Guest Daryl Wood Gerber #Giveaway +#Recipe for a Brookie

MAYA: Please welcome back Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber, a former regular on Mystery Lovers Kitchen. She's joining us today with book news, a sweet recipe, and giveaways. 

DARYL:  Hi. Thank you for having me back on Mystery Lovers Kitchen. I’ve missed all of you so much! I’m excited because there’s a lot to catch up on. I have a new Cookbook Nook Mystery (#11 in series) coming out in a couple of days, SIMMERING WITH RESENTMENT. In June, I have the 3rd Fairy Garden Mystery coming out. 

I think many of you have read at least one of the Cookbook Nook Mysteries, and I hope you’ll order this new one and enjoy. A killer’s explosive vengeance may lead to Jenna Hart’s happily never after . . . There are lots of tasty recipes in the book including an ice cream bombe! Watch out for an explosive story!

But today, I’d like to share a bit more about the Fairy Garden Mysteries. How many of you heard of them? They feature Courtney Kelly, the owner of Open Your Imagination, a fairy garden shop in the Cypress and Ivy Courtyard, one of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California’s many courtyards. They also feature Courtney’s sidekick Fiona, a fairy sleuth. Actually, Fiona is a righteous fairy (there are a few other types). She was kicked out of the fairy kingdom for being a bit of an imp, and now, in order to earn her adult wings and return to the kingdom and because she is a righteous fairy, she has to help humans—in particular, Courtney—solve problems.

Open Your Imagination serves tea on the weekends on the patio and often hosts a book club tea. I love drumming up recipes for the teas. Courtney doesn’t make them all. She can cook, but her friend Yvanna, who works at Sweet Treats, another shop in the courtyard, is a baker. She has dreamed up some deliciousness like lemon cupcakes with lavender icing, cinnamon swirl scones, and now brookies, a delicious brownie cookie that has won the hearts of all of Courtney’s customers. Actually, Courtney’s best friend Meaghan came up with the recipe and shared it with Yvanna, but Yvanna has tweaked it to perfection.

So I’d like to share it with you.

So I’d like to share it with you.

But first, what’s A HINT OF MISCHIEF about?

The proprietor of a fairy garden and tea shop in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Courtney Kelly has an occasional side gig as a sleuth—with a sprinkling of magical assistance. . . .

Courtney has thrown a few fairy garden parties—for kids. But if a local socialite is willing to dip into her trust fund for an old sorority sister’s fortieth birthday bash, Courtney will be there with bells on. To make the job even more appealing, a famous actress, Farrah Lawson, is flying in for the occasion, and there’s nothing like a celebrity cameo to raise a business’s profile.
 
Now Courtney has less than two weeks to paint a mural, hang up tinkling windchimes, plan party games, and conjure up all the details. While she works her magic, the hostess and her girlfriends head off for an indulgent spa day—which leads to a fateful facial for Farrah, followed by her mysterious death. Could the kindhearted eyebrow waxer who Farrah berated in public really be the killer, as the police suspect? Courtney thinks otherwise, and with the help of her imaginative sleuth fairy, sets out to dig up the truth behind this puzzling murder . . .

Now for the recipe!

BROOKIE

(Yield 20-24)

For the cookie layer:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 1/4  cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the brownie layer:

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.

To make the cookie layer:

In a large bowl, beat softened butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and egg.

Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda together in a small bowl. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir until combined. 

Stir chocolate chips into the dough

Spread mixture evenly into the bottom of the 9 x 13 dish.

 

To make the brownie layer:

In a large bowl, stir sugar, melted butter, and vanilla.  Add in eggs and beat well.  Mix in cocoa powder and mix well. Add flour, baking powder, and salt to the cocoa mixture.  Mix well. If desired, stir in the extra chocolate chips. Pour brownie mixture over cookie dough and spread to cover completely.

Bake the brookie in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely, at least 30 minutes, before cutting into bars.

 

If you want the gluten-free version of this recipe, write me at daryl@darylwoodgerber.com to request it. 

And now for the GIVEAWAY

 

I’ll give a choice of the first 2 Fairy Garden Mysteries

to one commenter or a choice of the Cookbook Nook Mysteries

and a totebag!!

 

Answer one of these two questions:

What’s your favorite treat with tea or coffee?

Or… have you ever seen a fairy?

 

 BIO

Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber writes the nationally bestselling Cookbook Nook Mysteries as well as the Fairy Garden Mysteries and the French Bistro Mysteries. As Avery Aames, she pens the popular Cheese Shop Mysteries. Daryl also writes the Aspen Adams novels of suspense as well as stand-alone suspense. Daryl loves to cook, garden, and read, and she has a frisky Goldendoodle who keeps her in line!

MY LINKS

WEBSITE: https://darylwoodgerber.com

FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/darylwoodgerber

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/darylwoodgerber

BOOKBUB: https://bookbub.com/authors/daryl-wood-gerber

YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/woodgerb1

INSTAGRAM: https//instagram.com/darylwoodgerber

PINTEREST: https://pinterest.com/darylwoodgerber

GOODREADS: https://goodreads.com/darylwoodgerber

AMAZON: amazon: https://bit.ly/Daryl_Wood_Gerber_page

NEWSLETTER: Have you signed up to receive my newsletter? I send one out every month and with a new release. In the monthly, there is always a GIVEAWAY to one (or more) subscribers. Check it out here and make the call. There's always a recipe, a bit about Sparky, what I'm reading, etc. https://darylwoodgerber.com/contact-media/