Hello from TINA KASHIAN! Please join me in giving a warm welcome to Alicia Bessette, author of SMILE BEACH MURDER. I’m thrilled to have her and try her delicious pancake recipe.
Just about every Sunday morning, I make extra fluffy and flavorful pancakes from scratch. My Secret Ingredients Pancakes never fail. The recipe is a jazzed-up version of Martha Stewart’s Easy Basic Pancake Recipe from 2006. It yields 12-15 smallish pancakes and is intended for 3-4 people.
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For optimum results, I recommend serving with the mellow sounds of the early ’70s on vinyl (Van Morrison’s Moondance and Carole King’s Tapestry work well); the best quality maple syrup your budget allows; and your favorite toppings such as berries or sliced bananas or apples.
To celebrate the recent release of my debut cozy mystery, SMILE BEACH MURDER (Berkley), the first in a series, I’m giving away a signed hardback copy to one lucky commenter (U.S. only; contest closes at midnight on Thursday, June 2). Let me know your favorite breakfast food! Mine is a tossup between these pancakes and avocado toast with smoked sea salt. Please be sure to include your email address so that I can contact the winner. Thanks so much!
For more about me, my work, and my life on the Outer Banks in my adopted home state of North Carolina, please do visit me on Instagram, Facebook, or my website. I’d love to see you there. And I love hearing from readers and book clubs. Email me at alicia@aliciabessette.com
What you’ll need for Sunday Morning Secret Ingredients Pancakes:
Two large bowls; measuring cups & spoons; whisk; spatula; microplane or zester; large skillet or griddle
Dry ingredients:
1 cup + 1 Tablespoon whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon lemon, grapefruit, or orange zest (secret ingredient #1)
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon (secret ingredient #2)
½ teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients:
1 Tablespoon butter, melted (plus more butter for greasing the pan)
1 large egg
1 cup whole milk (for extra richness, use buttermilk)
1 ½ teaspoons good quality vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lemon, grapefruit, or orange juice (secret ingredient #3)
1. Put on your favorite Sunday morning music (for recommendations, see above).
2. Preheat oven to 185. Have a baking sheet or oven-proof dish ready (I use a cast iron pan) to keep pancakes warm as you go. If desired, cover with aluminum foil to prevent dryness.
3. In one bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
4. In the other bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.
5. Pour the wet into the dry and whisk gently until just moistened (try not to overmix; you might have a few small lumps and that’s okay).
6. Grease the cooking surface with butter (I rub it in with a folded paper towel), and heat cooking surface to medium-low.
7 For each pancake, spoon 2-3 Tablespoons of batter, and use the back of the spoon to shape into rounds. A large skillet should accommodate 3-4 pancakes at a time.
8. Cook until bubbles appear and begin bursting, 1-3 minutes. Flip with a thin spatula and cook 1-3 more minutes until the underside is golden brown. Transfer to oven to keep warm.
9. Continue with remaining batter, re-greasing the cooking surface as needed.
1 Serve warm with desired toppings & enjoy!
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About SMILE BEACH MURDER
“Bessette offers everything a cozy lover could possibly want …” —Publishers Weekly on Smile Beach Murder
“... a page-turner ... I was enraptured ...” —Dru’s Book Musings
From author Alicia Bessette comes an all-new mystery series featuring Callie Padget, a former reporter turned bookshop clerk on the Outer Banks who is pulled into a deadly web of secrets when a mysterious fall at a lighthouse echoes a tragedy from her past.
When Callie is laid off from her reporting job, she returns to her hometown of Cattail Island and lands a gig at the local bookstore—the same one where she found comfort after her mother died.
In fact, the anniversary of her mother’s infamous death is approaching. Years ago, Teri Padget tumbled from the top of the lighthouse. As islanders are once again gossiping about the tragedy, devastating news strikes: the lighthouse has claimed another victim. Eva Meeks, of Meeks Hardware.
The police are calling it suicide, but Callie does not believe Eva jumped any more than she believes her mother did—especially because Callie knows that before her death, Eva had dug up a long-forgotten treasure hunt that could have put a target on Eva’s back.
In Callie’s search for answers, she enlists the help of some beloved books and several new friends, including handsome martial arts instructor Toby Dodge. But when another death rocks Cattail, Callie must face her fears alone. Earning enemies in pursuit of the truth, she will either uncover the killer—or become a victim herself.
Buy Links
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780593336885
https://bookshop.org/books/smile-beach-murder/9780593336885/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/smile-beach-murder-alicia-bessette/1139996465?ean=9780593336885
https://www.powells.com/book/smile-beach-murder-9780593336885
https://www.amazon.com/Smile-Beach-Murder-Bookshop-Mystery/dp/0593336887
About Alicia Bessette
Before authoring the Outer Banks Bookshop mystery series, Alicia Bessette worked as a reporter in her home state of Massachusetts, where her writing won a first-place award from the New England Newspaper & Press Association. A pianist, published poet, and enthusiastic birdwatcher, she now loves living in coastal North Carolina with her husband, novelist Matthew Quick.
