Showing posts with label STIRRING THE PLOT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label STIRRING THE PLOT. Show all posts

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Spooky Cookies for #Halloween + book + tote bag #giveaway from author @DarylWoodGerber



 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Spooky Giveaway below!


From Daryl:

I found this recipe online on a delicious blog called Love to be in the Kitchen. I made them gluten-free for my Halloween share.  The author of the original recipe said she based them off one of her favorite cookie recipes, Dark Chocolate M and M Cookies. Go to her blog to get that recipe.

Now, I’d never heard of black food coloring. Honestly, I rarely use food coloring after the whole issue with red food coloring years ago. But black?  I had to try it. Before doing so, I asked my Facebook fans if they’d ever used it. I got lots of warnings. Use too much, bleh. Use too little, won’t be dark enough.  And the dye will make your tongue black. Well, so will red or blue dye. Believe me, I’ve seen enough blue tongues after eating birthday cake with blue icing, thanks to all the little boys in my life.

But I have to tell you, a little black food coloring went a long way, and I’m glad I used it.

These cookies are so delicious! They’re great decorated with candy eyeballs - and really spooky - but making some of them plain for grownups is also a super idea.  They are a new go-to cookie for me. 

Tip: in the recipe online, she added the candy eyeballs before baking. My first batch didn’t turn out well having done so. So I added some right away after baking. That worked out beautifully.  I’ll show you both versions below.

Happy Halloween!

Spooky Cookies

(yields: 30-36 cookies)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
optional: black food coloring  (I used only 2 drops!)
1 large egg,  room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup gluten-free flour  (I used half sweet rice flour; half tapioca starch)
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
Candy Eyeballs for topping the cookies

IF YOU WANT TO MAKE THESE USING REGULAR FLOUR, just substitute out the gluten-free flour and omit the xanthan gum.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugars. *Optional add black food coloring to get a deeper shade of black in the cookies. I used 2 drops. That’s all!  Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Blend in the egg and vanilla, scrape down the bowl if needed.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until incorporated. Add in the milk and then fold in the chocolate chips.

Next, cover this mixture and put in refrigerator for 2 hours.

When ready, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll about 2 tablespoons of dough into a ball and place on the baking sheet. Flatten slightly.

Bake at 350˚ F for 10-11 minutes. Remove from oven and then add the candy eyeballs.

Let cookies cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Keep in a tightly sealed container. May be frozen if wrapped in saran and sealed well.





 PUT MIXTURE IN REFRIGERATOR FOR 2 HOURS.


I PUT THE EYES ON FIRST AND...yuck.  NOT MY FAVORITE.


SO FOR THE NEXT BATCH, I DIDN'T DECORATE UNTIL AFTER THEY WERE BAKED.





Because it's Halloween, I'm giving away a copy of 
the Halloween-themed Cookbook Nook Mystery
-- plus a Savor the Mystery tote bag
to 1 commenter.  
What is your favorite Halloween treat? 
Leave your email so I can contact you if you win.

Order DESOLATE SHORES, my latest suspense, HERE, trade paperback and e-book



Order SIFTING THROUGH CLUES, the 8th Cookbook Nook Mystery HERE, trade paperback and e-book



SAVOR THE MYSTERY!
 
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Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Wickedly Decadent Chocolate Dump Cake for #Halloween from author @DarylWoodGerber


I just learned it's 
National Chocolate Day! 

But it's also my day for a Halloween post, and I had something all planned. So guess what? 

You get two recipes for the price of one! 
Two Halloween treats. One that's plenty of chocolate!

Let's party! 




First of all, do you have a few Halloween-themed mysteries to read this coming week? 

If not, try Stirring the Plot. 
[Yes,  I know Fudging the Books is my latest, but it's Halloween!]

Or try Krista Davis's The Ghost and Mrs. Mewer! 
Try our friend Janet Bolin's Night of the Living Thread or 
Kylie Logan's The Legend of Sleepy Harlow!



And now for today's menu:

Wickedly Decadent Chocolate Dump Cake



and

Brie Pumpkin Appetizer! Fun for all ages.




I love Halloween. It's a time to enjoy seeing all the kiddies in their costumes, or dress up yourself - do you dress up? I used to love to do so. Maybe that's why I was an actress before I became a writer. Which of my costumes do you like best? I was definitely into "glamor." That's my little sister in the witch hat. [Witch hats play prominently in STIRRING THE PLOT.]




It's also time to watch scary movies (not me - I'm not a scary movie girl), and time to eat! Salty or sweet. Which do you prefer? [Here are some recipes from Stirring the Plot. Click the titles for the links, shared previously on Mystery Lovers Kitchen.]



HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE USING SKULL MOLD


Or do you just like to party???






I also love seeing the decorations in my neighborhood and in my local stores.  They are getting spookier by the year, I think, but I don't  mind. They're fun!

What do you do for Halloween? Do you party? Do you trick or treat? Do you wait for trick or treaters with a bowl full of goodies? Whatever you do, enjoy the "creativity". The kids sure do!


To make the Wickedly Decadent Chocolate Dump Cake...it was an accident! I was browsing through my cabinet when I found some cocoa nibs. I wasn't quite sure what to do with them. I bought them when I learned my husband needed to eat sugar-free and thought, aha!  But they aren't quite chocolate. 

What are they? Cacao nibs are cocoa beans that are roasted and separated from their hulls and then they are broken into smaller pieces. You can find them at health food stores and can eat them as a snack or add to baked goods.




They would go great in granola. But they're nuttier in texture than chocolate. So I decided to add them as a "nut" texture to this dump cake. Added to the mix, they made the texture of the cake wickedly fun! They also added a good visual oomph to the frosting, too!



WICKEDLY DECADENT CHOCOLATE DUMP CAKE

Ingredients:

1 pkg. chocolate cake mix  (*regular or gluten-free – I used Pamela’s gluten-free brand)
1 pkg. chocolate instant pudding
4 eggs
¾ cup safflower oil
¾ cup milk
½ cup cacao nibs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Dump all the ingredients except the cacao nibs into a bowl. Mix. Now gently mix in the cacao nibs. How easy is that?

Pour into greased bundt pan.  Cook 45-55 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. The top should spring back if pressed lightly with your finger.


Cool 20-30 minutes in the pan, then slip a knife around the outside edge and around the edge of the center tube.  Turn the cake over and let cool completely.



Drizzle with chocolate glaze icing and top with more cacao nibs,  if desired. Serve with whipped cream if desired.





And, now, here's the recipe for a Brie "pumpkin" appetizer. So easy and so yummy. 
The kids had a great time helping me "carve." 

I found this recipe in the Betty Crocker Halloween Cookbook. Whenever I research cookbooks for the next in the series, I scan bookstores and Amazon and other book sites looking for fun covers and  then I browse the pages, and often I buy the book. This is in my collection - great for kids! By the way, I keep a list of the cookbooks in all my Cookbook Nook books on my website, under "more about the Cookbook Nook World" so you can reference them. Here's that link: cookbook list.



Boo!!  

I have to share a tidbit... When I went looking for the link for the Betty Crocker Halooween Cookbook on Amazon, guess which book was recommend right below it?  Mine!  





Pumpkin Brie


This couldn't be simpler!  

Ingredients:
8 ounce round of Brie
1/4 cup apricot jam or marmalade
Crackers and apples for display

Directions:
Remove a round of Brie from the refrigerator. Let it come to room temperature. Using a warm knife, "carve" your pumpkin face, removing a portion of cheese about 1/2" deep for the mouth, nose, and eyes.  Using a teaspoon, fill the cheese cavity with apricot jam or marmalade. Serve with "orange" crackers and apple slices. A tasty treat for all ages!


Savor the mystery!

Daryl Wood Gerber aka Avery Aames
Tasty ~ Zesty ~ Dangerous!


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FUDGING THE BOOKS, the 4th Cookbook Nook Mystery, is HERE!  Click to order.




New in February
FOR CHEDDAR OR WORSE
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