest blogger today and am sharing my favourite recipe for sugar cookies. Come visit me at Karen Doctor's blog and leave a comment for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card. Perfect for holiday shopping, or to buy one of my books if, you know, you want to. Do you go all out baking for the holidays? Or do you let other people do all the hard work? Cheers! All I can think of is pumpkin spice. I don’t believe there is a pumpkin spice wine, but I could be wrong. Let me know if such a thing exists. In the meantime, I’m craving baked goods with all the pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, cloves layers of flavour. We had pumpkin pie the weekend before last for Thanksgiving, but that was a long time ago. Right now we’re working our way through Hubby’s birthday apple pie. So tasty. But the minute the last piece is eaten I’m making my favourite autumn cookies. Iced Pumpkin Cookies These are so good. It is literally impossible to eat just one. If you say you can eat just one I’ll know you’re telling a fib. Or you are a Cyborg. The only change I make to the recipe is I add ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger to the cookie dough. And I increase the frosting ingredients (because you can never have too much frosting, am I right?) to 3 cups icing sugar, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and additional milk or cream, depending on the humidity of the day. The amount of vanilla stays the same. Goodness gracious, my mouth is watering just thinking about these gems. I’m going to serve larger slices of pie so I can get to these cookies faster. Do you have a favourite pumpkin spice recipe? Cheers! *Note: I use these shiny baking sheets so the cookie bottoms don’t get too dark. And I line my baking pans with parchment paper to make baking and clean-up easier. |
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