Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: She Reported

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Cranberry Apple Cake #ChristmasWeek #Recipe @PegCochran

It's late afternoon but it's already nearly dark out. Snow is lazily drifting down--big, fat flakes--and you can see twinkling Christmas lights through your window. Suddenly, there's a knock on the door! It's too early for Santa--who could it be? Just then you hear voices raised in song and when you fling open your door, carolers are standing on your front walk. They have brightly colored scarves tied around their necks, and their faces are ruddy from the cold.

They finish their song and you invite them inside for some cake and hot cocoa topped with whipped cream. Fortunately, you baked this cranberry apple cake earlier that day! It's still warm and glistens with the dark red of the cranberries.

Cranberry Apple Cake

This cake isn't terribly sweet and is perfect for afternoon tea.

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 cup sweetened apple sauce
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
3/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
Powdered sugar

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and continue to cream.

Add apple sauce and mix well. (Batter will look slightly curdled)

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.

Add to creamed mixture and mix well.

Stir in oatmeal and cranberry sauce.

Bake in a greased and floured 9" square pan for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Dust with powdered sugar.

OUT NOW!

Barnes & Noble
Amazon

The USA Today bestselling author of Unholy Matrimony is back with a new Lucille Mystery! This time Lucille must track down the killer of a diet guru who had a lot more to lose than just a few extra pounds.

With her best friend Flo’s wedding approaching, Lucille is desperate to trim down and joins Weigh to Lose, a weight-loss program led by a clipboard-wielding harridan who’s as unattractively thin as she is shrill. When the bossy woman turns up dead with her throat slashed and a tasty-looking cannoli stuffed in her mouth, Lucille figures she got her just desserts.

But when the local police come up empty-handed, Lucille sinks her teeth into the mystery and narrows the list of suspects to a husband with a wandering eye, a sexy young Swedish au pair, and a gambler deep in debt to the wrong people. Until one of the suspects becomes the victim of another gruesome murder.

Afraid she’s bitten off more than she can chew and worried that she might be next on the killer’s list, Lucille puts her own neck on the line with a wild plan to trap the culprit and tip the scales of justice.

“If you want a very funny murder mystery, then this book is for you. I’ve never laughed so hard while reading before.” —Goodreads, on Unholy Matrimony, Book 2 in the USA Today bestselling Lucille Mystery Series

COMING JULY 31!