Beacon Bakeshop’s Giant Cinnamon Rolls, #giveaway, #Easter #recipe from DarciHannah

 

Darci Hannah: Easter is right around the corner, and with that special day in mind, I thought I’d share one of my favorite recipes that I make for my family every Easter for our morning brunch. Making cinnamon rolls from scratch is truly a labor of love. The method is quite simple, but there’s no getting around the two rise times that this sweet yeast dough requires. That’s why I reserve this warm, gooey, cinnamon-flavored baked good for special occasions, like Easter.  

I come from a family that loves their gooey baked goods. I don’t remember when I had my first bite of a cinnamon roll, but I do remember when I decided to make them. I was newly married and trying to save money. Isn’t that how every great kitchen adventure starts? Well, my first attempt bombed because my dough didn’t rise, which means that I probably killed the yeast with scalding milk instead of warm milk. Over the years, I began to perfect my recipe, figuring out what worked and what didn’t until I grew confident that my cinnamon rolls would not only turn out, but would also be delicious. 

Years later when I began writing the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series, I knew that my protagonist Lindsey Bakewell was going to have a few key staples in her bakery cases, like giant cinnamon rolls and caramel pecan rolls. That’s because these gooey, delicious treats were always offered in my favorite bakeries, and of course, I just had to try them. Oddly enough, I’ve never put this recipe in the back of the books, so I thought I’d offer it here. If you’d like to bake some cinnamon rolls this Easter, here’s a recipe you might wish to try.

Beacon Bakeshop’s Signature Giant Cinnamon Rolls

Prep time: 2 hours.  Cook time: 30-40 minutes.   Makes 6-8 large cinnamon rolls

Ingredients:

½ cup butter, melted

2 cups whole milk, warmed to 100-110 °F

½ cup granulated sugar

1 package of active dry yeast

5 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

6-8 tablespoons heavy cream (for baking)

For the filling:

½ cup butter melted

¾ cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

For the frosting:

4 oz cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons whole milk

Directions:

Grease 9 x 13 baking pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the warm milk, melted butter, and sugar. Gently stir the yeast into the warm mixture and let sit for 1 minute.

Add 4 cups of flour to the warm mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture is combined. Do not overwork the dough. It will be sticky, and that’s okay. Cover with a towel and set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour. The dough should double in size.

In a small bowl, mix ¾ cup of flour with the baking soda and salt. Once the dough has risen, stir in the flour mixture. Mix well and turn onto floured surface. Lightly knead the dough, adding flour as needed until dough is no longer sticky. Be careful not to overwork the dough.

Roll dough out to a large square, roughly 18 x 18 inches, trying to make the corners as even as you can. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together. Next, melt the ½ cup of butter and brush evenly on the dough. Once the dough is covered with melted butter, evenly sprinkle on the sugar mixture, making sure the entire square is covered. 

Using a sharp knife, cut the dough in 3-inch strips, making 6 rolls in all. If you want smaller rolls, cut the dough into 2-inch strips. It’s up to you. Next, roll the dough strips up into a tight roll, pinching the dough on the outside seam to seal it together. 

Place the cinnamon rolls in the prepared baking pan. Cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. The cinnamon rolls will expand noticeably. 

Preheat oven to 350° F. 

Once rolls have risen pour 1 tablespoon of heavy cream on the top of each roll, using a pastry brush to spread it around. Bake rolls for 30 to 40 minutes, or until they rise and are a nice golden-brown. If the insides need a little longer to bake, cover the pan with tinfoil and bake 5 to 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven and let cool for 20 minutes.

While the cinnamon rolls are cooling, make the cream cheese frosting. Using an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese, melted butter, milk, and vanilla. Once blended add the powdered sugar and blend until smooth. 

Once cooled, remove the cinnamon rolls from the pan and frost the tops of each roll with the cream cheese frosting. 

Enjoy!

Print a copy of the recipe here!

Readers, for a chance to win a copy of Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop, tell me in the comments below what your favorite treat is that you buy when you visit a bakery. Don’t forget to include your email.

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: @authordarcihannah

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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 . . .

Trade Paperback Release!

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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!

Coming this July!

Book #7 in the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series

Preorder today!

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.

Skillet Lasagna -- a one-pan dinner from Leslie Budewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  Who doesn’t love lasagna? I admit, though, to not loving all the steps, putting together this and that, and layering it all together. No-boil noodles have made the dish a lot easier – no more cooking the pasta, then handling the hot, cooked noodles. This skillet version solves all those problems, with only one dish to clean! 

I found the inspiration recipe in Country Living – I’ve had a subscription for decades. We did make a few changes, mostly to clarify the ingredients. The lack of mention of no-boil noodles, or of boiling them in advance, made me wonder if the boil-first version had disappeared from grocery shelves. Turns out they are still available, but I guessed right and chose the no-boil version. The noodles aren’t as easy to break as I expected; put them in a plastic bag so pieces don’t fly around your kitchen when you snap them! The original also called for sausage in casings, then removing the casings; just buy bulk sausage! And chicken stock? Some cooks and recipes treat it as a neutral flavor, but I don’t see the point in using it with sausage; vegetable stock worked beautifully. 

You’ll notice that the recipe doesn’t call for salt and pepper, or the traditional Italian herbs. You’ll get some of that in your sausage, and possibly in your marinara. My advice: taste and add herbs or seasoning if your tongue tells you to!

I was worried about moving a hot, heavy cast-iron pan into a hot oven, but a 12" skillet has high sides, and won’t be so full that spills become a risk. I tucked a rimmed baking sheet on a lower rack, just in case, but there was no spillage. 

Serve with a green salad, crusty bread, and a glass of red wine. Buon appetivo! 

PS: I finally figured out how to embed a PDF of the recipe for easy printing. 

Scroll down to the 💕 for the link. 

Skillet Lasagna 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound sweet Italian sausage 

2 cloves garlic, minced 

2 cups vegetable stock

2 cups marinara sauce

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes 

8 ounces no-boil lasagna noodles, broken into large pieces (see note above) 

Italian herbs, kosher salt, freshly ground pepper (optional) 

2/3 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish

1/3 cup ricotta

4 ounces mozzarella, grated (about 1 cup)

2 tablespoon grated Parmesan

Place an oven rack in the top position and heat oven to 450 degrees. 

Using a 12-inch cast-iron skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add sausage and cook, breaking it up with your spatula, until the pieces begin to brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add stock, marinara, and tomatoes. 

Tuck the lasagna noodles into the mixture. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer about 4 minutes. Remove the cover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Taste and add herbs or salt and pepper, if needed. 

Turn off the heat and stir in the basil. Top with the ricotta, spreading it lightly with the back of your spoon, then sprinkle on the mozzarella and Parmesan. Place the skillet in the oven and bake until golden brown, again about 6 to 8 minutes. 

Remove from oven and allow to sit on the stove top a few minutes. 

Serve with a large spoon or spatula and top, if you’d like, with additional fresh basil. 

Serves 6-8. Refrigerate leftovers covered; they reheat nicely. 

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF! 

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.

Queso Blanco Easter Egg Appetizer #Easter #recipe from Kim Davis

 

KIM DAVIS: Easter is a time for families to gather today, and having young children around makes the day even more special. When my granddaughters were young, I acquired quite the collection of cookie cutters, including mini ones to use on fondant to decorate both cookies and cakes, and we had a lot of decorating sessions, over the years. I started them young starting with basic sprinkles, then graduating to fondant decorations!

My youngest granddaughter (18 months) always had to have a cookie in one hand to nibble on while working, lol!

Here she is (12 years), decorating Easter cookies with fondant. She often invited friends to join our cookie decorating projects too!

Of course cookies are their favorite base for decorating but I thought it would be fun to take the same principles for decorating cookies with fondant (or just playing around with PlayDoh) and do the same thing with a cheese appetizer for Easter. It would work for any holiday or occasion as well. Starting with melted Velveeta Queso Blanco, silicone molds, and some food coloring, this fun-to-make appetizer couldn't be simpler! 

Queso Blanco Easter Egg Appetizer

 

This is a fun Easter “cooking” project perfect for letting young children take part in! It’s as easy as playing with Play-Doh!

 
Ingredients

1 16- to 32-ounce package Velveeta Queso Blanco, depending on the size of your Easter egg mold(s) and how many you’d like to make*
Pink, green, purple, blue, yellow, and orange gel food coloring, or whatever colors you desire

 
Equipment

Easter egg mold(s)** 
Parchment paper
Rolling pin
Food-safe paintbrushes (fine tip and medium tip)
Fondant and/or small cookie cutters (or you can free-form decorations)

 
Instructions

Cut 8 to 12 ounces (or the amount needed for the size of your mold(s)*) of the Velveeta queso blanco into small chunks. Place in a microwave-safe dish and melt in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir and repeat in 30-second increments until the cheese is fully melted.

Carefully pour the melted cheese into the egg mold(s) and immediately tap the mold on the counter several times to release air bubbles. Place the filled egg mold(s) in the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours.

While the cheese eggs are chilling, place 1 ounce of queso blanco per color you plan on using for decorations in small microwave-safe bowls. Working with one bowl at a time, heat for 15 seconds, then stir. If not entirely melted, heat for an additional 5 seconds.

Add 1 drop of the desired gel food coloring to the melted cheese and stir. Add additional food coloring until the desired color is reached.

I totally forgot to take a photo of this step - sorry!

Place the tinted cheese onto parchment paper. Top with another piece of parchment paper and roll over the melted cheese until it becomes a thin layer, about 1/8-inch thick. Repeat with the remaining colors and cheese.

Keeping the cheese layered between the parchment paper, stack on a baking sheet and refrigerate until 20 minutes before ready to decorate, then freeze the tinted cheese for 20 minutes. The cheese should firm up but remain flexible.

Remove the egg mold(s) from the refrigerator. Turn the cheese egg(s) out onto a serving platter and refrigerate until ready to decorate. If the cheese egg doesn’t release easily from the mold, dip the back of the mold in hot water for several seconds, then try again.**

Working with one color at a time, remove the tinted cheese from the freezer and, using small Easter-themed cookie and fondant cutters, cut out decorations. If you prefer, you may also make free-form decorations, working with the tinted, pliable cheese, such as you’d do with Play-Doh. Press the cut-outs onto the cheese eggs. If the cheese softens and becomes difficult to work with, return it to the freezer for a few minutes before proceeding. Repeat with the remaining colors.

If desired, you can use a food-safe fine-tip paintbrush with gel food coloring to add accents to the egg(s) and cut-out decorations.

Refrigerate until ready to serve alongside your favorite crackers.

Notes

*To determine how much cheese you will need, fill the egg mold(s) with water, then pour the water into a measuring cup. For example, I made three cheese eggs which required 13 ounces of melted cheese, plus an extra 6 ounces for the tinted cheese for decorations.

**Egg molds: Silicone molds are preferable for easy release of the formed cheese. If you use a metal mold, liberally grease the cavity with vegetable shortening before filling. After removing the mold from the refrigerator, use a flexible utensil to loosen the sides of the cheese egg(s) before inverting onto a serving platter.

If your silicone mold(s) are flimsy, place a sturdy tray beneath the mold(s) before filling with melted cheese.

Keep chilled until just before serving and refrigerate any leftovers covered with plastic wrap for up to 5 days.

This technique also works well for any holiday molds and celebrations!

 

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF of the recipe!💕

Books available at most online retailers

 

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kobo * Apple

 

Cupcake Catering Mysteries * Essentials of Murder

 

About the Author:

Kim Davis writes the Aromatherapy Apothecary cozy mystery series, and the award-winning Cupcake Catering cozy mystery series. She has also written several children’s nature articles published in a variety of magazines. Kim Davis is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

She lives in Southern California with her husband and rambunctious mini Goldendoodle, Missy, who has become an inspiration for several plotlines. When she’s not spending time with her granddaughters or chasing Missy around, she can be found either writing on her next book, working on blogs, or in the kitchen baking up yummy treats to share.

Click here to sign up here for Kim’s newsletter: Newsletter

Connect with Kim: Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Bluesky, Bookbub, Goodreads, TikTok, and website

 

Readers, do you have a particular Easter dish that you make for the holiday?