Sunday, May 25, 2014

Sweet Zombies

A very warm welcome to our friend, Janet Bolin. Janet writes the Threadville Mysteries. Set in Pennsylvania, Threadville is a charming town dedicated to the sewing arts. It's the place to go for fabric, threads, embroidery threads, quilting supplies, buttons and bows, and and occasional murder!

And now, Janet!




Thank you, Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen, for inviting me to post again. Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen is one of my favorite blogs—and I tend to look here first when I need a recipe.

My fourth Threadville Mystery, NIGHT OF THE LIVING THREAD, comes out on June 3.  When Daryl Wood Gerber AKA Avery Aames suggested the title, I knew I had to use it. Thank you Daryl/Avery!

Living thread?” How can embroidery thread be alive?

It can’t, but it can glow in the dark and tremble in the breezes and appear to move around by itself. And if that isn’t freaky enough, NIGHT OF THE LIVING THREAD also involves ancient Egyptian curses, a wedding, a craft fair, and people dressing up like zombies and scaring the folks of Threadville. It’s all good fun until one of the craft fair participants is actually killed by a “killer” wedding gown, and the bride becomes a suspect...

That’s when our intrepid machine embroider, Willow, and her Threadville friends, helped and hindered by the bride’s outspoken mother, decide it’s time to figure out who really killed the victim. The gown couldn’t have acted by itself. Willow and the Threadville gang have to snoop in the rooms of their houseguests and creep through a haunted graveyard (styled after the Evans City Cemetery, which is not far from Threadville, and where scenes of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD were filmed) to unmask a killer.

In honor of the launch of NIGHT OF THE LIVING THREAD, I created this recipe. Beware. These cookies aren’t genteel like gingerbread men, which include other spices and molasses to temper the ginger. These zombies contain lots of ginger. They might bite back.

ZOMBIE COOKIES

Adapted from the recipe on the back of my Undead Fred cookie cutter package

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat to give my zombies icky-looking skin—if you’re going to frost the cookies and/or are not fond of the taste or sturdy texture of whole wheat flour, substitute white flour for all or part of it.)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

3/4 cup butter (you could use up to 1 cup), room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup chopped candied ginger

2 large eggs

1 heaping tablespoon ginger paste

Skim milk (about 1/2 cup)


Method:

Stir flour, baking soda, and ground ginger together with a whisk or a fork.

With your mixer, cream sugar and butter. My butter wasn’t warm enough, so I made little butter tombstones and stood them in the sugar to speed the warming. And you need tombstones to create proper zombies, right?

Beat in eggs, candied ginger, and ginger paste until well blended.

Add flour mixture and stir at low speed until blended.

Add milk and blend at low speed until dough will stick together. Don’t let it become soggy.

Divide dough in half.

Roll out to about 1/4 inch between sheets of parchment paper.

Refrigerate for 1/2 hour.

Peel off parchment paper and place dough on floured surface. Cut out.

Bake on silicone baking pad for about 20 minutes at 325 degrees. Cool. These become more gingery after a day...

Those who are good at decorating cookies, please go wild.

Sweet and buttery graveyard.
The right consistency.
Ready to cut.

 
Zombie Apocalypse!


The first three Threadville Mysteries are DIRE THREADS, THREADED FOR TROUBLE, and THREAD AND BURIED. Janet’s working on the fifth one, SEVEN THREADLY SINS.


In addition to reading, writing, and walking dogs, Janet’s hobbies include sewing, knitting, and machine embroidery, including using software and killer (!) sewing machines to create original embroidery designs.




@JanetBolin

Janet is giving away a copy of 
NIGHT OF THE LIVING THREAD! 
Please leave a comment to enter! 

58 comments:

  1. Love the cookie cutters, but I would use our old family recipe instead of ginger bread - it is anise flavored. ;) Love your books

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  2. Zombie shaped cookies would be a BIG hit with all the greatgrandkids, as would your latest book be with me! Great series.
    kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com

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  3. Janet, these cookies are too adorable! And I agree, you've got a perfect title:). Best of luck with the new book--looking forward to June 3!

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    1. Thanks, Roberta. Daryl/Avery comes up with great titles!

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  4. My grandkids would LOVE cookies from those cookie cutters, not that they would turn down any cookie ! Love the title to your book btw :)

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    1. Kids love cookies, don't they? Actually, so do I...

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  5. Not only do these cookies sound delicious, but Night of the Living Thread sounds like a spooky, terrific read! Thanks for the post, Janet ~

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    1. Linda, you can read the first chapter of NIGHT OF THE LIVING THREAD on my website. It's a little spooky. But not too spooky, I hope...

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  6. Love the zombie cookies, and this sounds like great series! Thanks for the chance to win!

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  7. We love anything ginger around here. I may have to try these. Thanks.

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  8. Gram, I'm with you about the ginger. And a lot of other flavors...

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  9. I know just the person to pass this on to! :) Just have to find those cookie cutters to go with it, though she may already have some. :) I do love the title of the book, and look forward to getting to it.

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  10. Janet, those cookie cutters are amazing!!! What fun. Love your series & love the title of this book (of course). :)

    Hugs and great success with your new launch.
    Daryl / Avery

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  11. Just reading this recipe and my mouth sings with the spicy flavor of ginger. What is ginger paste? I love chewing on ginger candies! NIGHT OF THE LIVING THREAD sounds like an interesting read!!

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  12. What fun! I love ginger too! I don't have any zombie cookie cutters though, hmm...

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  13. Cookies like these are a delight. Perfect for the kids. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  14. I love ginger so the cookies sound yummy! I love your books and am really looking forward to the new one!

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  15. This is special and the cookies would be a big treat. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  16. YUMMO Cookies, I am looking forward to reading this book :) :) :)
    Mary from Pittsburgh, PA
    Ladylotion@msn.com

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  17. Yummy! Just came across this series, will need to add to my reading list!

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  18. I have read some of your series. I like your characters.

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  19. Zombie cookie cutters ...so cute (are they supposed to be cute?) Not sure about all of the ginger, though. A bit much for me. But the book sounds like fun.
    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

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  20. I love the cookie cutters, they are hysterical! The cookie recipe sounds interesting, that's a lot of ginger, I have got to try these.
    Thanks for the chance to win this book, the cover is gorgeous, I want to be there. It looks like a great read.
    momzillasteel at gmail dot com

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  21. Zombie cookies would be great for Halloween

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  22. Zombie cookies sound like a lot of fun, the recipe does seem to have a bit much of ginger, though---I think I might have to cut back a bit on that.
    suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com

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  23. Isn't ginger good for nausea? Recommended for chemo patients. The book sounds fun. Bobbipad at gmail dot com

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  24. The book sounds awesome and the cookies look delicious! Thank you for sharing and this wonderful opportunity to win! :) areewekidding@yahoo.com

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  25. I would try this recipe, and can't wait to read the book :)

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  26. Zombie cookies? Too cool! And I have to read you new book!

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  27. Looks like a new series I will have to try!

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  28. Undead Fred must be a relative of Spamalot's not dead yet Fred (or whatever the proper name is).

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  29. Anything with threads sounds great to me. I remember my daughter cross stitching a pumpkin ghost for Hlaaoween one year. Now the cookies sound good for anytime. Reading your book while munching cookies---yum for the mouth and the mind!! Ronnalord(at)msn(dot)com

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  30. Leaving this message for Tony Buhan who is having trouble getting a message to post. "Zombie cookie cutters what a great idea."

    Tony (posted by Krista)

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  31. The Zombie cookies are fun! Looking forward to your book!

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  32. Cute cookie cutters! My brother would love them! Ginger is my favorite flavor of cookie, so I must try this recipe!

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  33. The cookie cutters are cute! My brother would love them! (He loves all things zombie.) Ginger is my favorite flavor of cookie, so I must try this recipe!

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  34. Thank you all for your comments and encouragement! Margaret, ginger paste is chopped ginger in a tube (probably with some preservatives) and found in the produce aisle with other time-saving pastes, like basil paste, lemongrass pasted, etc. If anyone wants cookie cutters like that, Google Fredandfriends dot com. The website has a list of stores. They have other cute cookie cutters, too.

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  35. My nephew who loves all things Zombie would love these. The perfect snack for Walking Dead. Love your series. This one would make a great Halloween read. Thanks

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  36. Ooh, zombies with a bite! We love ginger and lots of it. These cookies look great and your book sounds fun too. Thanks, Janet!

    lola777_22 (at) hotmail (dot) com

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  37. These cookies sound absolutely delicious and isn't it fun to find unusual cookie cutters? They're so much fun.

    Connie Fischer
    conniecape@aol.com

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  38. Those cookie cutters are so cute!
    jenne.turner@unt.edu

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  39. Hubby loves gingerbread and often wonders why I don't make it often. I'm thinking I might just need to make him some of these cookies -- altho without the cookie cutters to make zombie ones they might just be round.
    I used to like to embroidery -- crewel and then cross stitch -- so I have embroidery thread in the house. And I always look at it when I go into a craft store.

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  40. Enjoyed the first books of the Threadville series and looking forward to the next installment of this series.

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  41. I bought one of my sons those same cookie cutters for Christmas, but we haven't used them yet. The book sounds a LOT of fun.

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  42. Recipe sounds good - have to try it out - thanks!

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  43. these cookies sound delicious! I will have to bake those for Halloween! That would be fun cookies for the kids!

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  44. Oooh I can distract the kids with the zombie cookies while I sneak off to read this series! :)

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  45. I love the Zombie cookies! Plans for decorating them with green icing is dancing in my head. :P

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  46. Love the cookie cutters!!!---Rae
    rae725(at)aol(dot)com

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  47. Another lover of the cookie cutters! And looks like another great book to add to my library!

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  48. Cannot wait to read while having a zombie cookie or two!!

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  49. I don't really like watching zombie movies, but a zombie cookie might be good. I think I looked at the candied ginger a few years ago in the store and it was expensive, about $6.00 or $8.00. I looked at it because I saw a recipe in a mystery by Margaret Grace. I made peanut butter bar cookies last night. They have chocolate chips inside and more chocolate chips spread on top as a frosting. I think they're called Peanut Buddy Bars (a Nestle recipe).

    I have the first two books in the series and would love to win the next one. Ancient Egyptian curses sounds good.

    catbooks72(at)gmail(dot)com

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  50. what a fun recipe!!! I will have to print out a copy for my sister-in-law (I don't cook/bake).....

    cyn209 at juno dot com

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  51. The kids will love the cookies.. I will love reading the books. :)

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