Bailey's Irish Cream Cheesecake: @Darci Hannah, #St. Patrick’s Day, #Recipe, #Giveaway

Hi, DARCI HANNAH here,

A few years ago, my publisher asked me to write a St. Patrick’s Day book for my Beacon Bakeshop Mystery series. This request kind of threw me. I had already written a Christmas book for the series, MURDER AT THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE BAKE-OFF, as well as a Halloween book, MURDER AT THE PUMPKIN PAGEANT. Those are two of my favorite holidays, and writing about them was so much fun, mostly because those holidays center around food, and I had lots of great recipes to include in the books. While our family celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with the traditional meal of corn beef, cabbage, and soda bread, which we love, that’s about it for us. We’re not Irish, or so my mother always told me. 

However, if I was going to write about St. Patrick’s Day in Beacon Harbor, I was going to go all-in, both with the story, which revolves around a superstitious Irishman and his belief in leprechauns, and with the food. Needless to say, I enjoyed writing this story so much and baking so many delicious Irish baked goods for the book, that by the end of the novel, I was a little sad that I wasn’t of Irish descent. It’s odd how the universe works, because right after I turned my manuscript in for MURDER AT THE BLARNEY BASH I got the results back from a 23 & Me kit our kids gave us for Christmas. And guess what? I learned that I’m 7 percent Irish! I have no idea where that came from, but genetics don’t lie. Now, whenever St. Patrick’s Day rolls around, the Hannah house has something to celebrate. Yes, we’re a wee bit Irish too!

I wanted to share with you our favorite St. Patrick’s Day dessert from MURDER AT THE BLARNEY BASH, a decadent Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake. 

For this recipe, you’re going to need a springform pan.

Prep time: 30 min. Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes. Inactive time: 6 hours. 

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1 regular full-size package of Oreo cookies (36 sandwich cookies)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

3 8-ounce packages full-fat cream cheese softened

1 cup full-fat sour cream

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks at room temperature

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder or strong instant coffee

1 tablespoon of hot water (to dissolve espresso powder)

½ cup Baileys Irish Cream liqueur

For the chocolate ganache:

6 ounces (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ cup heavy cream

¼ cup Baileys Irish Cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350℉. Prepare the 9-inch springform pan for the water bath by wrapping the bottom and halfway up the sides with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Lightly spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray. 

Put Oreo cookies in a food processor and reduce to fine crumbs. You may have to do this in smaller batches. Tn a large mixing bowl, combine the cookie crumbs with the melted butter and mix well. Press the mixture into the bottom of the springform pan and halfway up the sides. Bake crust for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 325℉.

Add the softened cream cheese and the sour cream in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until completely smooth. 

Add in the sugar and continue to beat until smooth, scraping sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. 

Next add the eggs and the egg yolks and continue to beat until smooth and velvety. 

In a small bowl mix the instant espresso powder with the hot water and stir until completely dissolved. Next, add the Baileys Irish cream and stir until combined. 

Gently fold this mixture into the cream cheese mixture until all the Irish cream is incorporated. Pour the filling on top of the partially baked crust. 

To make the water bath, place the springform pan in the middle of a large roasting pan.  Fill the roasting pan with an inch of hot water and place in the oven. Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. 

Once the cheesecake has been baked, leave it in the oven and turn off the oven, letting the cheesecake sit undisturbed for an additional 40 minutes. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and gently run a sharp knife around the edge of the cake. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours. 

One hour before serving the cheesecake make the ganache. Place the chocolate chips in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, gently heat the cream until it begins to bubble along the edges. 

Pour the cream on top of the chocolate chips and let sit for 1 minute. 

Using a whisk, incorporate the chocolate into the cream and whisk until smooth and glossy. Whisk in the Baileys Irish Cream. Let the mixture cool completely before pouring over the cheesecake. 

Return the cheesecake to the refrigerator for one more hour. Once the ganache has set the cheesecake is ready to serve. Enjoy!

For a printable copy of this recipe, click here!

I the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, I’m giving away a copy of MURDER AT THE BLARNEY BASH to one lucky winner. To enter my giveaway please answer the question in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your email in the comments:

What is your favorite holiday food or treat that you eat on St. Patrick’s Day? 

Continental U.S. only please.

Darci Hannah is the bestselling author of the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series, the Food & Spirits Mystery Series, the Very Cherry Mystery Series, and two works of historical fiction, The Exile of Sara Stevenson, and The Angel of Blythe Hall. Darci grew up in the Midwest and currently lives in a small town in Michigan with her husband and two dogs. Darci is a lifelong lover of the Great Lakes, a natural wonder that inspires many of her stories. Passionate about family, dogs, food, baking, history, books, lighthouses, laughter, good conversations, coffee, and the paranormal, Darci feels especially blessed to have found a way to combine her interests in the stories she writes. It brings her great joy to be able to share them with you. 

Connect with Darci at www.darcihannah.com

Instagram: @authordarcihannah

Facebook: @Author Darci Hannah

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A St. Patrick's Day cozy mystery you're sure to love!

Follow the aroma of shamrock sugar cookies to the Beacon Bakeshop, a lighthouse on the shores of Lake Michigan where amateur sleuth Lindsey Bakewell is busy preparing for Beacon Harbor’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities – with a little help from her adorable Newfoundland, Wellington, of course!

Lindsey is baking up a storm—shamrock sugar cookies, Guinness chocolate cupcakes, Irish soda bread—for the well-timed grand opening of the Irish import gift shop, the Blarney Stone, owned by her boyfriend’s uncle, Finnigan O’Connor, recently relocated from the Emerald Isle.

But it’s Uncle Finn himself who seems full of blarney when he gleefully reveals a pot of real gold he claims he stole from an actual leprechaun. And Finn’s fortune takes a turn for the worse when he’s arrested for the bludgeoning of a small unidentified man dressed as a leprechaun—the murder weapon alleged to be his now-missing shillelagh.

Eccentric Uncle Finn may enjoy believing he’s outwitted a leprechaun, but he would never be so deluded as to clobber one with his walking stick. Now Lindsey will need more than the luck of the Irish to seize a golden opportunity to catch the real killer . . .

Purchase link

Just Released!

A Spirited Supper at Dundoon Castle

By Darci Hannah

Book #2 in the Food & Spirits Mystery Series

When chef Bridget “Bunny” MacBride got a role on the reality show Food & Spirits, she thought “spirits” meant cocktails. Instead, she’s cooking up dinners meant to tempt the departed to appear. And to her surprise, she’s discovered abilities to connect with the beyond—and crack murder cases . . .

Now that Bunny’s entrées come with a side of the Other Side, it comes in handy to have a grandma who’s friendly with the elderly owners of a haunted Scottish castle. During Bunny’s childhood she heard all about Dundoon’s bloody history and the “ghostly piper” who roamed the grounds—and soon she’ll be visiting the ancient place with her ghost hunter and psychic co-stars. The annual bagpipe competition in the late piper’s honor will make for some good footage as well. 

After Bunny serves a feast fit for a 17th century king, including lamb chops with plenty of fresh herbs, she heads outdoors for the ghost hunt. But in the dark, dense fog, someone fatally plunges from the clifftop over the loch. The sound that follows is a mournful, otherworldly bagpipe . . . and once the body of another perished piper is retrieved, Bunny is determined to solve this Highlands homicide—and prevent a killer from getting off scot-free . . .

Purchase Link

Trade Paperback Release!

A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor

By Darci Hannah

Book #1 in the Food & Spirits Mystery Series

While filming at a haunted English manor, chef Bunny MacBride’s big break on her first reality TV show may be cut short by an unscripted murder in Darci Hannah’s new Food & Spirits cozy mystery series . . .

It isn’t how chef Bridget “Bunny” MacBride imagined her own cooking show unfolding. But, if preparing historic meals with a modern flair is what it takes to get her cooking on the air, she can deliver, even if her dinner guest is a ghost. That’s the premise of the new reality TV show Food & Spirits, where Chef Bunny teams up with ghost hunter Brett Bloom and psychic medium Giff McGrady to visit haunted locales around the world and tempt lingering spirits back to the table with a beloved meal. For their first episode, the Food & Spirits team sets off to investigate Bramsford Manor, a historic house turned famously haunted hotel, in picturesque Hampshire, England. The sprawling estate is said to be home to the Mistletoe Bride, a young woman who died in the 18th century, the victim of a tragic accident on her Christmas wedding night.

Bunny leaves the spectral search to the pros and focuses on the feast, creating a traditional English holiday wedding dinner, complete with a gorgeous prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, and rustic apple tarts. But Bunny’s task is made more difficult when someone steals a boning knife from her custom kit. Alas, when the blade finally turns up again—in the chest of an all-too-human dinner guest—Bunny’s woes only grow as she is named a lead suspect in the case! Now, with a haunted house full of living residents, staff, and crew, Bunny will need the help of Brett, Giff, and her clairvoyant Grandma Mac, to solve this murder before the manor gains another ghost!

Preorder today!

Coming this July!

Murder at the Campfire Cookout

By Darci Hannah

Book #7 in the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series

When Lindsey Bakewell leaves behind her lighthouse bakeshop, her boyfriend, Rory, and her Newfoundland dog, Wellington, for a glamping trip with her mother in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the bears leave them alone—but a killer doesn’t. . .

Converting the old Beacon Point lighthouse into a bakery is as adventurous as Lindsey cares to get. Her mother, Ellie, a former 80s fashion model, likes her creature comforts even more—until she sees a business opportunity for her Beacon Harbor fashion boutique when she’s invited by the Mitten Kittens Glamping Club on a woodsy getaway.

Far from roughing it, the ladies will be warm and cozy in chic vintage campers. Ellie insists Lindsey come along to win the campfire cookout contest. Campfire cooking has come a long way from bacon and beans. Soon Lindsey is making pizza, berry cobbler, and gooey Carmelita camping bars.

But the festive spirit is soon dampened when a body is found in Ellie’s camper. It seems like an accidental death until everyone’s tires are slashed and it’s clear the glampsite has become a crime scene. With no cell service to call for help, it’s up to Lindsey to smoke out the killer around the campfire . . .

Because no one is out of the woods yet.

Listen up! Lavender Lies Bleeding out in audio today! A #recipe roundup and #giveaway by @LeslieBudewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  At long last, the audiobook of Lavender Lies Bleeding, the 9th Spice Shop mystery, launches today. Why the long delay, who knows, but I know it’s always a thrill. I’ve been listening to audiobooks for more than 30 years—they’ve kept me company on countless miles of Montana roads—and a growing number of readers love them as much as I do. 

And yes, listening to a book counts as reading. Story is story, regardless of the format. 

So, since it’s that time of year when many of us are aching for spring, I thought it would be fun to do a roundup of recipes from Lavender already published here or elsewhere, especially since the one drawback of audiobooks is the lack of a recipe section. And I’m sharing the Lavender Lemon Pepper featured in my book launch last summer, where I talked about how I create spice blends, demonstrated this one, and let readers make their own to take home.

I grow my own lavender, but if you don’t, food-grade lavender is available year-round from most spice shops. Remember to use only lavender grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. 

I've got a handful of audio codes to give away, to three lucky readers. 

And if you're an audio book reader who hasn't dived into the Spice Shop series yet, books 1-3 are currently available for only 2.99 each, via Chirp, until March 7! 

In my Spotlight Sunday post last summer, I described the origins of the story and some of my research, and offered a Lavender Shortbread Recipe that doesn’t appear in the book—a bonus recipe! 

My friends at World Spice, whose flagship store on Western Avenue just below Pike Place Market is one of my inspiration shops, got in on the act with this recipe for Lavender Blueberry Handpies. 

This Lavender Goat Cheese, with a hint of honey, makes a delicious appetizer, spread on crackers or slices of baguette. Even my 10-year-old great-nephew enjoyed it!

Mr. Right and I are serious fans of crême brulée, and subbed lavender into our favorite recipe with fabulous results, for this Lavender Orange Creme Brulee.

Lavender syrup is easy to make, and so tasty in coffee, Earl Grey tea (a lavender London Fog!), Italian sodas, and even champagne cocktails. Find the syrup recipe and a handful of drink combos here. 

We’ve been making this Lavender Limeade since long before I wrote the book! It’s a wonderful warm weather treat. 

Many of you first met our blogger Kim Davis through her own gorgeous baking blog, and I’m delighted that she chose to feature my Lavender Buttermilk Scones. My book launch hosts at the Bigfork Art & Cultural Center made these yummy mini scones, pictured with pink lavender lemonade!

Not every recipe in the book includes lavender. This Indian Butter Chicken has become a staple in our house, and the first day of asparagus season, we’ll be making this Asparagus with Chevre (Goat Cheese) Vinaigrette. 

This short excerpt from Lavender Lies Bleeding illustrates how I create a blend. 

“Besides the scones,” Cayenne said now, “I made a blend I want you all to try.” She unscrewed the lid of a Mason jar and passed it around for the sniff test. “So, try it. Tell me what you think.”

I scooped up a few grains, jiggling the spoon to separate the ingredients. “Lavender, black pepper, kosher salt. Is that dried lemon zest, finely ground?” I touched the tip of my tongue to the spoon, careful to get some of everything. “Minced garlic. I like it.”

So did the others. We debated leaving out the salt—requests for low-salt blends are common. Cayenne argued for it, as a balance to the pepper, and after she passed around a jar of a salt-free version, we all agreed. 

“Last week, I worked with a customer who has an allium sensitivity,” she said, “so I made a version without the garlic. But it seems bland.” She produced a third jar. We took more spoons and tried again.

“I can’t decide,” Vanessa said. “I think my tongue is tired.”  

Readers trying their hand at a spice blend.

Lavender Lemon Pepper 

Cayenne was inspired to create this lavender lemon lavender pepper blend after seeing the many ways cooks in Salmon Falls used their favorite local crop. It’s great on grilled salmon or any white fish, roasted vegetables, baked potatoes, and more! 

For a simple version, take your favorite lemon pepper and add crushed lavender and garlic salt. Or use a pinch of salt and a bit of dried garlic, either powdered or granulated. 

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried lemon zest

1 teaspoon crushed dried lavender buds

1/4 to ½ teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 to ½ teaspoon dried minced garlic (if you use garlic powder, start with less and adjust to taste)

To make the lemon zest: 

Heat your oven to its lowest setting, 150 to 175 degrees F. Wash and pat dry one lemon. Zest it, using a microplane, on to parchment paper on a small baking sheet or pie plate. Dry in 5 minute increments, stirring between each. One lemon will take 15-20 minutes; more will take longer. Watch carefully, as it burns quickly. Allow to cool thoroughly, separating the zest with a spoon or your fingers and crumbling it a bit. Make sure it is fully dehydrated, to avoid mold. 

Store tightly covered. 

To make the blend: 

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl or jar. Adjust to taste. Store tightly covered.

Makes about 1 tablespoon. 

What flavors say "spring" to you? Three lucky readers will win audio download codes for Lavender Lies Bleeding. Leave your email address to enter -- please enter only if you listen to audios. Winners will be announced Friday, March 6.  

At Seattle Spice Shop, owner Pepper Reece has whipped up the perfect blend of food, friends, and flavor. But the sweet smell of success can be hazardous . . .  

Spring is in full bloom in Pike Place Market, where Pepper is celebrating lavender’s culinary uses and planning a festival she hopes will become an annual event. When her friend Lavender Liz offers to share tips for promoting the much-loved—and occasionally maligned—herb, Pepper makes a trek to the charming town of Salmon Falls. But someone has badly damaged Liz’s greenhouse, throwing a wrench in the feisty grower’s plans for expansion. Suspicions quickly focus on an employee who’s taken to the hills. 

Then Liz is found dead among her precious plants, stabbed by a pruning knife. In Salmon Falls, there’s one in every pocket. 

Pepper digs in, untangling the tensions between Liz and a local restaurateur with eyes on a picturesque but neglected farm, a jealous ex-boyfriend determined to profit from Liz’s success, and a local growers’ cooperative. She’s also hot on the scent of a trail of her own, sniffing out the history of her sweet dog, Arf. 

As Pepper’s questions threaten to unearth secrets others desperately want to keep buried, danger creeps closer to her and those she loves. Can Pepper root out the killer, before someone nips her in the bud?

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

ALL GOD'S SPARROWS AND OTHER STORIES: A STAGECOACH MARY FIELDS COLLECTION, now available in in paperback and ebook 

Take a step back in time with All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection of historical short mysteries, featuring the Agatha-Award winning "All God's Sparrows" and other stories imagining the life of real-life historical figure Mary Fields, born into slavery in 1832, during the last thirty years of her life, in Montana. Out September 17, 2024 from Beyond the Page Publishing.  

“Finely researched and richly detailed, All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories is a wonderful collection. I loved learning about this fascinating woman . . . and what a character she is! Kudos to Leslie Budewitz for bringing her to life so vividly.” —Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of Crow Mary

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Her latest books are To Err is Cumin, the 8th Spice Shop Mystery and All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection, in September 2024. Watch for Lavender Lies Bleeding, the 9th Spice Shop Mystery, on July 15, 2025.

A past president of Sisters in Crime and former national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine. 

Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.

Release Day: NO ROAST FOR THE WEARY (New Paperback Edition!) by Cleo Coyle

Congratulations to our own... 

CLEO COYLE 

On the release of the 

*New Paperback Edition* 

of her Coffeehouse Mystery 

No Roast for the Weary 

☕ Now in Paperback!

National Mystery Bestseller 

#1 Amazon Category Best Seller 

Fresh Fiction Readers' Selection 

& 2 Best of Year Lists! 

🔎 Learn more or buy at: 

Amazon 

Barnes & Noble 

Bookshop.org 

+ More Buy Links 

NO ROAST FOR THE WEARY

When the Village Blend opens a Writer's Block Lounge, a cold case crime turns up the heat on Clare and her crew in this gripping new entry in the beloved Coffeehouse Mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

As much as master roaster Clare Cosi adores coffee, the landmark shop she manages won't survive if she doesn't sell enough of it. So when the Village Blend's customer traffic grinds to a halt, she turns to her staff for creative ideas, and the Writer's Block Lounge is born.

Madame, the eccentric octogenarian owner of the shop, is upset by this news. Years ago, a group of accomplished writers used the shop's second-floor lounge to inspire each other, but the group disbanded when something dark occurred. Though that history is shrouded in mystery, Clare presses forward...

Soon the Village Blend tables are filled with aspiring novelists, playwrights, and poets, all happy to be coaxed, cajoled, and caffeinated by her coffeehouse crew. Clare admires the stamina of these scribes, many of them toiling at night jobs—driving taxis, tending bar, ushering for Broadway—while penning projects during the day.

Then one of their fictions turns fatal when a shocking secret leads to a deadly end. Unless Clare can untangle this mystery, uncover the truth, and stop a desperate killer, she fears more of these weary writers may be marked for eternal rest.

☕ Includes a knockout menu of recipes! ☕

Praise for No Roast for the Weary 

"EASILY ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS THAT I HAVE READ THIS YEAR...10 STARS!" —Escape with Dollycas into a Good Book 

🔎 ☕ 🔍

"NEVER SAW THE ENDING COMING...A GREAT MYSTERY..." 
—Kings River Life Magazine 

THE FINAL REVEAL IS BOTH ASTONISHING AND POIGNANT." 
 —Criminal Element 

🔎 ☕ 🔍

“The mystery was baffling and THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS HAD ME SHOCKED. You’ll be on the edge of your seat…Grab yourself a coffee and prepare for a fabulous read!” —Cozy Up with Kathy

No Roast for the Weary
is also a culinary mystery
with a knockout menu of 

delectable recipes... 

Click here or on the image above 

for Cleo Coyle's Free Illustrated 

Recipe Guide to No Roast for the Weary

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and fun giveaways!