Welcome guest Laura Bradford + book & mitt #giveaway!

Laura is the national bestselling author of several mystery series, including the Emergency Dessert Squad Mysteries, the Amish Mysteries, the Jenkins & Burns Mysteries, and the brand new Tobi Tobias Mysteries. She also pens the Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries (under the pen name, Elizabeth Lynn Casey). She is a former Agatha Award nominee, and the recipient of an RT Reviewer’s Choice Award in romance. When she’s not writing, Laura enjoys making memories with her family, baking, and being an advocate for those living with Multiple Sclerosis.

Laura is offering a giveaway below!  Don't miss it!

Take it away, Laura!

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One of the best parts of writing The Emergency Dessert Squad Mysteries, is the opportunity it affords for research—specifically baking research. And let me tell you, after a day spent coming up with names for the emergency-themed desserts mentioned in each book, I can’t keep myself away from my measuring spoons and mixing bowls.

Of course all this “research” may be why the numbers on the scale keep creeping up, but hey, anything for my readers…

In honor of Tuesday’s release of The Silence of the Flans (book # 2 in the series), I solicited my daughter’s help to make a batch of the Black-And-Blue Cookies my protagonist, Winnie Johnson, might deliver to someone who has suffered a fall or been banged up in an accident of some kind.

And let me just say, after seeing everyone’s reaction to their first bite of this cookie, Winnie has quite a hit on her hands.

Black-And-Blue Cookies

Cookie ingredients:

1 ¼ cups flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup buttermilk

½ teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup unsalted butter (softened)

½ cup sugar

1 egg

To Make the Cookie:

Cookies:

       1)     Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt in bowl.

       2)    In second, smaller bowl, mix vanilla and buttermilk.

       3)    In still another bowl, beat butter and sugar together until combined well. Add egg and beat until blended.

       4)    Slowly beat in flour and buttermilk mixtures a little at a time, alternating between each one until all has been added. Mix until smooth.

       5)    In ¼ cup serving sizes, spoon batter onto baking sheet lines with parchment paper.

       6)    Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 15 minutes (tops will be golden and springy).

       7)    Allow cookies to cool completely before frosting.

Blue frosting ingredients/directions:

3 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar

3 Tablespoons light corn syrup

3 Tablespoons hot water

¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

A drop (or to desired color) of blue food coloring

       1)    In bowl, whisk confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup, and hot water together.

       2)    Add in vanilla and mix.

       3)    Add blue food coloring. 

       4)    Spread blue icing over one-half of each cookie.

       5)    Set aside.

Chocolate frosting ingredients/directions:

2 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar

3 Tablespoons light corn syrup

¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup hot water

¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted.

    

       1)    In bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and hot water. Stir until smooth.

       2)    Melt chocolate (in microwave or in double boiler—watch carefully to avoid burning)

       3)    Add melted chocolate to mixture and stir well.

       4)    Spread on remaining half of each cookie.

       5)    Let icing set (at least 30 minutes)

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The Silence of the Flans is the second delectable Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery from the national bestselling author of Éclair and Present Danger.

Baker Winnie Johnson does her best work when the heat is on. As owner of the Emergency Dessert Squad, she has a deft touch in the kitchen and a soft spot for lost causes. So when her business professor beau, Jay Morgan, expresses misgivings over having to fail one of his fourth-year students, Winnie cooks up a sweet solution.

She’ll offer an extra credit opportunity in exchange for a little help with her growing business. But when her protégé’s first dessert delivery poisons a student journalist, the publicity threatens to burn Winnie’s business to a crisp. Now the entrepreneur-turned-detective must uncover the ingredients behind a recipe for murder before she crumbles under pressure...

Giveaway

I am giving away a copy of The Silence of the Flans plus a fun Emergency Dessert Squad hot pad to one lucky commenter. Tell me if you have a soft spot for lost causes or...do you have a cute "emergency-themed" name for a treat?  Remember to leave your email so I can contact you if you win!

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To learn more about Laura, visit her website: www.laurabradford.com, or hang out with her on Facebook.  She can also be found occasionally tweeting at: @Bradfordauthor.