Happy Halloween! from @DarylWoodGerber + book #giveaway

From Daryl:

Happy Halloween! NOT TOO SPOOKY GIVEAWAY BELOW!

Are you dressing up? Are you handing out candy? Are you one of those who hands out pennies or pencils?

I live on a hill so I don't get to see the kiddies out and about, but I do pay attention throughout the month because it seems people are dressing up in costumes during October. Or have styles changed that much? I mean, masks. I see lots of masks. And ghoulish clothes. And T-shirts with ghoulish logos. On the bright side, yesterday, I saw a little girl in a Minnie Mouse tee shirt and a red tutu. Adorable!

Just for fun, as I'm gearing up for the release of the 7th Cookbook Nook Mystery, WREATH BETWEEN THE LINES, I'm offering a giveaway today of a copy of the 3rd in the series -- Halloween themed with NO scary ghouls -- STIRRING THE PLOT. See below for more...

In a few secs, I'll share links to some of my previous Halloween recipes, but as we're on the cusp of November, I thought I'd share a bit of autumn deliciousness that you can enjoy for the next month or two. It's pear season.

Gluten-free German Pear Pancake
(serves 2)

2 eggs
1/4 cup GF flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (gluten-free)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup white sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 large pear, peeled, cored and sliced

* This will NOT puff up like a regular German Pancake. Sigh! If you use regular flour, it will. Your choice. It’s a simple flour swap one-for-one. Also, you won’t need to make sure the vanilla extract is gluten-free.

In a large bowl, blend eggs, gluten-free flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Gradually mix in milk, stirring constantly. Add vanilla, melted butter and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Let batter stand for 30 minutes or overnight.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in an 8-inch oven-proof skillet, brushing butter up on the sides of the pan. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Sprinkle half of the mixture over the butter. Line the pan with pear slices. Sprinkle remaining sugar mixture over apples. Place pan over medium-high heat until the mixture bubbles, then gently pour the batter mixture over the pears. (Just between you and me, if you stopped short of pouring in the batter, you could use those pears over ice cream as a dessert!)

Bake pancake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F and bake for 5-10 minutes. Slide pancake onto serving platter and cut into wedges.

If you have any leftovers, you can serve slices of this pancake at room temperature as a dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

**If you double the recipe, then make this in a 10-inch skillet, and bake for 12-15 minutes and after reducing heat, bake for 8-12 minutes more.

Serve with syrup if desired.

As promised, here are a few of my previous Halloween posts for goodies, if you're interested in a last minute surprise for your family or friends.

Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake



Halloween Caramel Apple Slices



Wickedly Decadent Chocolate Dump Cake

Giveaway

One commenter will win a copy of STIRRING THE PLOT. 

Tell me what is your all-time favorite costume? 

Leave your email so I can contact you if you win. 

Next book: Wreath between the Lines, Nov. 8  BUY LINK

*E-book available for preorder.

* Paperback isn't available until the day of release, November 8th. You will not SEE it online until that date, but it WILL BE AVAILABLE! PROMISE.

SAVOR THE MYSTERY!

 

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A SOUFFLÉ OF SUSPICION, the 2nd French Bistro Mystery.

Can Mimi prove her chef innocent before the chef gets dusted?

Click here to order.

A DEADLY ÉCLAIR, the 1st French Bistro Mysteries, in all formats.

Can Mimi clear her name before the killer turns up the heat?

Click here to order.

WREATH BETWEEN THE LINES, the 7th Cookbook Nook Mystery.

Jenna Hart is busy decking the halls and ducking a killer

Click here to order.

PRESSING THE ISSUE, the 6th Cookbook Nook Mystery.
The annual Renaissance Fair serves up a helping of crafty courtiers,
damsels in distress, and medieval murder . . .
Click here to order. 

FOR CHEDDAR OR WORSE, the 7th Cheese Shop Mystery.

Finally there's going to be a cheese festival in Providence!

Click to order.

GIRL ON THE RUN, a stand-alone suspense.
When a fairytale fantasy night becomes a nightmare, Chessa Paxton must run for her life...but will the truth set her free?

Click to order

DAY OF SECRETS, a stand-alone suspense

A mother he thought was dead. A father he never knew. An enemy that wants them dead.

Click here to order

 

Plum Torte

LESLIE: I subscribe to the free version of the New York Times newsletter on cooking. Early this fall, there was a reference to Marian Burros’s famous plum torte, but no recipe. Well, I’ve heard of Marian Burros, but the one cookbook I had by her disappeared ages ago, and I didn’t know this famous torte! Then a few weeks ago, columnist Sam Sifton said that they ran the recipe every September for years, then stopped. They got so many complaints that they decided they would run the link every fall. Naturally, I followed up, and am glad I did.

Since we typically cook together, Mr. Right and I debrief after we try a new recipe. His comment was that he thought there was just about no way to mess this up. Of course, he doesn’t bake, but he watched me put this together, and he’s right.

The original recipe didn’t remind readers to grease and flour the pan; do it. It was also a bit vague on the amounts of the sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon for topping, and the baking time. I’ve given you the specifics I used. You won’t think you’ll have enough batter, but you will. (I used a 9 inch pan.) Adjust the amount of sugar in the cake and topping based on how sweet or tart your plums are. The instructions were a bit scant in other ways as well, so I’ve rewritten them.

As I mentioned last time, when I gave you a pair of pear recipes, a patient of his gave us a bag of pears and plums, the small, homegrown plums sometimes called Italian or prune plums. The recipe didn’t specify, but from the picture of the finished torte, I thought that’s what had been used. It was—they work perfectly. I was concerned about placing them too close to the edge of the pan. Turns out I needn’t have been—the batter rises at the edges and pushes them toward the center a bit.

If you like sweetened whipped cream or mascarpone, a dollop would be lovely with a warm slice of tart—and it reheats beautifully in the microwave. Vanilla ice cream was a hit at our house, but honestly, it’s perfect just as it is.

The NY Times recipe says the torte freezes well, double-wrapped and bagged. We didn’t test that theory. Because, well, while we enjoyed it for dessert, we LOVED it for breakfast!

PS -- If you're looking for easy, fun themed recipes for Halloween, here's my Mummy Pizza Puffs made with frozen puff pastry, and my Veggie Skeleton with Brain Dip! Have a spooktacular day!

Plum Torte

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
12-15 purple plums, pitted and halved
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon cinnamon 

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8 or 9 inch springform pan.
In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter and sugar, about 3 minutes. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and eggs, and beat well.

Spoon the batter into the pan, using a knife or spatula to spread the batter evenly to the edges of the pan. Arrange the plum halves on top of the batter, some skin up and some skin down. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and lemon juice, depending on the sweetness of the fruit, and cinnamon.

Bake 50-55 minutes, until edges appear golden and a tester stuck in the cake portion comes out clean. Place on a rack and allow to cool a few minutes before releasing the spring. Serve warm or completely cool, plain or with whipped cream, mascarpone, or ice cream.

Serves 8.

"Budewitz's finely drawn characters, sharp ear for dialogue, and well-paced puzzle make Jewel Bay a destination for every cozy fan." --- Kirkus Reviews

From the cover of AS THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE CRUMBLES, Food Lovers' Village Mystery #5 (Midnight Ink,  available in trade paper, e-book, and audio):  

In Jewel Bay---Montana's Christmas Village---all is merry and bright. At Murphy’s Mercantile, AKA the Merc, manager Erin Murphy is ringing in the holiday season with food, drink, and a new friend: Merrily Thornton. A local girl gone wrong, Merrily’s turned her life around. But her parents have publicly shunned her, and they nurse a bitterness that chills Erin.

When Merrily goes missing and her boss discovers he’s been robbed, fingers point to Merrily—until she’s found dead, a string of lights around her neck. The clues and danger snowball from there. Can Erin nab the killer—and keep herself in one piece—in time for a special Christmas Eve?

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries—and the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction. A past president of Sisters in Crime, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by my website and join the mailing list for my seasonal newsletter. And join me on Facebook where I announce lots of giveaways from my cozy writer friends.

RELEASE DAY NEWS: Nipped in the Bud by Sheila Connolly

Congratulations to our own... 

SHEILA CONNOLLY

on today's release of her brand new
"Orchard Mystery"

NIPPED IN THE BUD 

The New York Times bestselling author of A Late Frost returns with orchard owner Meg Chapin trying to stem the tide of crime...

Winter still has a firm stranglehold on the small town of Granford, and newly married orchard owner Meg Chapin is restless to begin her spring pruning and planting, while Seth busies himself with a new project of his own. But their relative peace is shattered when a gunshot breaks the winter silence and they discover the body of a dead woman on their land. What's just as troubling is that the state police have hushed up the murder and are warning Meg not to investigate.

Never one to sit by idly with a killer on the loose, Meg starts digging for clues and probing for answers as discreetly as she can. When the victim turns out to have been an undercover reporter doing a story on the blossoming trade in illegal drugs in the area, Meg's stunned to learn that this very modern crime has come to sleepy Granford. Unwilling to accept that the nasty business has put down roots so close to home—and led to a murder that occurred literally in her own backyard—Meg is determined to nip it in the bud before the town she knows and loves turns rotten...

To learn more or buy,

CLICK HERE

📖

Click to see more of our
upcoming releases.

👓

Batty Pumpkin Cupcakes

Halloween is such fun! But I know there isn't always time to dress up a special treat. If you like this idea, you can save time by buying frosted cupcakes, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Minis, and cookies. All you would have to do is assemble them, which is a snap!

If I were doing this over, I would probably use chocolate cookies, but I happened to have gingersnaps. Obviously, sometimes it's easiest to use what you have on hand. And some bats are brown!

So save time wherever you need to and have fun. They don't have to be perfect. Maybe your trick-or-treater would like to make the bats!


Pumpkin Cupcakes
makes 12 regular size cupcakes

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon pink sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of cloves
1/2 cup vegetable oil (light olive oil is okay)
1 cup mashed pumpkin
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Place cupcake liners in wells of cupcake pan.

Crack the eggs into the bowl of a mixer. Add sugar and dark brown sugar. Beat on slow for several minutes, until thick. In the meantime, place the flour, baking powder, baking salt, sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a bowl and stir well with a fork to combine.

While the mixer is running, slowly add the oil. When it is incorporated, slowly mix in the flour mixture. Add the pumpkin and vanilla and mix well. Divide between the cupcake liners, filling each one 3/4 full.

Bake 20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Test two cupcakes to be sure they are done. The cupcake papers should be pulling away from pan.

Caramel Frosting

1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter (room temperature)
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar

Place first four ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl. (I used a Pyrex 2-cup measure.) Microwave in short bursts from 20-50 seconds, stirring each time until it bubbles up and is hot. Set aside to cool. Must be completely cool to make the frosting. (After it cooled substantially, I placed it in the fridge for 1/2 hour while the butter came to room temperature.)

Beat the butter well, scraping the sides and beating again. Add the cream and the cool caramel mixture and beat. Add the vanilla and beat. Slowly add the powdered sugar until it reaches the desired consistency.

Bats

12 cookies
12 Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Minis

Assembly

Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes, keeping it relatively flat. Place a Reese's mini toward the center. Cut a cookie in half. Place each cookie half flat edge down as a wing. Dip a toothpick into the frosting and dab onto the "head" as eyes.

Beat the eggs with the sugars for several minutes.

Mix the spices well!

The batter is thick.

Happy Howloween!

The Perfect Autumn Dessert and a #Giveaway

We at MLK are delighted to welcome a return visit from Vicki Delany, who brings us a delightful apple recipe.

In A Scandal in Scarlet, the fourth Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery, Jayne Wilson, head baker at Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room, puts on a cream tea to help raise money to restore Scarlet House, the West London Museum, after the old house is devastated in a fire.

Jayne loves cooking and baking and doing her bit to help out. Her business partner, Gemma Doyle, owner of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop next door at 222 Baker Street, not so much. It’s not that Gemma doesn’t support local causes and give generously to charity. She’d just rather not have to do it from inside a kitchen. Any kitchen. 
But the game is afoot and the silent auction cream tea is underway.

They don’t serve anything like this apple crisp at Mrs. Hudson’s, as Jayne is very much a proponent of traditional afternoon tea.  But for the home cook, it’s almost the perfect fall dessert. Quick and easy and very tasty.


Vicki Delany’s Apple Crisp

8 apples – locally picked are always better
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, cut into small cubes (about 1/4 - 1/2 inch)
1 tsp cinnamon – plus more for top

Peel, core, and thinly slice apples. Place apples in buttered baking dish.

Combine flour, sugar, butter, and cinnamon. Pour flour mixture over the applies. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon for some colour.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until topping is golden. Serve with vanilla ice cream. 

A Scandal in Scarlet is the fourth in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series by National Bestselling author Vicki Delany.  Available November 13 from Crooked Lane Books. 

Here's a sample from A Scandal in Scarlet:

“I hope you understand,” Jayne said, “that I can’t manage a full afternoon tea in July for the numbers you expect. It’s the height of the season.” She waved her hand to indicate the tea room. “We open at seven in the summer and by four o’clock my staff and I want to drop where we’re standing.”
Jocelyn brought us a selection of tea sandwiches and pastries. One of the benefits of being part owner of a tea room is that I get to indulge in the leftovers.

“The cream tea your mother and I discussed will be fine,” Kathy said. 

Jayne nodded. “We can prepare scones ahead of time, right, Gemma?”

I dared, perhaps foolishly, to hope that ‘we’ didn’t include ‘me’. “Right,” I said. 

“With only two choices of tea,” Jayne said. “English breakfast plus a decaffeinated option, things won’t get too complicated.”

“That way attendees can concentrate on what’s important,” Leslie Wilson said. “Bidding at auction.” 

“Are you getting some good things?” Jayne asked.

“Oh, yes,” Leslie said. “Everyone has been so generous.”

“Almost everyone,” Kathy muttered.

Jayne and I exchanged glances. 

“People have donated what they can afford, and that’s all I expect,” Kathy said. “Only one person flatly said no to my face.”

“Maureen won’t help at all?” I asked. 

Kathy gave me that look. The one people get when they think I’ve read their mind. I don’t read minds. I simply observe.

And yesterday I had observed Kathy coming out of Beach Fine Arts, located across the street from me at 221 Baker Street. It had been a gorgeous Cape Cod summer day, but a personal thundercloud might have hung over Kathy’s head as she marched out of the store and down the street. 

Maureen Macgregor, proprietor, followed her out and stood in the doorway watching Kathy tapping her foot angrily as she waited for the light at the intersection to change. Nothing out of the normal had been visible on Maureen’s face. Her expression of sneering disapproval was so fixed, it was likely Maureen slept with it. Community spirit was not her strongest point. She didn’t bother to decorate the street in front of her shop with flowers or potted plants, but instead she dragged them over from the adjoining properties under cover of darkness. 

“She had the nerve to tell me she doesn’t see why she should be out the price of one of her goods because the museum was foolish enough to try to burn itself down.” Fire blazed in Kathy’s eyes at the memory. “As if she and her store aren’t a part of this community.” 

I selected a cucumber and cream cheese sandwich, my favorite. 

“Speak of the devil,” Jayne said. “Incoming.”

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than thirty books:  clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. She is currently writing three cozy mystery series: the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series for Crooked Lane, the Year Round Christmas mysteries for Penguin Random House and, as Eva Gates, the Lighthouse Library series, for Crooked Lane Books.  

Vicki lives and writes in bucolic Prince Edward County, Ontario. She is a past president of the Crime Writers of Canada.  Her work has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards. 

Visit Vicki at www.vickidelany.com. On Facebook at www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor. Twitter @vickidelany 

Vicki is offering a copy of A Scandal in Scarlet to one lucky reader. Simply leave a comment below to enter.