Guest Peggy Ehrhart #Giveaway #Recipe Apple Muffins with Cinnamon Butter

Peg Cochran: I am thrilled to welcome Peggy Ehrhart as our guest today on Mystery Lovers Kitchen.  The first book in her new series, The Quilt Whisperer Investigates, will be out in September and I can't wait to get my copy of what sounds like a charming cozy read! 

 Please give her a warm welcome.

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  In September The Quilt Whisperer Investigates, featuring museum curator and quilter, Caroline Platte, will launch my new cozy mystery series. The series takes place in the charming (invented) town of Banburyport, Massachusetts, where the locals gather every morning at Farrow Square Coffee for gossip, cappuccino, and treats from the bakery case. Among the treats described and eaten in The Quilt Whisperer Investigates are Apple Muffins with Cinnamon Butter.

 

 

 

 

Apple Muffins with Cinnamon Butter

 

Makes 12 muffins.

Ingredients

For the muffins:

2 cups flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 egg

1 cup milk

4 tbsp. butter

1 Granny Smith apple

For the cinnamon butter:

4 oz. butter, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Insert paper liners into the cups of your muffin tin. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. 

 

In a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk together. 

   

Melt the butter

   

Core, peel, and chop the apple.

 

Add the egg and milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir together until just combined. Stir in the melted butter and then the diced apple.

 

Transfer the batter to your muffin tin, filling each cup about two-thirds full. A large spoon and a rubber spatula make it easier to control the amount that goes into each cup.

   

Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean.

   

To make the cinnamon butter, blend butter, sugar, and cinnamon until smooth. A rubber spatula can be helpful.

   

Serve muffins warm with cinnamon butter for spreading.

Peggy Ehrhart is a former English professor with a doctorate in Medieval Literature.  

Her Maxx Maxwell mysteries, Sweet Man Is Gone (2008) and Got No Friend Anyhow (2011), were published by Five Star/Gale/Cengage and feature a blues-singer sleuth.

More recently, Peggy has written the Knit & Nibble mysteries for Kensington Books. Book #12, Last Wool and Testament, was released in May, 2025; An Eggy Way to Die appeared in Kensington’s 2026 Easter novella anthology, Easter Egg Murder. In September Peggy will be launching a new cozy series with The Quilt Whisperer Investigates, also from Kensington. 

Peggy herself is an avid crafter, dating from her childhood as a member of the 4-H Club in rural Southern California. She now lives in Leonia, New Jersey.

Visit Peggy at www.PeggyEhrhart.com

   

“Solid character development, a well-crafted plot with history and art pointing the way, and a heartwarming side-story make this a satisfying and enjoyable read.”—FirstClue

“The kickoff to a new series perfect for readers who love crafts and history.”--Kirkus

 GIVEAWAY!

Because The Quilt Whisperer Investigates won’t be out until September, I’m giving away a copy of Book #12 from my Knit & Nibble series, featuring Pamela Paterson, founder and mainstay of the Arborville, New Jersey, knitting club, nicknamed Knit and Nibble.

   

Craft cozies are very popular now. What crafts do you most enjoy featured in craft cozy series? Are there any crafts that you feel are under-represented?  

Leave your comment to be entered to win!