Sunday, September 8, 2019

Welcome Maya Corrigan & #Giveaway


Thank you, Peg, for hosting me on Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen, the place I visit for great recipes and news about the latest mysteries. Today I’m sharing a recipe from my new release, Crypt Suzette, the sixth Five-Ingredient Mystery. 

My main character, Val Deniston, is catering a Halloween party and costume contest at Bayport’s new bookshop. The contestants include the Fictionistas, a creative writing group started by the secretive Suzette, who rents a room in the house Val shares with her grandfather. When Suzette is found dead of an apparent accident, Val and Granddad suspect foul play. So do Suzette’s fellow Fictionistas, who accuse each other of murder. Did one of them kill her or was her death rooted in her past, which she’d tried hard to keep hidden? As Val tries to answer that question, she risks becoming the next “accident” victim.

For the bookshop’s party, Val makes spooky-sounding treats—Mummy’s Apple Pies (hand pies with pastry strips making them look like wrapped mummies) and Crypt Suzettes (crệpes Suzette which, at the bookshop owner’s request, will not feature setting the sauce aflame). This dish involves making thin pancakes and dipping them in orange butter sauce. Traditionally, the crệpes are folded in half and then again in half to make triangles. But Val rolls the crệpes and serves them in elongated paper containers to make them look like shrouded bodies in a coffin. Perfect for Halloween.

Crêpes Suzette

Recipe for the Crệpes

2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oil for the pan plus additional oil as needed



Whisk the eggs, milk, and salt until well mixed. Slowly whisk in the flour. 








Note: You can cook the crêpes immediately, but refrigerating the batter for 20 minutes will smooth out any lumps or bubbles. Letting the batter rest makes it less likely the crêpe will tear in the pan. The batter can keep for a day or two.

Heat a 10-inch skillet or crêpe pan at a medium setting. To keep crêpes from sticking, do not put the oil or batter in until a few drops of water sizzle in the pan and disappear in 2 seconds

Add enough oil to cover the bottom of the heated pan. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and tilt it so the batter spreads into a thin circle coating the bottom. Cook at medium heat until the edges turn light brown and the center of the crêpe has hardened past a liquid stage. Gently loosen the crêpe with a spatula and flip it. Cook for another minute and transfer it to a large plate or platter where the crêpe can lie flat.



Repeat the preceding step until the batter is gone, stacking the cooked crêpes on the plate. Add a small amount of additional oil after every other crêpe to prevent the batter from sticking.

Yield: 10–12 eight-inch crêpes


Recipe for Orange Butter Sauce

10–12 crêpes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 orange for1 tablespoon grated orange zest and 1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup Grand Marnier, Cointreau, or other orange liqueur [Optional; if skipping, add more orange juice]



Zest the orange. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat until it foams. Stir in the sugar, orange juice, zest, and liqueur. Simmer on low heat until the sauce thickens a little. Remove the skillet from the heat. 






With tongs, add a crêpe to the pan, coat both sides in the syrup, and serve, either folded into quarters or rolled. Put it on a warm plate. 




Repeat the previous step for each crêpe.

Serve crêpes garnished with orange slices or with ice cream for dessert.

Yield: Sauce for 10–12 eight-inch crêpes


What is your favorite Halloween sweet? Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Crypt Suzette. A U.S. winner will receive a signed Advanced Reader’s Edition paperback. An international winner will receive an e-book. To enter, comment below about your favorite Halloween treat and include your email address for notification if you win. Good luck!

Maya (Mary Ann) Corrigan lives in Virginia, an easy drive from Maryland’s Eastern Shore, the setting for her Five-Ingredient Mysteries: By Cook or by Crook, Scam Chowder, Final Fondue, The Tell-Tale Tarte, and Crypt Suzette. The series features café manager Val Deniston, who solves murders with her live-wire grandfather in a historic Chesapeake Bay town. Each book has five suspects, five clues, and Granddad's five-ingredient recipes. Visit Maya’s website, mayacorrigan.com, for trivia and quizzes about classic mysteries. She loves hearing from readers.


Visit Maya at her website or on Facebook
Sign up for her newsletter here. 

83 comments:

  1. Thank you for hosting me, Peg. My favorite treat around Halloween is any dish baked with apples--apple crisp, apple pie, apple strudel. Of course, I can have any of those desserts all year long, but there's something special about eating them around apple harvest time.

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  2. Caramel apples! Candied ones too. Apples are a big part of fall for me.
    browninggloria(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  3. I love peanut butter cups at Halloween or any time of year! Thanks for the chance! JL_Minter(at)hotmail(dot)com

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jaime, Thanks for your comment. My favorite any time of year treat is a Peppermint Patty.

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  4. Thank you for sharing the recipe! I love anything with caramel, so Rolos are always a good choice.

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    Replies
    1. I'm a caramel fan too. Thanks for commenting, Renee!

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  5. These look Wonderful! Thanks for sharing!

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  6. Pretty much anything chocolate. Thanks for the recipe and the contest. ckmbeg (at) gmail (dot) com

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    Replies
    1. I agree, Riley, that it's hard to beat chocolate. Thank you for commenting.

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  7. My favorite is a Snickers bar, the original. lindalou64@live.com

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment, Linda. I was always a Snickers fan too.

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  8. Don't enter me, but my favorite Halloween treat is candy corn

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for commenting, Dru. There's no way to have Halloween without candy corn.

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  9. Hi Maya, your book sounds fantastic, I love a great mystery. Your book cover is very spooktacular!
    My favorite homemade Halloween treat,would be pumpkin cookies, I make ones that have dried cranberries or cherries, pecans and white chocolate chips. Store bought Halloween treat would be Mr.Goodbar,Chunky &
    sour patch kids. We're did you buy your whisk? I'm looking to buy some new ones.
    BakingCookies32(at)Gmail(dot)com

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    Replies
    1. Hi Mindy, Thank you for commenting. The pumpkin cookies sound terrific. As for the whisk,I've had it for so long that I don't remember where I bought it.

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  10. i love to make my grandmothers recipe for soft pumpkin cookies with frosting and candy corn faces

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  11. My favorite Halloween/autumn treats are a tie between pumpkin bars and candy corn. Although, I now have to find a recipe for gluten free pumpkin bars since I was diagnosed with non-celiac gluten sensitivity last year.
    a4h(dot)cloverbud(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Thank you for commenting, and good luck in the raffle!

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  12. My favorite childhood bought treat was Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses. I think I loved them so because back then you couldn't get them other than at Halloween and we so looked forward to them. My favorite homemade treat was and has always been popcorn balls - the homemade kind. Mom use to make not only the standard caramel ones but also molasses ones - that unfortunately I never learned how to make. I still have so many recipes to go through of Mom's that I'm hoping to some day find it.

    Love crepes! I'm going to have to try this recipe for sure. The first time I ate them was when I was a child spending the night at a friends. They had them for breakfast spreading peanut butter on them and dusting with powdered sugar. Mom never made crepes, but we did learn from my experience with them to eat peanut butter on pancakes.

    Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to win a copy of "Crypt Suzette"!
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kay, Thanks for your comment. Going through my mom's recipes always brings back memories. Good luck in the raffle.

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  13. I like Reese's Pieces. I'm not much of a chocolate eater so these work for me. lkish77123 at gmail dot com

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    Replies
    1. Hi Linda, Thank you for commenting. I'm your opposite--a chocolate eater and not a peanut butter eater.

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  14. Carmel apples! I know fall and Halloween are fast approaching! I would love to win a copy so thank you for the chance! craig-kelley70@att(dot)com

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    1. Hi Kelley, Thank you for commenting, and good luck in the raffle.

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  15. My favorite Halloween treat Reese's peanut butter cups.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

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  16. My favorite Halloween Treat is Reese peanut butter pumpklns. sclickner at juno dot com

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  17. Reese Cups or Twix bars. Yum.
    Wendy
    clarksrfun@gmail.com

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    Replies
    1. Three Reese's peanut butters in a row! Thanks for commenting, Dianne, Clickner, and MamaHen.

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  18. Apple crisp or apple pue -yum!!
    jwhaley4@aol.com

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    Replies
    1. Hi Sharon, Thanks for commenting. We have similar tastes in treats.

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  19. Almost anything with dark chocolate
    libbydodd at comcast dot net

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    Replies
    1. Hi Libby, You and I are on the same chocolate page. I can pass up milk chocolate, but not dark chocolate.

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  20. I love molasses cookies rmmoss2 (at) gmail (dot)com

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    Replies
    1. Hi Rose, Thank you for commenting, and good luck in the raffle!

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  21. My favorite treat is Rice Krispy Treats homemade. My Mom used to make them for me. I made them for my kids and now my grandkids. Email: usersns8800@aol.com

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    1. Hi Donna, Thanks for commenting. Mom's treats are always the best!

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  22. I always make Pumpkin Bread! Looove the smell!

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    1. Hi Mary Alice, Thank you for commenting, and good luck in the raffle.

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  23. I always hoped for a Tom’s Peanut Butter Log in my trickortreat bag!
    patdupuy@yahoo.com

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  24. Hi Maya, my favorite Halloween treat is taffy apples. I love crepes but have never made them. The book looks like a perfect Halloween read. Thanks for the chance. gayleboyce@gmail.com

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  25. I love sweet popcorn balls for Halloween! The crepes are delish! Your book is on my TBR list. Thanks and have a great rest of the weekend! nani_geplcs(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  26. I love Reese’s cups. Thanks,

    legallyblonde1961@yahoo.com

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  27. I love candy and treats, but as a new diabetic can I please just pass on thinking about these things?!
    Janice
    pjrcmoore@windstream.net

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  28. I love candy corn! Thanks for the chance to win!
    faithdcreech at gmail dot com

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  29. I love pumpkin scones in the fall, and my grandson loves pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. For Halloween treats, I go with what is cheapest, I'm afraid because we get over 200 trick or treaters. But I always buy a couple bags of Hershey miniatures or Snickers and save them till the end in case I have some leftover candy.
    Bleakney750@yahoo.com

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  30. I’m a Milky Way fan. Cheers. At. Marjimmanor. Dot. Dom

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  31. DONUTS! Homemade donuts with coffee or apple cider is the absolute best. My e-mail is noahcpatterson (at) gmail (dot) com.

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  32. No Reese Cup is safe within my children's Halloween buckets!

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  33. I don’t really have a Halloween treat ( other than candy hehe) but love seeing the scarecrows, jack-o- lanterns and fall leaves wonderful! The scent of a heater kicking on for the first time ahhhh! Love this time of year. I would love to have an opportunity to get your book ( rosacline90@gmail.com)

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  34. No favorite halloween treat...just anything apple cider flavored!! lynettetrotta@gmail.com

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  35. Hi Maya! I love your recipes! My favorite Halloween treat is anything with chocolate!!
    njcar22(at)aol(dot)com

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  36. Caramel apples are the very best! But all that candy isn’t too bad either!!!!

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  37. My favorite treat are Reese’s peanut butter cups! Your book sounds interesting.
    cecilialyoung at gmail dot com

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  38. My favorite Halloween treats are candy corn, caramel apples and spider web cotton candy. I made your recipes for the crepes but didn’t have the ingredients for the sauce. I decided to experiment with my favorite fall flavors and topped mine with cooked Apples &. Caramel Sauce. It was my first time making crepes that turned out and your tips really helped. Thank you. I have your book on my TBR. Thank you for the opportunity to win a copy.
    cristinaalaska(@)gmail(.)com

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  39. Caramel apples with nuts galore!thank you for a chance to win a copy of your new book! Dianeherr at cox dot net

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  40. Caramel apples and popcorn balls

    jtcgc at yahoo dot com

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  41. The crepes sound delicious. I do want to read the book. My favorite treat is Apple crisp it's so delicious. Thank you for the chance

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  42. Those pumpkins you find along side the candy corn!

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  43. Everything sounds so yummy! My mom had a recipe for apple cake that I’m going to have to make again soon! Thanks for this opportunity. Dm_richards (at) yahoo (dot) com

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  44. Love the cover. My favorite Halloween treat is peppermint patties. Thanks for the chance.
    im2early4u(at)gmail(dot)com

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  45. It's a tradition for us to make an Oreo dirt pudding cemetery with whipped cream ghosts. janie.browning@gmail.com

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  46. This book looks terrific! My favorite Halloween treat is Heath bars. I love nibbling all the chocolate off first and then savoring the toffee. Yum!
    tynadphotography@gmail.com

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  47. Apple crisp is our favorite. Thanks for opportunity-jcook22@yahoo.com

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  48. My favorite Halloween treat is three musketeers.
    judytucker1947(at)gmail(dot)com

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  49. Best Halloween treat? For me it's peanut M & Ms!! lindaherold999(at)gmail(dot)com

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  50. I'm with the ones that said Caramel Apples, Candy Corn and I like the Halloween M&M's...yum...
    Marilyn ewatvess@yahoo.com

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  51. Anything with chocolate and caramel for me at Halloween. Your crepe recipe sounds delicious. Thanks for the chance. lhallson@shaw.ca

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  52. My favorite Halloween treat is Almond Joys. Live crepes, I need to try this recipe. Saamm7(at)msn(dot).com

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  53. Peanut M&Ms, in my mind they are healthy holdensheryl@hotmail.com

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  54. The only thing I eat anymore that is sweet is Dark Chocolate. cheetahthecat1986@gmail.com

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  55. I always loved popcorn balls! My gram and I used to make them for trick-or-treaters! Don't see them too much anymore. kehrenhaft@gmail.com

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  56. I like caramel apples! Debbie.Erickson14@gmail.com

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  57. I have a weakness for candy corn. Thanks for the contest. trwilliams69(at)msn(dot)com

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  58. Hershey bars. doward1952(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  59. I love homemade popcorn balls!! almaj80(at)suddenlink(dot)net

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  60. My favorite Halloween treat is homemade popcorn balls! It’s all about the process, which when made with family, makes them taste extra special 👻!
    (girlichef at yahoo dot com)

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  61. Love my reeses's peanut butter cups! tWarner419@aol.com

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  62. My favorite Halloween treat is a giant caramel apple! rcraftlady@gmail.com

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  63. The Giveaway is now closed and I've contacted the winner, Rosa. Thank you to everyone for commenting. My mouth watered as I read about everyone's favorite Halloween treats.

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