Sunday, October 11, 2020

Welcome guest author Melissa Bourbon + #giveaway


A Berry Good Blueberry Scone, courtesy of Devil’s Brew Café

Murder in Devil’s Cove

 


Hello, hello! I hope y’all are hungry, because I’m talking blueberry scones today. I don’t know about you, but scones are one of those baked goods that never fails to entice me. Buttery. Layered. Sweetened with fresh berries. A little clotted cream on a good day.

 

Yum.

 

I’ve written several mystery series, and in each of them, food is pretty prominent. The Bread Shop Mysteries center around Yeast of Eden, an artisan bread shop.

 

My newest series, the Book Magic Mysteries, doesn’t have a food theme. It’s all about books and bibliomancy. Pippin Lane Hawthorne has the gift (or curse) of bibliomancy and has to use it to solve a decades old crime.

 

I spent quite a bit of time mapping out the island village of Devil’s Cove (see the map on my website: https://linktr.ee/MB_Books) and in the process, I created The Open Door Bookshop, and right next door (actually connected through an inner archway) is Devil’s Brew Café, Ruby Monroe, owner-operator.


Everything Ruby makes is divine.

 

Ginger cookies? Anytime, anywhere.

 

Crumb cake? Delicious cake with an inch of crumb. Seriously crumby.

 

And, of course, her absolutely delectable Berry Scones, which happens to be one of her gluten free offerings. Ruby knows people have all kinds of food restrictions and she aims to accommodate as much as she can. She also prides herself on making gluten free baked goods that appeal to everyone, gluten free or not.

 

I love these most with blueberries, but any berry will work.

 

So, without further ado, here is Ruby’s recipe from Devil’s Brew Café. Enjoy!

 

Melissa

 

 

RUBYS GLUTEN FREE BERRY SCONES

 

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose gluten free flour blend (I usually use Pamela’s GF flour, or Cup 4 Cup)

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp xanthan gum

2 Tablespoons sugar

6 T butter

1 cup fresh or frozen berries of your choice. Blueberries are Rubys favorite.

1 cup milk, plus 1 Tablespoon, if needed (oat milk works too)

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (optional)

Zest from one lemon (optional)

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 400° and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.

 

1. In a bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.

 

2. Cut butter into small chunks. Using a pastry cutter, cut butter into the flour mixture.

 

3. Add the milk and lightly mix together until just blended. Add more milk if needed. If you are including the lemon juice and zest, add now.

 

4. Stir in berries.

 

5. Flour the counter and turn out dough. Gently press into a rectangle shape about 1/2 thick.

 

6. Divide rectangle in half. Divide each have into triangular quarters. You will have 8 equal triangles. Place on prepared baking sheet.

 

7. Brush each triangle with milk and sprinkle liberally with large granular or regular sugar.

 

8. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

 




 

 GIVEAWAY

 

 I'm giving away a printed map of Devil's Cove (large 6x9 postcard) 

and a $5 Amazon gift card--enough to buy the book--to one commenter. 

Do you have a cafe or local hangout that you enjoy visiting?

Remember to leave your email so I can contact you if you win.

*

Melissa Bourbon is the national bestselling author of more than twenty mystery books, including the brand new collaborative Book Magic mysteries, the Lola Cruz Mysteries, A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series, and the Bread Shop Mysteries, written as Winnie Archer. She is a California native who has lived in Texas and Colorado, now calls the southeast home. She hikes, practices yoga, cooks, and is slowly but surely discovering all the great restaurants in the Carolinas. Since four of her five amazing kids are living their lives, scattered throughout the country, her dogs, Bean, the pug, and Dobby, the chug, keep her company while she writes. Melissa lives in North Carolina with her educator husband, Carlos, and their youngest son. She is beyond fortunate to be living the life of her dreams.


You can find out more about Melissa here:

FB:  https://www.facebook.com/MelissaBourbonWinnieArcherBooks/
Book Warriors: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BookWarriors
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissabourbonbooks/

 



51 comments:

  1. Local shop that features wonderful homemade donuts, pastries and breakfast.
    jtcgc at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  2. We are blessed with Growlers Cafe. Craft beers you can get with your lunch. Sandwiches to die for: Mushroom: Sauteed Mushroom with Sweet Onions, Melted Havarti Cheese Served on Rye Bread; Guacamole: House Guacamole Bacon, Malted Mozzarella and Cheddar Cheese Served on Wheat Bread; Grilled Cheese: Melted Cheddar, Mozzarella and our Signature Beer Cheese Sauce with Bacon Fresh Tomato, Arugula and finished with White Truffle Oil Served on Sourdough Bread; Side Salad: Mixed Spring Greens, Mozzarella Cheese, Black Olives, Tomatoes, Cucumbers Served with Your Choice of Dressing, I usually add some Tempeh. bessdeepotter84 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  3. We have a local cafe that makes best desserts! Thanks for the chance.
    Jess
    maceoindo(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  4. No cafes, but the town bar really does serve some pretty great food. They started doing a hot beef sandwich pizza this summer. Sounds odd but it's genius, quite the popular special.
    kozo8989(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Did you mean full fat milk or cream that could be substituted with oat milk?

    My favorite local hangout for my family was a place we indulged in on weekend mornings, called Fidler's on the Grand. It served large breakfasts and had a fun ambience.
    little lamb lst at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  6. "1 cup, plus 1 Tablespoon, if needed (oat milk works too)" What? Milk?
    Looks delicious.
    libbydodd at comcast dot net

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just fixed it. Thanks, Libby. Milk. Regular milk. :) I'm the hostess for the day and missed that. Oops.

      Delete
    2. LOL! Milk. I realized I missed that crucial word!

      Delete
  7. We don't have a local Cafe, but we do have an amazing bakery in town and a couple of good places for breakfast and lunch.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  8. We have a cafe in one of the little towns near me called Pretty Bird. It turns into a Sushi place at night LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  9. We used to go to a local diner most mornings for breakfast. We haven’t been out for breakfast in months though.
    sgiden at verizon(.)net

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yes there is a cafe that I like to visit. It has the best breakfast wraps. These scones look so good. I love blueberries.
    turtle6422 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Byerly's - local grocery store - has a nice eating area with wonderful do-nuts!
    kpbarnett1941(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  12. We enjoy walking to a dog friendly coffee shop/wine bar. They have scones!
    patdupuy@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. We have a great little diner in our downtown area called Paw Paw's Sweets and Diner. We always enjoy eating there.
    eswright18 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ellie, you're the winner of this giveaway. Melissa will be in touch! Thanks for chiming in. ~ Daryl

      Delete
  14. Nope. Plus I don't drive.
    Pugpower63 at Gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  15. We don't have any local places, but I used to love going to Panera Bread. Thank you for this chance. areewekidding(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  16. Sadly no local places here but when growing up we had a cafe called Clore's. It was the 60s and a very special treat to go there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't know why my name isn't on it. Renee Winter aka Granny Winter

      Delete
  17. No, we mostly have national chains here—and I don’t drive anymore anyway. Love your recipe! Legallyblonde1961@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. Mostly chains here. COVID closed a lot. There is a chain deli we enjoy though.
    cupcakesannie@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. The recipe for RUBY’S GLUTEN FREE BERRY SCONES sounds yummy! I've learned to experiment trying different flavors after my BFF taught me how delicious they were. We live in a very small town where we are the county seat with a population of less than 2,600. So no place locally. But I do enjoy going when I visit the same BFF that introduced me to scones.

    Can't wait for the opportunity to read "Murder in Devil’s Cove".
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

    ReplyDelete
  20. Y'all, sign up for my newsletter! Lots of fun things coming!! https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/RxKaTEu

    ReplyDelete
  21. I used to live near a small town in southern Minnesota and my mom and I would go to The Coffee Mill for lunch. They have great burgers and wonderful pie. Barack Obama visited there during his Summer Bus tour in 2011.

    ReplyDelete
  22. We don't have any little local cafes around here. Just the usual bigger restaurants. I prefer to stay home. lkish77123 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  23. We are new to the area and with the way things are now we haven't had a chance to explore. I have passed by a few places that I hope to check out when it is safer to do so. There is a Cuban coffee place I want to go to. Thank you for this chance! pgenest57(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  24. Thank you for the delicious recipe!!❤️❤️

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome! The missing word, btw, is milk!! 1 cup plus 1 T of milk.

      Delete
  25. 30 min away there is Master's Hand, a gift shop, coffee, homemade candy, breakfast rolls, luncheon shop that I love. I've never made scones before but printed this to try as have a whole load of frozen blueberries. Thank you. krisakw@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love to bake too so thank you for the recipe! We have a local bakery, Chiffonos, that makes the best chocolate cake I've ever eaten.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hubby will enjoy making this with me he is the main cook and i am kind of the bottle washer due to battling a disease RSD so i set the table etc and eat what he cooks. I like when i give him a recipe and we work on it. peggy clayton ptclayton2 at aol.com p.s. i only read print books so it is the half the amt and more for a print book

    ReplyDelete
  28. this is great I will have to make this for daughter when she comes for a visit.jcook22@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  29. I used to hang out in the cafe at Barnes and Noble but haven't since Covid. JL_Minter(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  30. we have a local bakery that makes great sweet and savory morning buns
    wskwared(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  31. I was very lucky to come across a post and how several people were cured permanently from ED, i had no much option and i contacted Dr Moses buba  and that was one of the best decisions i have ever made in life and that was all. We received the medication and since then the great sex life is back in my husband, we have 1 kids and we are so happy. For any related problem just contact him on (buba.herbalmiraclemedicine@ gmail.com) or what-app him on +2349060529305 or call me direct for more info about moses buba  +15019914802

    ReplyDelete
  32. The local bakery works for me! Great sweets & breads. Dm _ Richards (at ) yahoo (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  33. Calico cupboard in Mount Vernon has wonderful baked good and meals and Scott's book was right next door through an archway just like Ruby's. Unfortunately, Scott's closed because the owners retired and none of their adult kids wanted to take over. Now we have no new books bookstore within 30 miles.

    ReplyDelete
  34. The winner of this giveaway by random selection is Ellie W. Congrats. Melissa will be in touch. Thanks to all of you for chiming in. ~ Daryl

    ReplyDelete
  35. We don't have a cafe hangout but we do have a favorite Mexican food restaurant that we went to once a week before last March. For now, we just order take out and hang out at home for our meal.

    Nancy
    allibrary (at) aol (dot) com

    ReplyDelete